Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Misunderstanding “Galatianism” has caused several problems in the Reformed church. Because circumcision is at issue in the Galatian epistle, some have fallen into thinking that ritual per se, rather than anything uniquely Mosaic or Jewish, is the object of Paul’s critique. Likewise, his polemic against “works of the law” is…
Many texts in the NT become more perspicuous if we keep in mind the possibility — and indeed ubiquity — of Gentile God-fearers in the Old Covenant. After the special covenant with Israel is set up, Gentiles are not altogether excluded from the hope of salvation. Israel’s special status in…
I was once trying to get a sermon out of Ephesians 1.12-14 and it seemed obvious that I should look for two parallel statements both ending with the phrase, “to the praise of his glory.” Paul here begins talking about two groups of people (“you” and “we”), and he later…
WHY A DENOMINATION WITH SOUTHERN PRESBYTERIAN ROOTS SHOULD CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE “NEW PERSPECTIVE ON PAUL” In my denomination, the PCA, we are continually haunted by the sins of our racist Southern past. It has become an annual rite at General Assembly for the issue to be addressed one way or…
Recent debates over whether or not, “justification is central” to Paul’s theology have reminded me of a sermon I once heard by a Presbyterian seminary student. This African American student challenged his audience on the sin of racism and the ways it might manifest itself among us. Like any good…
In Charles Hodge’s 1853 article, “Idea of the Church,” his stated aim is to analyze the idea of the Church proposed in the Apostles’ Creed, in which, “the Church is declared to be “the Communion of the Saints.” He writes: The conception of the Church as the communion of saints…
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Isaiah 35:1 says that the wilderness will be glad. This could be a simple personification of a wilderness blossoming and coming to fertility. But in context, the passage is talking about the return from exile. Perhaps the wilderness is the desolated land of Israel, which rejoices at Yahweh’s return and…
Augustine distinguishes natural and given signs. The first signify with no intention of signifying, while the latter signify because a person has an intention to signify. The distinction, at least in part, is a distinction of will. Peirce’s typology of icon, sign, and symbol depends on a different criterion. Peirce…
Why did Yahweh determine that Judah had to be punished after the reign of Manasseh? Other kings of Judah, beginning with Solomon, had promoted idolatries of various sorts. Manasseh was uniquely evil, but there is another factor. Throughout 1-2 Kings, the narrator reports that the Kings of Israel followed the…
There is a recurring pattern in Kings, one that matches the structure of embedded narratives I’ve discussed in a forthcoming article in the Tyndale Bulletin: Solomon builds and dedicates the temple, 1 Ki 6-9 Lord appears to Solomon, warning about proper use of temple, 1 Ki 9 Son’s kingdom divided,…
Masaru Emoto. The Hidden Messages of Water. Hillsboro, Oregon: Beyond Worlds Publishing, 2004. 157 p. Convinced that Hamlet was entirely correct that there is more in heaven and earth than philosophy (or theology) dreams, I am, out of principle, more credulous than most, but even I am a skeptic about…
Psalm 120:7: “I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.” We have seen in the sermon today that the church is an army, and our service to God and His kingdom is militant, as we deploy the weapons of righteousness, faith, salvation, the Word of God…
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