Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Summary In what follows, I will consider the “year-stamps” employed in Scripture, i.e., statements of the form, “Such-and-such an event took place in the Xth year of Y.” In the process, I will suggest some ways in which the Biblical narrative might relate to events in the extra-Biblical world, though…
In the first essay on the parable of the Prodigal Son, I suggested that the problems commentators and others encounter in interpreting Jesus three-part parable are not accidental. These are not just problems in our ignorance of cultural background. They are intentional features of the stories —stories designed to poke…
The story of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most well-known story in the Bible. As others have observed, it may also be one of the most misunderstood. In two short essays, I will point out features of this story that are commonly neglected, aspects of Jesus’ parable that might…
The parable of Lazarus and the nameless rich man is not an independent story. It is part of a long context that begins in Luke 15:1, where Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners and the scribes and Pharisees grumble. In response to their hardheartedness, Jesus tells a three-part…
The Bible is written so that even when a reader cannot pick up on what might be deeper or more detailed aspects of a text, there is virtually always a message to be heard. In the ancient world, where the “reader” of Scripture would likely be a church official facing…
The distinction between garden (or vineyard) and field begins in Genesis 2. This relates to the ordering of the formless world. Plants of the field are contrasted with the garden planted by God in Genesis 2:5&8. Later on, under the Old Covenant the Israelites will be required to keep their…
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2 John 1, 3: The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth . . . Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. In the sermon, we…
2 John 4: I was glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father. As we saw in the sermon this morning, John addresses this second epistle to a church that he calls the “chosen Lady.” This Lady…
This Wednesday is “Ash Wednesday,” the beginning of the traditional church season of Lent. Lent is a fast season, traditionally set aside as a time of penitence and abstinence, a forty-day period of self-denial and meditation on the cross. How depressing, we might think, to spend forty days every year…
Why did God make horse flies? In 1728, William Byrd of Virginia had a guess: God made horseflies “that men should exercise their wits and industry to guard themselves against them.”
INTRODUCTION The opening verses of Proverbs 17 continue a section begun in 16:31. 16:31 refers to the “crown of glory” of gray hair, and that matches the “crown of old men” and “glory” referred to in 17:6. These verses form a frame around the section and set up the themes…
Elsewhere on the Web, a number of people have taken issue, vigorous issue, with a few posts on this site where I quote other writers using vulgar words. I intend to write something more specific in response to that, but for the moment I’ll simply post an article I wrote…
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