Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The preceding essay has caused me to consider the possibility that the life of Abraham as recounted in Genesis contains a typological prophecy of the history of Israel; that is, that the events in Abraham’s life broadly anticipate events in Israel’s history. This kind of pattern is seen in the…
by: Jeff Meyers and James Jordan In the fifth chapter of John’s gospel we read of a man who had been ill for 38 years and who was lying by a pool located by the Sheep Gate of Jerusalem. This sheep waited, as did many other infirm people, for an…
What had been reduced to ruin by this sex, would by the selfsame sex be recovered to salvation. As Eve believed the serpent, so Mary believed the angel. The delinquency which the one occasioned by believing, the other by believing effaced. —Tertullian What is Paul saying about women and salvation…
Back in Biblical Horizons 132 I discussed the horrible abuse of the converted men of Salem/Shechem in Genesis 34. These Hivites had joined the covenant by circumcision and then were slaughtered by Simeon and Levi. That, however, is not the end of their story. In Joshua 9 we find the…
Genesis 14:14 says that Abram mustered his trained men, “born in his house,” to rescue Lot, and gives their number as 318. It is clear that the precise number is provided for some reason, but what is it? S. Gevirtz notes that 318 is the sum of all the prime…
Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. (John 21:11) This is one of those texts in the Bible that many people puzzle over. It is not a puzzle…
Showing page 241 of 309
Showing page 41 of 43
Mary appears twice in John's Gospel. She is at the wedding of Cana, where Jesus does His first sign and first reveals His glory. She reappears at the foot of the cross (John 19), at the hour of Jesus. As Max Thurian points out ( Mary, Mother of All Christians…
This summary of Wright’s views on justification is taken from passages in his 2006 Paul in Fresh Perspective . 1) Covenant and apocalyptic . Unlike some contemporary scholars, Wright insists that covenant and apocalyptic are not opposed to one another, but joined in Paul’s teaching. By “covenant,” he means God’s…
Max Thurian ( Mary, Mother of All Christians ) has a wonderful treatment of Mary's role at the wedding feast at Cana. He starts by noting some of the symbolic dimensions of the event. The wedding takes place on "the third day," initiating a theme that runs through the rest…
Sex is a mystery. Sex is a mystery because masculinity and femininity are elusive qualities. Sexual desire is a mystery, so spontaneous and powerful that we might almost forgive ancient pagans for thinking of sex as a goddess, a divine power. Sexual intercourse is a mystery of mutual indwelling that…
Douglas Axe ( Undeniable ) is out to defend our intuition that something as intricate as a living things must have a designer. One of his tactics is to prick the bubble of scientific pretension. We don't know nearly as much as we pretend we know. For instance: “the giant…
Writing at USA Today , W. Bradford Wilcox sums up his and others' research on children born into or growing up in a home with unmarried parents: "Cohabiting families in America, partly because they are characterized by markedly lower levels of commitment, are also characterized by markedly higher levels of…
Showing page 79 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
