Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
1 Kings 17, which abruptly introduces Elijah into the history of the northern kingdom, is a carefully constructed literary unit. In its basic structure, it follows a clear exodus-return pattern. Like Jacob and his sons, Elijah was driven out of the land by a famine (vv. 1-4). In exile, Elijah…
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and they were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is…
In the year 3119, Ahaziah of Judah and Jehoram of Israel were both slain by Jehu as he carried out his God-appointed task of eliminating the seed and house of Ahab (2 Kings 9:13-33). Since the kings of Israel are usually counted as beginning their reign in the same year…
One of the most important developments in Biblical studies in recent years has been a movement of scholars devoted to studying the literary techniques of the Biblical writers. Tremper Longman, III of Westminster Theological Seminary has treated this movement from a Reformed perspective in his Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation…
And because [Paul] was of the same trade, he stayed with [Aquila and Priscilla] and they were working; for by trade they were tentmakers (Acts 18:3). The fact that Paul was by trade a tentmaker has usually been taken as the springboard for a discussion of whether pastors should have…
I pointed out in Chronologies and Kings Part 9 that the years of Judah’s kings are given in chronological fashion. "When we read of a Judahite king’s reign as lasting 4 years, it means that 4 years of the chronology have been given to him, and there is no chronological…
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Barth ( CD 4.1) attacks the notion that the incarnation is a “contradiction” or “paradox” or “rift” in God on two bases. First, he argues that there cannot be any contradiction in God; God is a God peace, not of confusion. Second, he argues that we only draw this conclusion…
Michael Root raised some pointed questions about Milbank’s views on gift. The most cogent criticism was about Milbank’s view of the atonement, in which he argued that there is no “Godward” move in the atonement for Milbank. Milbank explicitly rejects sacrificial notions of atonement, and by Root’s assessment ends up…
Sylvia Keesmaat’s paper was uneven, beginning with some suggestive observations on Philippians 2 and then descending into self-contradiction. First, the good stuff: She suggested that the Christic “hymn” in Philippians 2 is not merely contrasting Jesus and Adam, but Jesus and the emperor. Jesus attains to imperial status, but does…
Richard Hays presented an SBL paper disputing with Frances Watson’s view that the gospel preached by Paul cannot be narrated. According to Hays, Watson’s main concern is that the story of the gospel will be immanentized and become a story of human self-salvation instead of a story of God’s salvation…
God in Flesh, John 1:1-18 INTRODUCTION Many Christians puzzle over the incarnation, the fact that the Son of God took on human flesh. But most of the difficulties come from trying to think about the incarnation using categories from outside the Bible. We think about the incarnation as if the…
One would not think Rosemary Reuther would have much in common with the John Birch Society. During an SBL seminar, though, she said “One of the first things we have to recognize is that we have been taken over.” I’m going to send the JBS her address, since she seems…
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