Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on…
A hundred years ago, William Warley signed a contract to buy a house in Louisville, Kentucky from Charles Buchanan, a white man. Before closing the sale, Warley, who was black, learned that the lot was subject to a city ordinance barring blacks from occupying the premises if most of the…
I concluded the first essay on this topic by saying that I would introduce three books about Shakespeare and the Bible, but I decided to introduce four instead. The three books become four are: Naseeb Shaheen, Biblical References in Shakespeare’s Plays (London: Associated University Presses, 1999) ; Hannibal Hamlin, The…
My children attend a classical Christian school, situated in the independent “free church” evangelical tradition. Over the past few years they have been growing in their acquaintance with the world of Homer, Plato, Virgil, and Livy. They enjoy it, and I envy it. The school is a great school. My…
The Prodigal Son parable (Luke 15) has been a favorite of liberal theologians for a couple of centuries. It seems to be a parable designed for liberal sensibilities: An indulgent, accepting Father; forgiveness extended without a cross; a surly older brother who might represent the "conservative" face of religion who…
“I want now to tell you, gentlemen, whether you care to hear it or not, why I could not even become an insect. I tell you solemnly, that I have many times tried to become an insect. But I was not equal even to that. I swear, gentlemen, that to…
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In her comparative study of Julian the Apostate and Gregory Nazianzus ( Sons of Hellenism, Fathers of the Church ), Susanna Elm devotes a long chapter to Gregory's Oration 2, which is concerned with the philosopher's practice of soul care. It is not an easy task: “As difficult as it…
Chesterton is nothing if not an enthusiast, and he is nothing if not enthusiastic about Bottom the Weaver, one of the “mechanicals” of A M idsummer Night's Dream . “It is difficult to approach critically so great a figure as that of Bottom the Weaver. He is greater and more…
By the Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves, the US Congress decided that no more slaves were to be imported to the United States. The law passed in 1807 and went into effect in 1808. The slave trade to the Americas did not end. As Stephen Chambers notes in his…
What does it mean to say God is jealous (Heb. qanna' )? In a recent JBL piece, Nissim Amzallag points out that it is intimately linked to Yahweh's fieriness (cf. Psalm 79:5; Ezekiel 38:19) and to “furnace remelting.” If there is a hint of volcanic power in the Old Testament…
Patrick Clark's Perfection in Death is a study of Thomas's treatment of the virtue of courage, especially as expressed in martyrdom, against the background of ancient treatments of the same subject - from Homer to Socrates to Aristotle. He poses the dilemma on the first page: “If acts of virtue…
Discontent is one of life's most corrosive vices. When we wish we lived then , when we want our life to be taking place over there , we take no joy in what's here and the now. We cannot enjoy the present without receiving it, and we cannot receive it…
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