Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Summary In what follows, I will consider the “year-stamps” employed in Scripture, i.e., statements of the form, “Such-and-such an event took place in the Xth year of Y.” In the process, I will suggest some ways in which the Biblical narrative might relate to events in the extra-Biblical world, though…
In the first essay on the parable of the Prodigal Son, I suggested that the problems commentators and others encounter in interpreting Jesus three-part parable are not accidental. These are not just problems in our ignorance of cultural background. They are intentional features of the stories —stories designed to poke…
The story of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most well-known story in the Bible. As others have observed, it may also be one of the most misunderstood. In two short essays, I will point out features of this story that are commonly neglected, aspects of Jesus’ parable that might…
The parable of Lazarus and the nameless rich man is not an independent story. It is part of a long context that begins in Luke 15:1, where Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners and the scribes and Pharisees grumble. In response to their hardheartedness, Jesus tells a three-part…
The Bible is written so that even when a reader cannot pick up on what might be deeper or more detailed aspects of a text, there is virtually always a message to be heard. In the ancient world, where the “reader” of Scripture would likely be a church official facing…
The distinction between garden (or vineyard) and field begins in Genesis 2. This relates to the ordering of the formless world. Plants of the field are contrasted with the garden planted by God in Genesis 2:5&8. Later on, under the Old Covenant the Israelites will be required to keep their…
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Random and inconclusive notes on 2 Kings 4:8ff. 1) The woman at Shunem has a husband, in contrast to the woman at the beginning of the story who was a widow. Both, though, need Elisha as a ?father?Ewho will give birth to/save their children. 2) The Shunammite speaks of Elisha…
The story of the widow and her sons moves from death to life: the dead man of verse 1 is exchanged for the ?live on the remainder?Ein verse 7. The story is also a Passover: Children are saved from slavery, and they are saved by being locked into a house…
Since I posted a lengthy summary of David Hart’s sharp critique of Robert Jenson, it’s only fair to note that Jenson disputes Hart’s account of his theology. In a review in Pro Ecclesia, Jenson claims that Hart “seriously misrepresents me,” though he adds that they have “anyway come to a…
Aquinas de malo, Question 3, article 1: Does God cause sin? One can be a ?cause of sin?Ein two ways, first by sinning and second by causing another to sin. God does not cause sin in either sense. Regarding the first: Thomas describes sin as a failure to attain an…
My favorite line from Eudora Welty’s short story, “Why I live at the P.O.”: “Papa-Daddy’s Mama’s papa and sulks.”
The London Times Online reported on May 29 on a new proposal regarding gay clergy in the Church of England: “Homosexual priests in the Church of England will be allowed to ‘marry’ their boyfriends under a proposal drawn up by senior bishops, led by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury.…
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