Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Summary In what follows, I will consider the “year-stamps” employed in Scripture, i.e., statements of the form, “Such-and-such an event took place in the Xth year of Y.” In the process, I will suggest some ways in which the Biblical narrative might relate to events in the extra-Biblical world, though…
In the first essay on the parable of the Prodigal Son, I suggested that the problems commentators and others encounter in interpreting Jesus three-part parable are not accidental. These are not just problems in our ignorance of cultural background. They are intentional features of the stories —stories designed to poke…
The story of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most well-known story in the Bible. As others have observed, it may also be one of the most misunderstood. In two short essays, I will point out features of this story that are commonly neglected, aspects of Jesus’ parable that might…
The parable of Lazarus and the nameless rich man is not an independent story. It is part of a long context that begins in Luke 15:1, where Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners and the scribes and Pharisees grumble. In response to their hardheartedness, Jesus tells a three-part…
The Bible is written so that even when a reader cannot pick up on what might be deeper or more detailed aspects of a text, there is virtually always a message to be heard. In the ancient world, where the “reader” of Scripture would likely be a church official facing…
The distinction between garden (or vineyard) and field begins in Genesis 2. This relates to the ordering of the formless world. Plants of the field are contrasted with the garden planted by God in Genesis 2:5&8. Later on, under the Old Covenant the Israelites will be required to keep their…
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The journals of Alexander Schmemann were published in 2000 by St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, and they are simply mesmerizing. The same rich voice ?Ethe same rich soul ?Ethat is evident in Schmemann’s classic published works shines through in these journals. His semi-“outsider” status as an Orthodox Christian in a Protestant…
The journals of Alexander Schmemann were published in 2000 by St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, and they are simply mesmerizing. The same rich voice ?Ethe same rich soul ?Ethat is evident in Schmemann’s classic published works shines through in these journals. His semi-“outsider” status as an Orthodox Christian in a Protestant…
Communion meditation for November 30: We’ve seen in the sermon this morning that the incarnation calls attention to the kind of God we worship and serve. He is not a God who stands aloof and withdrawn when we suffer. Even in the OT, we see that Yahweh is a God…
Exhortation for November 30: Today is the first Sunday in the traditional church season of Advent. Advent means “coming,” and this season is one of preparation for the celebration of the “coming” of God at Christmas. There are four Sundays in Advent, and the readings and prayers of this season…
In the December 2003 issue of First Things , David B. Hart has an interesting review of the work of Maurice Cowling. Cowling, as hard right as they come in Britain, is also a Christian historian, whose magnum opus traces the decay of Christian culture in Britain. Interestingly, Hart points…
Sarah Coakley’s article from a symposium on the incarnation (published by Oxford) analyzes the work of Richard Norris on the Chalcedonian settlement. She finds fault with some of Norris’s historical anlaysis (she sees him importing post-liberal obsessions into his interpretations of the historical evidence, and quite nicely defends the notion…
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