Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Blessing of the Father The narrative of the Exodus makes it clear that Yahweh is Israel’s Father. Moses is told to declare to Pharaoh that “Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve me’” (Exodus 4:22-23). In contrast to…
When reading the Old Testament, the believer faces two dilemmas. First, there is a seemingly sharp discontinuity between the universal proclamation of the gospel to the whole earth and God’s singling out of the nation of Israel. Second, the New Testament says of Jesus that “there is no other name…
John 17 contains the longest prayer that we have from Jesus, and it shows us the intimate relationship between the Father and the Son in a way that few passages do. The prayer lays out the chiastic pattern noted by Athanasius (God became man so that man could become God),…
The following meditation on the incarnation is paraphrased and quoted from Karl Barth, The Doctrine of Reconciliation (Church Dogmatics, Vol. 4, Part 1) , pp. 185ff. In the incarnation, the eternal Son of God makes His way into a far country, and takes on the form of a servant. “But…
Peter says "baptism saves you" (1 Peter 3:21). Does the New Testament teach that "baptism justifies you"? I think the answer is Yes. That's a controversial answer, and demands some defense and explanation, but first some critical qualifications. No New Testament text states "baptism justifies you," so my argument will…
In his THI article “ Son of David, Son of Abraham ,” Peter Leithart notes that Matthew's genealogy “contains a summary of redemptive history.” This statement is only too true and one that deserves further elucidation. Biblos genese ō s. The first two words of Matthew's Gospel are usually translated…
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The church has not been a static entity, nor has the church's history been one of smooth organic growth. There are many continuities from Jesus and the apostles to the present, but there have been regular disruptions along the way, disruptions that radically changed the church's relation to the world…
John sees the Lamb surrounded by the 144,000 that were sealed on the forehead (Revelation 14:1). The company of the Lamb stands in contrast to the company of the beast. The worshipers of the beast were marked on the hand and the forehead, and the 144,000 are sealed on the…
Critics have offered wildly different assessments of the role of sex in the fiction of James Joyce. On the one hand, many hostile critics his work, especially Ulysses , attack him for obscenity and indecency. They regard sex as one of the main themes of Joyce’s work. This is often…
Sociologists working from various theoretical and political perspectives have worried that American society is fragmenting into two separate worlds. Our cities aren't single anymore. Cities are dual, and the tale of late modernity is a tale of two cities. Jock Young ( Vertigo of Late Modernity ) isn't convinced. He…
“You who were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ,” Paul tells the Gentile Ephesians (2:13). Jesus' blood is the sacrificial blood that makes a way of approach to God. “He Himself is our peace, who made both one and broke down the dividing wall by…
In an oracle against Edom, Jeremiah warns that the guilty will be sentenced to drink: “Behold, those who were not sentenced to drink the cup will certainly drink, and are you the one who will be completely acquitted? You will not be acquitted, but you will certainly drink it” (Jeremiah…
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