Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Hebrews 10:34 There is an old Puritan dictum that goes, “Sit lightly on the world.” George MacDonald places it…
As Genesis unfolds, God chooses a line of promise out of the nations. One by one its offshoots are peeled away as the story zooms in on God’s chosen people, Israel. First, the line of Cain is peeled away as Cain is sent out from the presence of YHWH. Though…
The following article was an address given to Anselm Presbytery (CREC) in the Fall 2024. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray with me. Father of Heavenly Lights and fount of all Wisdom, guide us we pray, by your Word and Spirit,…
At my age, I’ve given up on the fantasy of “keeping up.” Much of my reading is now narrowly focused, research-reading in service of writing projects. If you want bibliography on the ontology of artifacts in Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas (which you don’t), or the purity laws of Leviticus, or…
I have been reading, thinking, and writing about the Internet and its effects upon our identities, communities, polities, and discourses for nearly a copy of decades. In that time, I have encountered no book as perceptive on the subject as Antón Barba-Kay’s A Web of Our Own Making: The Nature…
Identifying the men Paul refers to as “enemies of the cross” in Philippians 3:18 turns out to be relatively difficult. Peter O’Brian speaks of “all kinds of suggestions regarding their identity,” and offers a list of interpretations: “moral libertinists, behavioural materialists, orthodox Jews, lapsed or apostate Christians—because of persecution, Jewish…
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The violent are confined to the seventh circle of Dante’s hell, which is divided among those who commit violence against neighbors, against themselves, and against God. In the second category, those who commit violence against themselves, are not only suicides, but those who have “robbed themselves of life on earth…
Matthew’s genealogy has several gaps. One of them occurs in his list of kings of Judah (vv. 8-9). He lists these: Joram Uzziah (Greek, OZIAS) Jotham Ahaz Hezekiah 2 Kings, by contrasts, lists the following: Jehoram (Joram, married Athaliah) Ahaziah (Athaliah) Joash Amaziah Azariah (Uzziah) Jotham Ahaz Hezekiah One problem…
Davies and Allison point out that Matthew follows the genealogy of Chronicles for the first section of his own genealogy. That is unusual, they say, since Chronicles was not widely used in early Christian writings. But it is an indication that Matthew models his entire gospel on Chronicles - he…
Much of this is indebted to the ICC commentary by WD Davies and Dale Allison. INTRODUCTION For us, lists are boring. But ancient people loved lists, and biblical writers pack lists not only with facts but with theology. Matthew’s list of Jesus’ ancestors contains a summary of redemptive history, a…
Every time God comes to Israel, He is rejected. He gives the law, but Israel does not want this Moses to be king and judge over them. He conquers the land, but Israel doesn’t fills the land with shrines to other gods. He is their king, but they reject Him…
Matthew 1:1: The Book of the Genesis of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. We’ve concentrated this morning on the first two words of Matthew – the “book of the Genesis.” We’ll pick up the pace as we go, and cover more than two words next…
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