Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
First John 5.16-17: If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life–to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for…
A few years back I read Lesslie Newbigin’s little book Truth and Authority in Modernity . 1 I was particularly impressed with his argument in chapter 2 “The Mediation of Divine Authority.” Now, maybe this is old hat to many of you, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it…
Baptism is not Christian circumcision. There’s a lot of loose talk to that effect in Presbyterian circles; but it’s not accurate. The old world rite of circumcision was fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Baptism unites us to Christ and therefore makes us participate in the circumcision of…
In recent years I’ve observed a number of Reformed-type churches trying to institute corporate handraising in certain sung parts of worship. This often does not seem to work very well. Some people don’t do it. Some do it half-way. Some do it with one hand. Some dramatically stretch to the…
Most modern scholars recognize that behind Arius’s campaign to differentiate Jesus from God was the Hellenistic theological conviction that the high God cannot suffer. Rowan Williams argues that Arius had the right idea about divine suffering, but the wrong idea of God, which “puts the unavoidable question of what the…
Charismatics have been much maligned for constantly “praising the Lord.” They would say if you hit your finger with a hammer, you should instantly say, “Thank you Jesus that You let me hit my finger…” This of course, as we all know, is stupid. There was once a lady who…
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INTRODUCTION Antony and Cleopatra is set in the 30s BC, during the period of the Second Triumvirate, which consisted of Antony, Octavius Caesar, and Lepidus. It is a story of middle-aged infatuation between the title characters, carried out in the context of a political struggle between Antony and Octavius for…
One Thomas Merriam has a very intriguing article on “Parallel Ironies: Henry VIII (All Is True) and Antony and Cleopatra ” (available in full on his web site ). He argues that the clown’s words to Cleopatra in Act 5 of Shakespeare’s play provide theological commentary on the action. Here…
Some exceprts from Coppelia Kahn’s stimulating feminist study of Shakespeare’s Roman plays [ Roman Shakespeare: Warriors, Wounds and Women (Routledge, 1997)], with appended theological reflections: The word ?suicide?Edoes ?not appear in ancient Latin, but is, rather, an English derivative from Latin compounds?EIn contrast, the Roman lexicon of suicide emphasized rationality…
In Shakespeare’s play, Cleopatra’s outburst against Agrippa (who has suggested that Antony marry Octavia, Caesar’s sister) is remarkable: “That Herod’s head I’ll have” (3.3.5-6). “Herod” cannot be used in the same sentence with “head” without evoking the story of John the Baptist. I’m not sure how this functions in the…
Nigel Cameron, director of a Wilberforce Forum council on biotechnology includes the following in his recent email update: “I gave a presentation at the Experimental Biology conference in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago, where I was surveying the ethical pros and cons of stem cell research. Alongside me were…
Some of the following notes were taken from a longer introduction to Julius Caesar posted on this site some months ago. INTRODUCTION For several generations, Julius Caesar has been a staple of high school English literature, coming from a period when education was rooted in Greek and Roman classics and…
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