Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
We lost Crimea. That is very clear. Putin proved he was not lying when he said he would place women and children ahead of his soldiers to storm Ukrainian military bases. Russian soldiers did exactly that with women (some who volunteered and some who were forced). Russia now occupies all…
Sound is an indicator of life and energy. “Sound signals the present use of power, since sound must be in active production to exist at all.” Things don’t have to be alive to make themselves visible, and “a primitive hunter can see, feel, smell, and taste an elephant when the…
In the most famous section of his best-known novel, Dostoevsky’s Ivan Karamazov brings forward his case against God. He opens with a horrific litany of outrages against children. Turkish soldiers make a baby laugh and then shoot a pistol into his face. A little girl is beaten, thrashed, kicked by…
At the heart of Esther Lightcap Meek's splendid Little Manual for Knowing is a concept she picked up from Michael Polanyi, "subsidiary-focal integration." The concept begins from the insight that all our knowing, all our experience, is double. We focus on something, but we are capable of "indwelling" that focal…
Jesus promises the overcomers of Pergamum "hidden manna" and a "white stone." The hidden manna is often linked with the manna stashed away in the ark of the covenant. The white stone has proved more elusive. Exodus tells us that manna was white (Exodus 16:31) and like bdellium (Numbers 11:7),…
Leviticus 23 begins with a reference to “Yahweh’s appointed times” ( mo’ade-YHWH ). Mo’ed is the common term for the feasts of Israel. A few dimensions to this term. First, it means “appointed time” or “designated time.” It is a time set by Yahweh. Yahweh has claimed certain times as…
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In Spirit, John ascends to the sky and steps through an open door into the throne room of God (Revelation 4). Like the hovering Spirit of Genesis 1:2, the Spirit that carries John unveils a sevenfold scene: 1) A throne and one sitting on it, Revelation 4:2b-3a. 2) An emerald…
Donald Trump's position paper makes the case for strong borders: “A nation without borders is not a nation. A nation without laws is not a nation. A nation that does not serve its own citizens is not a nation.” Pat Buchanan calls it an “invasion” and says that the issue…
In a classic 1962 paper, “The Denomination,” David Martin challenged the prevailing idea that a denomination is an “advanced stage in the development of a sect.” As a sect becomes wealthy and well-established, it softens its rigor, becomes more tolerant and less perfectionist, and eventually settles in comfortably as a…
“This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded that you do, that the glory of Yahweh may appear to you,” Moses tells the assembled Israelites (Leviticus 9:6). What is that thing we must do to see glory? The following verses answer that question. Aaron comes near to the altar, offers…
My colleague James Jordan likes to say that the tabernacle is made out of hearts. He cites Exodus 25:2: “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; every man whose heart moves him shall raise my contribution.” And Exodus 35:21: “Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone…
In their study of evangelicals and race, Divided by Faith , Michael Emerson and Christian Smith found that white evangelicals attribute American race problems to three causes: “prejudiced individuals,” “other groups - usually African Americans - trying to make race problems a group issue when there is nothing more than…
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