Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
We lost Crimea. That is very clear. Putin proved he was not lying when he said he would place women and children ahead of his soldiers to storm Ukrainian military bases. Russian soldiers did exactly that with women (some who volunteered and some who were forced). Russia now occupies all…
Sound is an indicator of life and energy. “Sound signals the present use of power, since sound must be in active production to exist at all.” Things don’t have to be alive to make themselves visible, and “a primitive hunter can see, feel, smell, and taste an elephant when the…
In the most famous section of his best-known novel, Dostoevsky’s Ivan Karamazov brings forward his case against God. He opens with a horrific litany of outrages against children. Turkish soldiers make a baby laugh and then shoot a pistol into his face. A little girl is beaten, thrashed, kicked by…
At the heart of Esther Lightcap Meek's splendid Little Manual for Knowing is a concept she picked up from Michael Polanyi, "subsidiary-focal integration." The concept begins from the insight that all our knowing, all our experience, is double. We focus on something, but we are capable of "indwelling" that focal…
Jesus promises the overcomers of Pergamum "hidden manna" and a "white stone." The hidden manna is often linked with the manna stashed away in the ark of the covenant. The white stone has proved more elusive. Exodus tells us that manna was white (Exodus 16:31) and like bdellium (Numbers 11:7),…
Leviticus 23 begins with a reference to “Yahweh’s appointed times” ( mo’ade-YHWH ). Mo’ed is the common term for the feasts of Israel. A few dimensions to this term. First, it means “appointed time” or “designated time.” It is a time set by Yahweh. Yahweh has claimed certain times as…
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In a 1987 article in CBQ, Frank Matera deploys a highly technical narratological apparatus to draw the astonishing conclusion that “the plot of Matthew’s gospel has something to do with salvation history, the recognition of Jesus’ identity, his rejection by Israel, and with the preaching of the gospel to the…
In the current issue of Mars Hill audio magazine, Ken Myers, quoting from Craig Gay, makes the important point that modernity is defined not so much by its aspiration to control as by the means it uses to achieve control. Instead of seeking to control reality with magic or prayer,…
In his Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford), Christopher Butler points out that postmodern art and postmodern theory arose at different times and had different sources of inspiration. Postmodernism in art is evident in the postwar period as art becomes “deliberately less unified, less obviously ‘masterful,’ more playful or anarchic,…
Full Disclosure: I’m always borrowing from James Jordan, but this outline borrows from him more than most. INTRODUCTION We tend to read the Bible as if it were only about God working out our salvation from sin. But that is too narrow an understanding of God’s purposes in creation. As…
Prayer has an effect in the same way that all other causes have their effect. Prayer is just as much a cause as any other secondary causes in creation. Do you believe that hitting a ball with a bat causes the ball to fly through the air? But how can…
Matthew 7:11: If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him. We have been looking this morning at how our prayers fit into God’s sovereign government of…
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