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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Some reviewers of Michael Lewis’s The Blind Side have complained about the “paternalism” of the Tuohy family who brought Michael Oher into their orbit. Well, tu quoque . Is it just possible that some lost kids, even lost black kids, might actually need a pater ?
Mary Douglas has died. She began her career as a cultural anthropologist, writing seminal works on purity, symbols, food, social organization, and other topics. She collaborated with Aaron Wildavsky on a book on risk. But perhaps her greatest contribution has been to theology and biblical studies. Her work exploring the…
According to Tina Cassidy’s recent Birth: A History , birth has been (in the words of the TLS reviewer) a “ripe terrain for fads” and “oftne a vigilante affair.” Not all the fads have been New Ageish; some have been scientific. The reviewer summarizes: “after the move from midwives to…
Christians find an anchor for life in historical events, centrally in the cross and resurrection of Jesus. We are not the only ones. For some, the Holocaust becomes the key to understanding all subsequent history. For others, the Spanish Civil War. For others, the founding of the US, or the…
Reader Angie Brennan writes: Regarding “Prayer and the Lusty Body” . . . I’m not sure I agree with Tyndale that true prayer necessarily gives comfort to the soul—and it certainly isn’t always easy on the body. Prayers offered in the midst of great anguish or despair can be quite…
Defending the prayer book, Hooker cleverly turns the charge of papist back on the non-conformists. According to Targoff’s summary, “By depicting the use of sermons to distribute God’s word as an act of scriptural hoarding, Hooker aims to reverse the ‘papist’ label directed against the church for its seemingly Catholic…
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