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Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Biblical Chronology

Meredith G. Kline Strikes Back, Part 2

In our first essay we looked at Kline’s flawed exegesis of Genesis 2:5 as it relates to Day 3 of creation. Now we turn to Kline’s new argument against a chronological reading of Genesis 1, as found, again, in "Space and Time in the Genesis Cosmogony," Perspectives on Science and…

by James B. JordanMarch 29, 1997
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Hermeneutics

Bathsheba: The Real Story

One of the advantages of paying very close attention to the details in the Bible, especially chronological and genealogical details, is that they can shed light on situations that don’t seem to make much sense apart from them. One such situation is that of Bathsheba. It appears that Bathsheba willingly…

by James B. JordanMarch 28, 1997
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Church Calendar

Is the Church Year Biblical? | A Parking Lot Parable

Once upon a time, Jeff Meyers and Tony Rollins–old friends who had not seen each other for a few years–met in the parking lot of a neighborhood church. They were dropping off their pre-school children at the church for Mother’s Day Out. They were such conscientious and helpful fathers. As…

by Jeff MeyersMarch 20, 1997
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Daniel

The Allegory of Susanna

Years ago, when I was at the briefly-existing Geneva Divinity School, I taught a course in the Apocrypha. One thing that struck me at that time is that two of the stories are almost certainly religious allegories (as well as moral tales): Judith and Susanna. Since "Susanna" means "Lily," this…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997
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Biblical Horizons

A Blossom of Yahweh’s Field

Peter’s essay inspires me to write up some similar thoughts about the flower of the field. Rightly does Peter associate the almond with Yahweh’s garden, because the Garden of Eden is symbolically positioned as parallel to the Holy Place of the Tabernacle and Temple. To wit: Since Aaron’s rod blossomed…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997
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Biblical Chronology

Meredith G. Kline Strikes Back, Part 1

We have had occasion to discuss the views of Meredith G. Kline previously in these newsletters, and now it is time to do so again. Kline teaches at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and also at the Westminster Theological Seminaries (Philadelphia and San Diego). He is the author of some interesting insights…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997

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The Gospel and Its Counterfeits

Two groups rush away from Jesus' empty tomb. Both of them have news. The women came to the tomb looking for Jesus, but now they have heard the angel’s announcement that Jesus is risen, and obey the angel’s command to go to the disciples and announce the resurrection to them.…

April 15, 2016

Was Kobe Great?

So Kobe's done, going out in grand style with 60 points as he led the Lakers to a comeback win. Few sports stars go out with as much fanfare, or do as well in playing up to the hype. But the debate about Kobe's greatness will continue, and his last…

April 15, 2016

Puritan Modernism

America has a unique architecture, indebted to our unique religious makeup. In a 1982 article, Thomas Beeby notes that the communal experiments of early Puritans, and later of Quakers, Shakers, Moravians, and Pietists provided “paradigms of puritanical Protestant architectural thought” (essay reprinted in The Religious Imagination in Modern and Contemporary…

April 15, 2016

Muslim Paul

Patrick Gray's Paul as a Problem in History and Culture is a wide-ranging study of anti-Paulinism. Biblical scholars are familiar with anti-Paulists who charge that Paul betrayed the message and life of Jesus when he founded Christianity. But the attacks on Paul are ancient and medieval as well as modern,…

April 14, 2016

Intramural Combat

In his forthcoming, massive Reformations , Carlos M.N. Eire summarizes the conflicts between Philippists and Gnesio-Lutherans following Luther's death in 1546. Eire writes, “The most pressing issue in 1548 concerned how much accommodation to Catholicism any Lutheran should be willing to make. Melanchthon's response to the Augsburg Interim . .…

April 14, 2016

Aaron's Genealogy

The genealogy of the priestly tribe of Levi (1 Chronicles 6) stands at the chiastic center of the genealogies of 1 Chronicles. At the beginning of that tribal genealogy is a list of the descendants of Aaron the first high priest, framed by references to the three sons of Levi…

April 13, 2016

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