Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The resurrection stories in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are among the strangest stories in all of the literature of the world, even among the strangest stories in the Bible. That is true of each Gospel’s accounts individually, but even more of the collection as a whole. On the one…
As a pastor, I’m interested in discipleship. Christians are called to be disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Discipleship has everything to do with the disciplines we walk by in our lives. Things like Bible reading, prayer, and fasting are hallmarks of standard Christian discipleship. The basic thrust is that…
Psalm 1 is justly famous among biblical texts. It opens the Psalter, it’s a paean to the life-giving power of the Law, and it beautifully describes righteous life as a stable, fruitful tree. It subtly weaves the contrasting threads of wickedness and righteousness into a succinct summary of biblical wisdom:…
No book is more quoted in Hebrews than the Psalter: there are quotations and allusions to psalms on virtually every page. And many of the quotations are not passing references but closely considered and repeatedly cited as the author of Hebrews develops his central arguments. Much of Hebrews is exposition…
Howard Bloom is a beautiful hypocrite. The author of books in as different subjects as Mohammed, scientific theory, and the cultural upheaval of the 1960s, he professes to be a “stone cold atheist.” Yet in spite of that profession, Bloom obviously writes as a Jew; that is, he writes with…
There may be some debate about who deserves the title “the King of American literature,” but, at least to my mind, there should be no debate over who deserves to be “the Queen” – let’s give the crown to Flannery O’Connor. She is, however, a very unlikely queen. Unlikely, not…
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John Robbins ‘s current Trinity Review is devoted to a sharply negative review of my book Against Christianity . So far as I can tell, Robbins caught me in one error: I did, as he said, misuse the phrase “beg the question” at one point. Otherwise, I would say that…
Again, much of this is from Jim Jordan ‘s From Bread to Wine . Kingly Rule, 1 Kings 3:1-28 INTRODUCTION Israel moved from its priestly to its kingly phase through a process of destruction and renewal. The Mosaic order broke down after the battle of Aphek (1 Samuel 4-6), and…
David Yeago makes this important comment about Luther’s “catholic” turn after 1518: “For Luther after 1518, Christ is central not as pattern but as person; we are saved by the faith that acknowledges his authority, competence, and willingness to rescue those who call upon him. The gospel that is proclaimed…
McGrath gives an account of the development of the doctrine of imputation within early Reformation theology. He notes that there are elements of the doctrine already in the early Luther: “The reinterpretation of grace as an absolute external, and faith as a partial internal, quality permits Luther to maintain what…
Who wrote this? ” opera sunt necessaria ad salutem, sed non causant salutem, quia fides sola dat vitam ” (works are necessary to salvation, yet they do not cause salvation, for faith alone gives life). Norman Shepherd would be a good guess, except that he doesn’t write in Latin. Calvin…
Alister McGrath’s discussion of Luther’s theology of justification in his standard work, Iustitia Dei , shows that understanding grace as favor Dei rather than as a “medicinal substance” was an essential part of the Reformation doctrine of grace. He writes, “The most significant discussion of faith [in Luther’s earler writings]…
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