Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
John the Baptist says, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt. 3:11).” Much debate surrounds the nature of this statement and what exactly it prophesies. Sacramental, baptistic, and charismatic Christians…
First Corinthians is not considered one of the Pastoral Epistles, but there is much to learn from Paul about pastoring a congregation by the way he writes to the Corinthians. Briefly, 1 Corinthians is an exposition of the cross and resurrection. In the first fourteen chapters, Paul gives an exposition…
Fredrik Hagglund ( Isaiah 53 in the Light of Homecoming After Exile (Forschungen Zum Alten Testament) ) argues against the common notion that Isaiah 53 is about the atoning suffering of Yahweh’s Servant. The Servant’s suffering is vicarious (i.e., he suffers for the sins of others) but it is not…
With the inheritance of Canaan and the dividing up of this priestly territory among the tribes, Israel became a microcosm of the nations of the world. This division between Israel and the nations as a substitutionary “land and sea” would prevent another global rebellion, and thus another global judgment. ((For…
One of the more revealing aspects of Paul and James’ soteriology is the different ways they both use Genesis 15:6 (“And Abraham believed God and it was counted for him as righteousness,”) as a proof text to defend their comments about the gospel. The key observation to make is that…
The disintegration of the EU is not the end of the world. It is a sign that the end of the world is anything but nigh. Western culture as we know it is dying at the hands of usurpers, traitors and prodigals. Even the worst rulers throughout Christian history at…
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In case you need yet another reason to search for Isidore, he has recently been proposed as the “patron saint of the Internet.” And for those without the cash to buy the recent translation of Isidore’s Etymologies (advertized here some time ago), and with some facility in Latin, the Latin…
Paul also makes some observations that hint at aspects of a theology of music. He says or implies several things in 1 Corinthians 14:6-8. First, he introduces a musical analogy into a discussion of speech in the church, implying a parallel between music and language. That analogy becomes explicit as…
In 1 Corinthians 14:10-11, Paul supports a point about tongues and prophecy with a bit of linguistics. Meaning, he notes, functions within a linguistic community. Languages have significance (v 10), but only for those who know that significance (v 11). Language boundaries are community boundaries, so that if we speak…
INTRODUCTION John says that believing in Jesus the Christ is a sign of being born of God (5:1) and that those who believe in Jesus as Son of God overcome the world (5:4-5). How do we know that Jesus is Christ and Son of God? John’s answer is that faith…
Terrence Rafferty reviews a couple of recent horror novels in the NYT - John Saul’s In the Dark of the Night and Joe Schreiber’s Chasing the Dead . Both, he says, fail to deliver on the hints of deeper horror they toy with: “These novels are constructed as efficient, relentless…
1 John 5:5: whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. John uses the root of the word “victory” (nik-) seven times in this letter. Mostly, it’s buried in the word “overcome.” Young men, he says, overcome the evil…
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