Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Christian tradition has always had an uneasy relationship with the materiality of creation. Dirt, liquid, sex, blood, and bodies—the world and the flesh stand in company with the Devil as two of the three great enemies of the saints. Mundus, caro, et diabolus , as the old Latin saying…
Since the destruction of Jerusalem was an event of earth-shattering covenantal significance, what might be the meaning of the subsequent tragic events at the desert fortress of Masada? In Hebrew, the name Masada means “strong foundation or support,” from a root meaning “to hunt, lie in wait for prey.” Located…
Take a long look at the photo above. To whom is this woman praying? It is hard to tell, isn’t it? Suppose we watch her for a while. We may see her bow low to the floor. Her lips may move, though perhaps it is too low for us to…
Psalm 137 is widely regarded as one of the meanest of the imprecatory psalms. Certainly as we read it it is seems to be a song of pure vengeance. The exiles in Babylon, in grief over the judgment that Babylon has brought upon them, pray for the destruction of that…
Forty men and women came from all over the United States to attend the 2018 Trinity Term course at Theopolis. Pastors, students, teachers, an electrician, a city planner, and others from a variety of denominations spent five days at Beeson Divinity School studying covenant epistemology under the tutelage of philosopher…
Matthew records that Jesus "withdrew" to Galilee to begin His public ministry there after He "heard that John had been delivered up" (Mt. 4:12). Matthew’s typically matter-of-fact style veils the truly remarkable character of Jesus’ withdrawal. Matthew has been presenting Jesus as the Messiah, the Seed of Abraham and Son…
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Walter Kasper's Harvesting the Fruits reports on various bi-lateral ecumenical dialogues between Catholics and other traditions—Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed and Methodist. Kasper doesn't pretend that consensus has been achieved, but his little book summarizes the remarkable results of the past several decades. The fruits are healthy in the main. Catholics and…
The descendants of Levi constitute three sub-tribes in Israel: the Gershonites, the Kohathites, and the Merarites. Each has a specific role to play in the dismantling and re-erection of the wilderness tabernacle. The Gershonites are in charges of the coverings and screens, the Kohathites with the interior furnishings, and the…
In a wide-ranging 1993 review of work in sociology of Religion, Stephen Warner observes that what he calls the “new paradigm” uses economic imagery but isn't defined by economic imagery. Rather, the defining feature is “the idea that disestablishment is the norm” (1053). That is to say, North American pluralism…
Picturing the Apocalypse by Natasha and Anthony O'Hear is a wide-ranging study of artistic depictions of the book of Revelation. The introduction is a brief but well-informed survey of the interpretation and use of the apocalypse. Each chapter focuses on one portion or image of the apocalypse - the Lamb,…
Most studies of the divine warrior theme in the Old Testament are poetic or comparative. Charlie Trimm argues in “YHWH Fights for Them!” that these studies are too limited; brief poems need the enrichment and complexity of longer narrative treatments. His thorough, workmanlike monograph examines the theme in Exodus 1-15.…
John C. Peckham addresses the long-standing question of whether God's love is conditional or unconditional in his recent The Love of God: A Canonical Model . Peckham doesn't think that either is a good summary of the whole biblical picture. He prefers to talk about the “foreconditionality” of God's love,…
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