Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
1 Kings 17, which abruptly introduces Elijah into the history of the northern kingdom, is a carefully constructed literary unit. In its basic structure, it follows a clear exodus-return pattern. Like Jacob and his sons, Elijah was driven out of the land by a famine (vv. 1-4). In exile, Elijah…
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and they were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is…
In the year 3119, Ahaziah of Judah and Jehoram of Israel were both slain by Jehu as he carried out his God-appointed task of eliminating the seed and house of Ahab (2 Kings 9:13-33). Since the kings of Israel are usually counted as beginning their reign in the same year…
One of the most important developments in Biblical studies in recent years has been a movement of scholars devoted to studying the literary techniques of the Biblical writers. Tremper Longman, III of Westminster Theological Seminary has treated this movement from a Reformed perspective in his Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation…
And because [Paul] was of the same trade, he stayed with [Aquila and Priscilla] and they were working; for by trade they were tentmakers (Acts 18:3). The fact that Paul was by trade a tentmaker has usually been taken as the springboard for a discussion of whether pastors should have…
I pointed out in Chronologies and Kings Part 9 that the years of Judah’s kings are given in chronological fashion. "When we read of a Judahite king’s reign as lasting 4 years, it means that 4 years of the chronology have been given to him, and there is no chronological…
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Some reviewers of Michael Lewis’s The Blind Side have complained about the “paternalism” of the Tuohy family who brought Michael Oher into their orbit. Well, tu quoque . Is it just possible that some lost kids, even lost black kids, might actually need a pater ?
Mary Douglas has died. She began her career as a cultural anthropologist, writing seminal works on purity, symbols, food, social organization, and other topics. She collaborated with Aaron Wildavsky on a book on risk. But perhaps her greatest contribution has been to theology and biblical studies. Her work exploring the…
According to Tina Cassidy’s recent Birth: A History , birth has been (in the words of the TLS reviewer) a “ripe terrain for fads” and “oftne a vigilante affair.” Not all the fads have been New Ageish; some have been scientific. The reviewer summarizes: “after the move from midwives to…
Christians find an anchor for life in historical events, centrally in the cross and resurrection of Jesus. We are not the only ones. For some, the Holocaust becomes the key to understanding all subsequent history. For others, the Spanish Civil War. For others, the founding of the US, or the…
Reader Angie Brennan writes: Regarding “Prayer and the Lusty Body” . . . I’m not sure I agree with Tyndale that true prayer necessarily gives comfort to the soul—and it certainly isn’t always easy on the body. Prayers offered in the midst of great anguish or despair can be quite…
Defending the prayer book, Hooker cleverly turns the charge of papist back on the non-conformists. According to Targoff’s summary, “By depicting the use of sermons to distribute God’s word as an act of scriptural hoarding, Hooker aims to reverse the ‘papist’ label directed against the church for its seemingly Catholic…
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