Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
My copy of Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1976: not so new, really) defines obscene as (1) "disgusting to the senses; repulsive" and (2) "abhorrent to morality or virtue; specif: designed to incite lust or depravity." Definitions such as this serve a useful purpose only when there is agreement on what…
An Overview Here begins a series of studies in the Abomination of Desolation, or Desolating Sacrilege. This month and next I shall set out an overview of what I regard as the best interpretation of the phenomenon. Later essays will look at it in more detail. (The original form of…
29. There are three things that are stately in their march, Even four that are stately when they walk: 30. The lion is mighty among beasts And does not turn back before any, 31. The strutting cock, The male goat, And a king with his army around him. 32. If…
We have seen that it is likely that the Artaxerxes of Ezra-Nehemiah is the same as Darius the Great. If this solution be correct, and I think it is, possibly there is another problem in Ezra that can be resolved by it. In Ezra 4:6 we are told that "in…
Czech novelist Milan Kundera, though hardly a household name in the English-speaking world, has achieved a certain notoriety in America in recent years, largely on the strength of the English translation and film version of his novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. 1 The Unbearable Lightness of Being — the…
24. Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise; 25. The ants are not a strong folk, But they prepare their food in the summer; 26. The coneys are not a mighty folk, Yet they make their houses in the rocks; 27. The locusts have no…
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Jim Jordan once again stole the show during our Pentecost Term course a few weeks ago. He’s still recovering from his strokes, moves slowly, gets tired easily, shakes when he stands too long – and he’s still the most stimulating teacher anywhere. Jim devoted several lectures to explaining how women…
David Bentley Hart has some very wise things to say about tradition and traditionalism in the opening section of his new Tradition and Apocalypse . The concept of tradition formulated in John Henry Newman’s 1845 Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine and updated by Maurice Blondel’s 1904 History and…
The following was originally published in 2013 at FirstThings.com . When Israel’s prophets predict the future coming of the Spirit, their next thought is almost always about the renewal of creation. According to Joel, the Spirit’s coming will turn Israel into Big Rock Candy Mountain”wine tricklin’ down the mountains, a…
I liked Sohrab Ahmari’s The Unbroken Thread more than I expected to. The subtitle refers to “the wisdom of tradition,” and I expected a book pointing to generic “tradition,” drawn from classical, Christian, and other sources, as our social Savior. We need to renounce that kind of Messianism as strenuously…
With the looming prospect that Roe v. Wade will be overturned, the old charge that Christians favor "theocracy" has, predictably, bubbled to the surface. Just as predictably, Christians repudiate the charge . This 2018 essay from FirstThings.com is once again (or still) relevant . Ever since the Religious Right burst…
Genesis 16 records the story of Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid, who bears Abram’s son, Ishmael. A number of scholars say this chapter is the center, or near the center, of the Abrahamic narrative (Genesis 12-25). That’s very odd. Hagar is never mentioned before chapter 16, but suddenly takes center stage. Her…
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