Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Mrs. Marguerite Lane of Grand Rapids writes to ask if I have ever noticed a correlation between the eight beatitudes of Matthew 5 and the eight woes of Matthew 23. I confess that I have not. A glance at various commentators reveals that such a correspondence does not seem to…
1. The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, the burden. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal: 2. Surely I am more stupid than any other man, And I do not have the understanding of a man. 3. And I have not learned wisdom, But I have…
Psalm 137 is widely regarded as one of the meanest of the imprecatory psalms. Certainly as we read it it is seems to be a song of pure vengeance. The exiles in Babylon, in grief over the judgment that Babylon has brought upon them, pray for the destruction of that…
In the Levitical law, the priests received two particular portions of each peace offering: the "wave offering" of the breast and the "heave offering" (or better, "contribution") of the right thigh. The purpose of this essay is to attempt to determine the reason why the second of these, the thigh,…
The story of Jesus’ visit, early in His ministry, to the synagogue in His home town of Nazareth is recorded for us in Luke 4:16-30. You may remember that Jesus read from Isaiah about how the Messiah would preach the gospel, care for the poor, work miracles, and bring in…
(The essay that follows concerns a rather touchy subject: how the Lord’s Supper is to be done. I am not writing to insult or offend, but to challenge. To that end I have not "held back" but have "gone ahead" and said what I think needs to be said —…
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One Body Through the Cross , the Princeton Proposal for Christianity Unity, criticizes the ecumenical movement for “liberal indifference” to orthodoxy, which has sometimes provoked a reaction of “divisive sectarianism.” For some, the solution is to stress traditional doctrinal formulations, but this cure is part of the disease. As Margaret…
The Princeton Proposal for Christian Unity ( One Body Through the Cross ) works within two “poles”: On the one hand, there is an already-established unity, “a bond of faith and communion in Christ, established by the action of God.” On the other hand, we are called to “a deeper…
The Princeton Proposal on Christian Unity ( In One Body Through the Cross ) claims that “division breeds never-ending diversion from authentic mission” (section 35), and offers a shrewd diagnosis of how this occurs. It happens when “the distinct identities of our churches tempt us to relish the special marks…
In his Unitive Protestantism , John T. McNeill sketches the “communio” ecclesiology of the Reformers: “They interpreted the creedal tenet of ‘the Holy Catholic Church’ in terms of the communio sanctorum , and identified the latter both with the invisible communion of the saved and with the true visible church…
Jeremiah 35 introduces the Rechabites. This is a clan within Israel that had refrained from wine, lived in tents, and refused to sow seed or plant vineyards for generations. The sole basis for this abstinence from normal life was the command of Jonadab the son of Rechab who commanded “You…
One of the delights of Philip Ball’s forthcoming Invisible is to see how frequently rationalists and materialists were have been taken in by charlatans. One might have thought that those who came-of-age and were Enlightened by reason would be immune to tricks, beliefs in ghosts, and in fairies and sprites.…
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