Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I thought it might be good to put this up here, since it is 14 years old, and itself reflects earlier discussion. From this you can see that we at BH have been considering this notion for quite some time. Clearly, the last word has not been said. — James…
Hopefully, my commentary on James will be out later this year. But here are a few chiasms for your consideration. I think the James 5 chiasm orginally came from Doug Jordan. The entire book of James is focused on how the pastors and leaders (“brothers”) of the church use their…
In my first post I noted that the parables of Jesus were not simply illustrative stories. They are really nothing like the kind of simple, homely illustrations that preachers often use to explain difficult concepts to their congregations. Just to be clear: there’s nothing wrong with illustrating one’s sermonic statements.…
Ephesians is often treated as a pure type example of the Pauline method that “the indicative preceds the imperative.” But what Paul does first is pray . Simply reading verse 3 and following involves readers in a prayer of thanksgiving to God–and much more so for those listening to the…
Yesterday, I took part with my oldest son in a church-sponsored city outreach project (not because I’m especially prone to such behavior but because my son has a Boy Scout requirement that this would help him meet). Before we were sent out on our various jobs, the leader gave a…
There is a scene in Prince Caspian , the second in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia that helps explain why it is we have four Gospels, that is four accounts of the Good News of Jesus Christ—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is the account of Lucy’s longed-for experience…
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T urkey's Muslims have used the failed coup attempt last month as an excuse to attack churches. According to a report by Marco Giannengeli in the Express , on the night of the coup “Muslim Sunnis, whipped up to a frenzy, targeted Turkey’s Christian community. In Matalya, a sprawling city…
R achel Aviv's New Yorker profile of philosopher Martha Nussbaum was shadowed by irony. Entitled “The Philosopher of Feelings,” the article described Nussbaum's work on the philosophy of emotions and her advocacy of human vulnerability. Philosophy itself can provide a protective shield against luck or unluck, and she has studied…
E veryone acknowledges that economic growth has stagnated for the past half-century by comparison with the previous century. Robert Gordon ( Rise and Fall of American Growth ) argues that the stagnation is more or less permanent, and the growth of the world economy between 1870 and 1970 is unrepeatable.…
A ccording to the Protestant doctrine of imputation, Christ’s righteousness is reckoned as righteousness to those who believe. Typically, this creates a double identity: Though we are in ourselves guilty sinners, God sees us in Christ, and therefore regards us and treats us as righteous. It is often objected that…
T he title of Francois Mauriac's 1932 novel, Vipers' Tangle (French, Le Nœud de vipères , The Knot of Vipers ) evokes Jesus' assault on the Pharisees as a “brood of vipers,” spawn of the serpent. It's a fitting allusion, since the novel, mostly an autobiographical epistle written by the…
D avid meets Goliath with a stick, a sling and five stones. We're told that the stones are “smooth” and that he took them from the brook (1 Samuel 17:40). Why are we told this? When Israel first entered the land, they set stones in the midst of the Jordan…
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