Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Paul writes to Jews, “You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” (Romans 2:22b) The English translation “rob temples” makes readers think of pagan temples. There was only one Temple for Israel, so robbing more than one would indicate other temples are in view. And if the Jews wanted to…
Two offerings Humanity’s first vocation involves guarding and serving the trees that emerge from the ground (Genesis 2:15). God provides these trees to humanity for food. A serpent appears and tempts the couple to eat from a special forbidden tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Humanity…
At the outset of the Torah (as Christians understand it), a triune God creates the heavens and earth over the course of a seven-day week. Why? What’s the connection between the three and the seven? Could a triune God have created the world over any period of time he chose?…
How relevant to the modern reader are the flying axe head of Deuteronomy 19:5 and the roof parapet of Deuteronomy 22:8? Indeed, how relevant were they to the daily lives of Israelites thirty-five hundred years ago? Suppose that accidental falls from rooftops were exceedingly uncommon in ancient Israel, or that…
1 For most of my life, the standing of the American church as a source of national social and political order was measured by reports from the front of the so-called “culture wars.” 2 Memory brings to mind battles over feminism and the ERA, so-called gay rights, the breakdown of…
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel…’ And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the…
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In a recent book on Roman images, Tonio Holscher notes that Roman artists borrowed from every phase of Greek art because all phases of Greek art were available simultaneously. According to the TLS reviewer of his book (May 12), “In Greece, these styles had evolved over time, from the stiff…
Given the importance of figures like Durkheim, Mauss, and Levi-Strauss in anthropology, it’s surprising to learn that “the French kept anthropology long under the umbrella of sociology, with the first degree in anthropology being awarded in 1968 and the first professional association of anthropologists founded in 1979.” By contrast, “The…
William St Clair (TLS May 12) makes the commonsensical point that a history of ideas requires an accompanying social history of reading, which is a history of the publishing trade: “When we read a book or essay called, say, ‘The Age of Wordsworth,’ should we not be concerned that, in…
In his novel The Seizure of Power , Czeslaw Milocz describes one Polish character’s preparation for life under the Soviets by telling the story of his school experience. At first, Peter wrote and thought for himself; he got bad grades and was the source of endless trouble. One day, he…
Who said this? “What I have said of America applies to almost all the men of our time. Variety is disappearing from the breast of humankind; the same ways of acting, of thinking and of feeling, the same pop songs and fashions, are encountered in all corners of the globe.…
2 Kings 24:4: also for the innocent blood which Manasseh shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and Yahweh would not forgive. Manasseh’s reign, as we saw some weeks ago, was the turning point for Judah. After Manasseh’s idolatries and violence, Yahweh determined to destroy Judah, and no amount…
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