Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Gambling The Bible nowhere condemns gambling, and so we need to be careful in our assessment of it. Let me begin by making a strong case against gambling. Then I will surprise most readers by pointing out that gambling may not always be sinful. The reader should bear in mind…
Tim Powers, The Stress of Her Regard (Ace Books, 1991). Reviewed by Jeffrey Meyers. Tim Power’s latest novel is now available in paperback. The story is set in early nineteenth century England and Italy, in the world of the poets John Keats, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron. Michael Crawford, a…
A close supporter of Biblical Horizons asks whether it is proper and wise to get involved in all the boycotts that Christians are being asked to observe today. She raises the point that Paul’s advice about eating meat sacrificed to idols seems relevant to the discussion. I think she is…
Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord in the fourth year of his reign, which was 480 years after Israel came out of Egypt, the year A.M. 2993 (1 Kings 6:1). Seven years later, in the year A.M. 3000, the Temple building was finished (1 Kings 6:38). The…
Several months back, a candidate for ordination was being examined for entrance into the Presbytery of which I am a member. The candidate had a good deal of trouble with the exam on the sacraments, stumbling badly as he tried to define the "nature of the sacrament." Apparently in an…
Exploring the influence of televangelism on American religion in his book, The Struggle for America’s Soul , Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow presents a typical, though hypothetical, case study: Mabel Miller. Mabel lives alone, thousands of miles from her family. She grew up in a Baptist Church, but now, approaching 65,…
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There’s some intriguing cross-fertilization going on between the two sabbath healings in Luke 13-14. In 13, Jesus heals the woman who has been bent double for 18 years, and in ch 14 Jesus heals a man with dropsy. In both, the healing is scrutinized critically by the Pharisees, and Jesus…
Another insight from Sourvinou-Inwood: After offering a reconstruction of the development of tragedy from the hymns of the TRAGODOI through “prototragedy” (which introduced mimetic elements), she gives a brief review of the development of comedy. At the end, she contrasts the two both as regards their ritual contexts and their…
Discussing the religious origins of Athenian tragedy in her recent Tragedy and Athenian Religion , Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood first examines the early forms of the festival of the City Dionysia. She points out that “tragedy” comes from tragos , a male goat, and that the first hints of tragedy arise in…
Also in the Nov 2003 IJST is the first installment of Robert Jenson’s Maurice Lectures (University of London), entitled “Christ as Culture.” Among other things, Jenson criticizes HR Niebuhr’s framing of the issue as “Christ and culture” by noting that “Christ” (Messiah) is meaningful within an already-existing culture, that of…
Nicholas Healy has a useful article on the notion of “practice” in recent ecclesiology in the Nov 2003 issue of the International Journal of Systematic Theology . He begins by distinguishing two trends within recent ecclesiology, both of which focus on the church’s practices. The first, which he associates with…
Nicholas Healy has a useful article on the notion of “practice” in recent ecclesiology in the Nov 2003 issue of the International Journal of Systematic Theology . He begins by distinguishing two trends within recent ecclesiology, both of which focus on the church’s practices. The first, which he associates with…
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