Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Paul writes to Jews, “You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” (Romans 2:22b) The English translation “rob temples” makes readers think of pagan temples. There was only one Temple for Israel, so robbing more than one would indicate other temples are in view. And if the Jews wanted to…
Two offerings Humanity’s first vocation involves guarding and serving the trees that emerge from the ground (Genesis 2:15). God provides these trees to humanity for food. A serpent appears and tempts the couple to eat from a special forbidden tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Humanity…
At the outset of the Torah (as Christians understand it), a triune God creates the heavens and earth over the course of a seven-day week. Why? What’s the connection between the three and the seven? Could a triune God have created the world over any period of time he chose?…
How relevant to the modern reader are the flying axe head of Deuteronomy 19:5 and the roof parapet of Deuteronomy 22:8? Indeed, how relevant were they to the daily lives of Israelites thirty-five hundred years ago? Suppose that accidental falls from rooftops were exceedingly uncommon in ancient Israel, or that…
1 For most of my life, the standing of the American church as a source of national social and political order was measured by reports from the front of the so-called “culture wars.” 2 Memory brings to mind battles over feminism and the ERA, so-called gay rights, the breakdown of…
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel…’ And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the…
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This essay was first published in the May 1991 issue of First Things. Though Evangelical Protestants have become more liturgically attuned than they were in 1991, I think the article is still relevant . Exploring the influence of televangelism on American religion in his book The Struggle for America’s Soul…
Paul and Jane Sinclair, protagonists of J.G. Ballard’s 2000 novel Super-Cannes , move from England to the French Riviera to live at a new high-tech business park, Eden-Olympia (!), after Jane’s friend and former lover, Dr. David Greenwood, goes on a killing spree that ends with suicide. Jane, a pediatrician,…
In a discussion of the Ten Words ( Systematic Theology, II ) argues that the "second table" applies to all polities. I have doubts about the "second table" notion, and also about the plausibility of separating the last six words from the first four. Still, Jenson has some penetrating things…
We're delighted to announce that Esther Meek will speak about feasting at the Theopolis Feast on the evening of July 19, 2022 (register here ). In anticipation, I'm re-posting a review of one of her books . At the heart of Esther Lightcap Meek’s splendid Little Manual for Knowing is…
During the second half of the twentieth century, concentrated efforts were made to make the world safer for children, drivers, and vulnerable people. All fifty states passed safety belt laws. Sharp objects were removed from homes and day care facilities. Toys and playgrounds became softer. It worked. Death rates for…
History isn’t added to creation. Creation isn’t a stable backdrop to the action on stage. It’s not as if God first makes an immobile set of things and structures and then kicks them into gear. Quite the opposite. The first thing God speaks into being – the only thing He…
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