Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Continuing through The Worship of the English Puritans by Horton Davies: The author gives some of his own appraisals rather than immediately quoting Durel, even though that is how he began his chapter. In Davies’ opinion, while the Puritans would invoke their own interpretation of Scripture in order to condemn,…
What follows are from a couple of posts on my blog. I hoped to do a series. If I do follow up, I will probably want to do it here on the BH blog rather than my own. Feedback welcome: It is no secret that some have been scathingly critical…
Jeremy Sexton wrote this in an earlier line of discussion: “Along those lines, I think what we most often miss in our theology of baptism (though Calvin didn’t miss this) is that Christian baptism — if it “is” anything that came before — is Jesus’ water baptism. In our baptism,…
Jeff pointed out that baptism is not Christian circumcision . Looking at the comments, I think it might be helpful to point out that Israel was not the Church . In the new creation, the idea of an “unbaptized Christian” is either very temporary or an anomaly. Those who came…
Once a upon a time, one Sunday morning, a pastor mounted his pulpit for the sermon and said the following: A troubled young man walked into a downtown high-rise building. As he approached the directory on the wall, he took out a small booklet and looked back and forth from…
If you are, say, leading a Bible study in Genesis, you might notice that right after the covenant is renewed and circumcision is established (ch 17) that we see Abraham eating and drinking with God (ch 18). After that meal, God makes a point of saying the he should share…
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B ach's Cantata 80 is an elaboration of Luther's “Ein Feste Burg.” The second movement of the Cantata is a duet of soprano and bass, the former singing the second verse of Luther's hymn while the bass sings an embellishment promising the victory of God. The bass part begins and…
A ccording to 2 Chronicles 23:11, the people put a “crown” on the head of seven-year-old Joash, the Davidic scion who represents the restoration of the Davidic kingdom after an interregnum. The noun for “crown” ( nezer ) is an unusual one. As William Johnstone points out ( 1 &…
T he Economist reports on the racial gap in American infant mortality rates: “Black babies born in America are more than twice as likely as white ones to die before their first birthdays.” For some time, “infant mortality has generally declined at a faster rate for blacks than whites, leading…
The TLS “Poem of the Week” was James Fenton's “God, a Poem.” It opens with this complaint to God: A nasty surprise in a sandwich, A drawing-pin caught in your sock, The limpest of shakes from a hand which You’d thought would be firm as a rock, A serious mistake…
I n his contribution to Joy and Human Flourishing , Jurgen Moltmann observes that modern theories of religion trace it to “misfortune.” Marx is representative: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature.” Religion must be useful, must meet a need, “because everything in the modern world must be necessary;…
R obert Solomon argues ( The Joy of Philosophy ) that “Vengeance is the original passion for justice. The word ‘justice' in the Old Testament virtually always refers to revenge.” This isn't isolated or primitive: “throughout most of history the concept of justice has been far more concerned with the…
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