Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God…
With the surprising discovery of the Nelda Boswell scroll historians have deciphered its contents and concluded that the apostle Paul returned to the region of Galatia shortly after he wrote the letter that we call Galatians. The evidence suggests that a number of local pastors, elders, and deacons, along with…
Second Temple Judaism was a form of covenantal nomism, according to E. P. Sanders’ terminology. This means that Torah-observance was a way of expressing loyalty to the Lord of the covenant who had graciously elected Israel. I think Sanders’ view (taken up in bits and pieces and with some modifications…
We often hear that the key to Christian obedience is thankfulness for what God has done. But the Bible stresses faith and hope much more than gratitude. The Baptist pastor and author John Piper has written, “Nowhere in the Bible is gratitude connected explicitly with obedience as a motivation. We…
One of the questions that is commonly asked about Tom Wright regards his teaching about how Paul uses the term “the righteousness of God.” Since Wright’s interpretation of the term in Paul’s epistles is commonly mentioned in passing but rarely analyzed, it seems like a good idea to explicitly spell…
If God promised a certain land to the seed of Abraham, saying that it would be theirs “forever” (Gen. 13:15), why do Reformed churches teach that the Jews permanently lost their right to the land? What about all these Old Testament “forever” promises and prophesies made to the Jews? How…
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1) There are repeated verbal links between the opening of 1 Kings 17 and the opening of chapter 18. The word of Yahweh comes to Elijah, telling him to ?go?E(17:2; 18:1). In both chapters, the word ?cut off?Eis used (the brook ?Cherith?E Jezebel?s ?cutting off?Eof prophets; the ?cutting off?Eof cattle).…
INTRODUCTION Elijah is a new Moses, and like Moses he confronts the ?Pharaoh?EAhab and his hundreds of ?magicians.?EBy his victory in this context, Yahweh not only humiliates the gods of the Canaanites, and the Israelites who act like Canaanites. He also calls and leads Israel to repentance (vv. 39-40). This…
David Hart describes the work of theology, as opposed to the work of metaphysics, as follows: “Theology is not an art that abstracts from history toward eternity, from facts toward principles, but one that - under the pressure of the history it is called upon to interpret - finds the…
Umberto Eco, ed. History of Beauty . Translated by Alastair McEwen. New York: Rizzoli, 2004. 438pp. Bursting with splashy reproductions of art work from the ancient Greeks to the present, Eco’s History of Beauty could pass for a survey of Western art. Eco’s purpose, however, is broader; he intends a…
From the anonymous 8th-century Liber Monstrorum , we learn about the following: Astomori: “The accounts of the Greeks say that there are also men devoid of a mouth, unlike all the others, and thus they allegedly cannot eat anything: according to the sources, moreover, they stay alive only by breathing…
Alain de Botton, Status Anxiety . New York: Pantheon, 2004. 306pp. “Every adult life,” Alain de Botton argues, “could be said to be defined by two great love stories.” The first is the romantic quest for sexual love and companionship, and it is the subject of innumerable poems, stories, and…
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