Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The name of Harry Turtledove is well known to readers of fantasy and science fiction. Turtledove is an historian, and most of what he writes is in the "alternative history" genre. A fine collection of short stories, available in paperback, is his Agent of Byzantium . These stories are set…
In answer to a question, the following about the unicorn, a supposed "New Age" symbol: The unicorn, or monoceros (one-horn), was known around the ancient world. Some scholars believe it may have been the one-horned goat that is still bred today. Others think it may have originated in tales of…
3. A Brief Survey of Esther (continued from the previous issue) Haman told the king that "a certain people" were rebellious against him, and that Haman wanted to rid the king of their noxious presence. The king agreed, and the two sat down to a feast. This is the third…
It has become routine in October for some Christian schools to send out letters warning parents about the evils of Halloween, and it has become equally routine for me to be asked questions about this matter. "Halloween" is simply a contraction for All Hallows’ Eve. The word "hallow" means "saint,"…
2. The Setting of the Book of Esther (continued from previous issue) Astyages E. W. Faulstich presents his arguments in his book History, Harmony, The Exile & Return . 1 To understand it, we have to have some background. The Assyrians ruled the near east. Median king Cyaxeres decided to…
In my commentary on Judges, I demonstrated that Jephthah in his Spirit-led vow intended to offer to Yahweh the first person who greeted him from the doors of his house after the battle. Since it was a custom for the young women to come out dancing to greet the returning…
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Between July and October 1936, WH Auden wrote a long, amusing poetic letter to the long-dead Lord Byron. Among other things, Auden catches the poet up on literary trends in the time since his demise, and among these is the triumph of the novel. And in this context he includes…
Amos Yong ( Renewing Christian Theology ) insists that the charismatic gifts exist not to puff up the charismatic Christian but to edify the church and evangelize the world: “The spiritual gifts are bestowed by God upon and exercised by the body of Christ and its members for the common…
John Ciardi ( How Does a Poem Mean? , 113)) imagines a "philosophical captain" giving his men a pre-battle pep talk: "Men of England, here at this brink of battle, let us summon to mind the triumphant image of Saint George the Dragon slayer, and with him ever in our…
Some might have fondly thought that the nuttiness of the universities would stay on campus. It hasn't happened. We all live on campus now, writes Andrew Sullivan . Concern for microaggressions has spread from campus to country: "How else do you explain how the glorious defenestration of horrific perpetrators of…
Robert Frost referred to the "pleasure of taking pains" over poetry. John Ciardi, who quotes this phrase in his How Does a Poem Mean ? , explains that the paradox is only apparent. Poets take pains in their work in the same way that played take pains in the game.…
In Renewing Christian Theology , Amos Yong cautions against understanding the charismata of the New Testament church as “supernatural” gifts “in the modernist sense.” Charismatics too need their nouvelle theologie . He elaborates: “Enlightenment rationalism distinguished what behaved according to natural laws versus what was thought to happen “supernaturally” due…
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