Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In the first post of this series, I proposed that the sacraments of baptism and communion are the nexus point for the evangelical and ecumenical movements. In the following post , I proposed a new orientation for ecumenism – a conciliarity of the cross – with the necessary confession of…
“Contextualization” is now, and has been for a long time, the buzzword for the day. 1 Missionary effort in non-Western countries is all about “contextualization” — making our communication of the Gospel, if not the Gospel itself, fit into the culture to whom we from the West speak. 2 There…
In my previous post , I highlighted the sacraments as the point of convergence between evangelicalism and ecumenism arguing that baptism and communion are presented in the New Testament as signs of the gospel that simultaneously enact and remember union with Christ and the unity of Christ’s body. I concluded…
Click HERE for Part I of this series. What does baptism have to do with culture? As I said in the previous essay, the short answer is “everything!” To begin with, baptism is baptism into Jesus’ death (Romans 6:3). Paul explains this as the crucifixion of the “old man” (“old…
In the accounts of our Lord’s nativity and early childhood, so familiar to us from many years of Advent and Christmas services, we often fail to recognize in them the gentle intimations of a greater nativity that is yet to come. The attentive ear, however, can discover in these passages…
Isaiah warns that Yahweh is coming to remove Judah’s leaders in every area of social, economic and political life so completely that there will be no one left to lead besides children (3:4) and women (v. 12). As Isaiah goes on, however, it becomes clear that the women of Judah…
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Below are some notes for a talk I’m giving at the University of Idaho campus tomorrow evening (September 17). Apologies for the formatting. There’s some material here that is relevant only to the local situation, but the general thrust would be relevant to any Christians in a university town or…
A Great Prophet, Luke 7:1-50 INTRODUCTION The previous section of Luke’s gospel (5:1-6:11) began with a call to disciples and ended with the Pharisees seeking ways to destroy Jesus. This section (6:12-7:50) begins with the appointment of apostles and ends with all the people in the Pharisee’s house questioning Jesus’…
I have long considered the debate of infra and supralapsarianism a classic example of the excesses of Reformed orthodoxy and scholasticism. I still like Bavinck’s even-handed treatment of the issues in his Doctrine of God . But I have to confess I’ve been thinking lately more as a supralapsarian than…
Here’s a fun thought experiment from David Wootton’s review of J.C.D. Clark’s book, Our Shadowed Present . Clark puts forward this theory in earnest. In 1688, James II fled England to escape the advancing army of William of Orange; had he stood his ground, he would never, Clark believes, have…
I’m wondering about the sexual imagery in the incident with the “sinful woman” in Luke 7:36-50. Her attention is devoted completely to Jesus’ “feet,” which is often euphemistic for sexual organs. When the text says that she kissed Jesus’ feet, it means she kissed his feet, but the sexual imagery…
Here are some gleanings from a Sunday evening of periodical catching-up: 1) Christopher Hitchens offers a blistering assessment of JFK in his TLS review of Robert Dallek’s biography, An Unfinished Life . Hitchens focuses especially on JFK’s medical history, summarizing this way: anyone scanning this or several other similar accounts…
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