Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
We've all heard it, too often to count. The Apostle Paul was a misgynistic homophobic pro-slavery authoritarian, probably a repressed homosexual himself, the first Puritan - Puritan here defined as "someone who cannot sleep if someone in the world is having fun." To call this a caricature is too generous.…
Some of our forefathers believed in reading/singing the psalms in order. Today, when the psalms are even used at all, they tend to be used randomly, though sometimes tied to a church calendar or to the pastor’s sermon. The Bible does not bind us to any particular practice, but there…
". . . and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock that followed them; and the rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). Paul’s passing comment about the rock that followed the Israelites in the wilderness has often been treated as a bit of…
The story of Hezekiah’s illness and recovery is familiar to every child who has attended Sunday School. Informed that he would die, faithful King Hezekiah pleaded in tears for a longer life. God heard his prayers and saw his tears, and promised fifteen more years. As a sign that He…
When viewed as an allegory of biblical history, the controversial third act of Danny Boyle’s gripping sci-fi adventure is transformed from an illogical divergence into a blinding revelation. The following analysis contains spoilers for the movie “Sunshine.” The Creation Week is the elementary type that orders everything God has said…
In my last post , I told you the story of my current desire to understand philosopher D.C. Schindler’s metaphysical work. With this post, I start in to the venture. I begin by reflecting on what it is to be a thing. This matter always makes me laugh, and makes…
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INTRODUCTION The liturgy is a journey. We begin by gathering from our homes to one place, where we can worship God together. The minister invites us to enter the Lord?s house by faith, to ascend the heavenly Zion to worship Him. Recognizing that we are unfit to enter, we confess…
Speaking of Forde, his little book on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation (1518), entitled On Being a Theologian of the Cross includes a number of insights worth pondering. 1) Theological Thesis 15 of the Disputation states that free will could not “remain in a state of innocence, much less do good, in…
In the Husbands and Treier volume, Robert Kolb discusses various contemporary Lutheran theologians who are attempting to bring Luther to bear on contemporary theology and life. He focuses attention on Gerhard Forde, Wilfried Harle, Oswald Bayer, and a few others. His discussion of the claim that “Justification is God’s killing…
In the Husbands and Treier volume, Robert Kolb discusses various contemporary Lutheran theologians who are attempting to bring Luther to bear on contemporary theology and life. He focuses attention on Gerhard Forde, Wilfried Harle, Oswald Bayer, and a few others. His discussion of the claim that “Justification is God’s killing…
Mark Seifrid has an important article contrasting Luther and Melanchthon on justification in the Husbands and Treier volume on the subject. He examines a private discussion between the two Reformers that took place in the home of Johannes Bugenhagen in 1536. A number of differences emerge, in their assessment of…
In an unsentimental discussion of the promise and difficulties of Christian community (in Freedom for Ministry ), Richard Neuhaus has these sage words about church fights: “Not infrequently, life together is mainly strife together. This commonly comes as a shock to young men and women entering the ministry. Among those…
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