Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
As Adam and Eve walked to the center of the Garden of Eden to meet with the LORD on their first Sabbath they conversed about the origin and age of the earth. Adam: You know, honey, we spent a lot of time yesterday making preparations for our house, and we…
Some of our forefathers believed in reading/singing the psalms in order. Today, when the psalms are even used at all, they tend to be used randomly, though sometimes tied to a church calendar or to the pastor’s sermon. The Bible does not bind us to any particular practice, but there…
Dr. Collins begins his essay with a brief statement of the Day Age view and then a brief statement of the Six Day view, focussing on the challenge to that view posed by modern "science." He ends this discussion by writing: "Two crucial points are at stake here: first, the…
In his The Construction of Social Reality , Berkeley philosopher John Searle puzzles over the ontology of the products of human construction. Certain things – granite, platypi, weeping willows – occur naturally; while other realities – stone walls, zoos and parks, Chase Manhattan Bank – exist only as products of…
In the journal Presbyterion 20 (1994):109-130, published by Covenant Theological Seminary, Dr. C. John Collins sets forth a revision of the Day Age approach in his essay, "How Old Is the Earth? Anthropomorphic Days in Genesis 1:1–2:3." Dr. Collins’s essay has been widely accepted in evangelical Presbyterian circles as an…
The Righteousness of Shem and Japheth As noted above, the action of Shem and Japheth was purely symbolic. They did not need to cover Noah with a garment, for he was already covered by the tent. Their action was a symbolic affirmation of Noah’s authority, a symbolic rejection of Ham’s…
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Keith Bodner examines the story of Elisha and the bears in his Elisha's Profile in the Book of Kings (58-9). He observes that the boys' insult "go up, you bald head" is ironic: "Elisha is mocked for his head, having just lost his head, Elijah (2:3). It is unclear whether…
In a 2008 essay in Policy Review , PayPal founder Peter Thiel analyzes an "optimistic thought experiment" about globalization. The root idea is "apocalypse," mostly of the secular variety. Thiel thinks that political actors and investors ignore the possibility of apocalypse, dangerously so. Along the way, Thiel traces the links…
Rene Girard ( I Saw Satan Fall Like Lightning ) quotes Colossians 2:14-15, and makes this observation: "The principal metaphor is triumph in the Roman sense, which is the reward that Rome bestowed on its victorious generals. Standing on his chariot, the victorious general made a solemn entrance into the…
George Monbiot ( Out of the Wreckage ) points out that both our travel to work and our work itself undermines community: "The activities that once brought us together now drive us apart" (60). People used to travel to work on buses and trains, but as public transport has declined…
After defeating the Cushite invader Zerah, Asa leads Judah in covenant renewal (2 Chronicles 15:8-15). The people assemble in Jerusalem, offer sacrifice, and enter a covenant to seek Yahweh with all their heart and soul, on pain of death. Verse 14 says that they made the oath "with a loud…
Trust in the major institutions of modern society has declined dramatically over the past several decades. George Monbiot cites an Edelman Corporation survey of 28 countries that found that "fewer than 50 per cent of respondent now trust mainstream business, government, media and non-governmental organizations to 'do what is right'"…
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