Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The translation and theology of the Hebrew term kapporet have long been puzzling to scholars. On the translation of the term, I have nothing new to offer. I wish instead to concentrate on the theological symbolism of the kapporet . The kapporet was the solid gold slab that laid "above"…
“Three lines are enough” -Rabindranath Tagore My second favorite((I frequently use the “my second favorite” as a figure of speech meaning: “here’s a good one” and to also prompt the question, “What’s your first favorite?”)) haiku was written by some internet wag: Haikus are easy But sometimes they don’t make…
The history of the Reformation couldn’t adequately be recounted without discussing the remarkable role played by the relatively recent innovations and developments in book production and printing. The printing press facilitated the rapid production and dissemination of multiple copies of pamphlets and books, which enabled the Reformers to circulate their…
As evangelicals, we’re convinced that Christ’s work is finished, complete, and utterly sufficient. For many evangelicals, this is the gospel: Nothing can take away from Christ’s work, and surely nothing can be added to it by my works or my penance, by self-denial or sacraments or sacrifice. Nothing is lacking…
Evangelicalism needs a return to formal and Biblical worship. Worship is a public act, performed on the surface of God's true altar, the world, before His throne. Man's chief end is to glorify and enjoy God, and worship is done for God's pleasure. It is man's highest privilege to dance…
The evidence of sin and its death ruling in the world is clear. Paul describes the situation vividly in the opening section of his letter to the Romans. No matter who you are, Jew or Gentile, you have the same problem: you are “under sin” (Romans 3:9). Being under sin…
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It's an inventive solution. In an essay on the Logic of Impurity , David Kraemer argues, counterintuitively, that impurity marks something as God's possession. He argues from the strange anomalies associated with corpse defilement and its cleansing: “The human corpse is, according to the Torah, the most powerful source of…
Holy Week is a passage through darkness, as we commemorate the betrayal, arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus. But Holy Week doesn't end on the cross. Easter dispels the darkness. Good Friday followed by Easter means that darkness and death no longer mark an end, but mark a beginning. It…
Paul Ludwig ( Eros and Polis ) observes that “A recurrent feature of ancient Greek political discourse was the assertion that erotic passion was a causal factor in the emergence and maintenance, as well as the decline, of the Greek polis.” But this didn't make the Greek proto-Foucauldians: “the term…
Kelley Bulkeley's Big Dreams is about the big subject of religion, examined from the perspective of our dreaming. He begins with the simple, well-known observation that most of our dreams are quickly forgotten, while “a few are highly memorable.” Any account of dreaming should try to account for this. Taking…
As Paul strolls through Athens, what impresses him is not the architecture, culture, or art. He sees that the city is full of idols, and he is provoked in spirit (Acts 17:16). That provokes a few reflections. What did Paul see that others in Athens did not see? What would…
Gustave Le Bon's The Crowd was first published in 1895. It reads like something taken from today's headlines about the crowds generated by Donald Trump's campaign. Le Bon argued that a crowd involved the “disappearance of conscious personality and the turning of feelings and thoughts in a definite direction, which…
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