Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I have never heard anyone say that the Bible is impractical, but I have heard people, after an in depth exegesis of a passage, ask for the practical application. Offer a class on childrearing, marriage, finance and the church members flock to it; offer a course on Leviticus, the visions…
Stones External and Internal The modern practice of dismantling the Bible into a shambles of documents authored in response to disparate historical events rather than viewing it as a unified testimony inspired by God is a surefire way to miss what is actually going on in the text. This failure…
King Asa of Judah made a strong start, purging the land of idols, altars, and images, and winning a war against the ginormous Cushite army led by Zerach. It all unraveled in his final years. From his thirty-fifth year to the forty-first year, when his reign came to an end,…
What appears to be Paul’s first recorded statement on justification comes in Acts 13, in a sermon at Pisidian Antioch. It's can serve as a summary of Paul's letter to the Romans, and throws some important light on the themes of that letter. Paul begins his sermon with a quick…
Iago as Tempter The answer to our first question — whether or not Othello is really great tragedy — has already pointed the way to the answer for the second question — Was Othello a noble Moor or a fool? The two questions, of course, are necessarily related. The fall…
When Adam McIntosh was ordained as Pastor of Saint David’s Church (CREC) in Houston on June 11, 2017, it was the culmination of decades of preparation. Adam is the product of two continents and three Christian traditions. Born in Paducah, Kentucky, he lived his early years partly in Jericho, where…
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Paul determined to know nothing but Jesus and the cross. Was that enough? To answer that question, we need to answer another: What is the cross? The cross is the work of the Father, who gave His Son in love for the world; the cross is the work of the…
For decades, our little Biblical Horizons clan has argued that the order of Levitical offerings provides an outline for Christian worship. The order of offerings is: Purification, ascension, and peace. The corresponding order of Christian liturgy is: confession, ascent, and communion. That claim is based on passages where those three…
Recent theologians have argued that creation ex nihilo is suffocating and oppressive. It portrays a distant God who imposes His will on the world, and justifies the hierarchies expressed in patriarchy, empire, and environmental exploitation. At the heart of the critique is a protest of the creation’s absolute dependence on…
Paul concludes his discussion of weak and strong in the church with a benediction: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). God is “God of hope”…
C.J. Labuschagne ( Numerical Secrets of the Bible , 44-48) offers an intriguing numerical-structural analysis of the second half of the tabernacle section of Exodus, Exodus 35-38. Over chapters 35-38, there are seven references to things that Yahweh had earlier commanded Moses to do, phrased in a variety of ways…
Do trees clap their hands at the coming of the Lord? (Isaiah 55:2). Do they really ? We instinctively think not, and quickly classify such passages as literary personifications or anthropomorphic metaphors. Perhaps, writes Mark Harris in an essay in Knowing Creation , we’re too hasty. What’s the alternative? One,…
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