Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Why was Jesus Christ conceived in a virgin? The great Augustine, who never shrank from seeking to answer such questions, provided an explanation in his treatise On the Trinity (13.18.23). Though it was, Augustine believed, possible in marriage to "make a right use of the carnal concupiscence which is in…
And Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and became the father of Shelah . . . And Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber . . . and Eber lived thirty-four years and became the father of Peleg . . . and Peleg lived thirty years, and became the…
Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words Lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar. Proverbs 30:5-6 We come now to Proverbs 30:5-6. The Sojourner (Agur) has already told us that he…
Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, `How have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be…
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) was one of the most remarkable women of the 20th century. A devout Christian, she was the master teacher of composition at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France. She taught music and composition to two generations of students, and is regarded as one of the most influential…
When Ronald Reagan was elected to office in 1980, Christians were hopeful that there would be a real change in our national affairs. Reagan was known to be strongly anti-abortion — he even wrote a book against it. He was a fiscal conservative. He believed in Biblical morality. He was…
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John (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3) and Jesus (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15) come preaching repentance. Over time, though, it becomes clear that the Jews are not repenting, and Jesus begins to denounce the cities that don't respond to His message of repentance (Matthew 11:20-21; 12:41; Luke 10:13; 11:32). Jesus' lurid predictions…
It was not uncommon in the early 19th century for blacks and whites to worship together. As Niebuhr observes, they “did not enjoy complete fellowship” and there was certainly not equality between them, yet “they participated in the same services and were members of the same denominations. . . .…
“Denominational pluralism, on the American plan,” wrote Will Herberg, “means thoroughgoing secularization” (36). By “secularization,” Herberg meant a gap between “conventional” and “operational” religion. Conventional religion is that practiced by religious adherents - Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists. Operational religion is the set of beliefs, rituals, and values that shapes…
After the third angel turns the rivers and springs to blood by pouring the passion of God into them, the “angel of the waters” praises the righteous judgment of God (Revelation 16:5-7). His speech of praise is chiastically arranged, with a modification: A. I heard the angel of waters saying…
Timothy L. Smith offers a vivid portrait of the “loneliness and danger,” as well as the fragmentation of traditional social networks, that the earliest American settlers had to face (contribution to Denominationalism , 50-1): “Gone was the material heritage of the European village - the cottages and garden plots, the…
H. Richard Niebuhr is altogether too much the sociologist. He displays the habit of peering past theological debates to the “roots” of conflict and division in the church, roots that always turn out to be fundamentally social roots. As Milbank stressed, this sort of sociology turns “society” into an explanatory…
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