Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Midwives are rarely mentioned in Scripture, but play a prominent role in the first chapter of Exodus. The word midwife is used seven times in verses 15-22, though it is used only twice elsewhere in the Old Testament. The reason, I think, is not merely that the midwives were heroic…
Leviathan (41:1-11) is the climax of the theophany, the culmination of the Lord’s speech. His final answer to Job’s injudicious charges against God’s justice. After hearing God rehearse the characteristics of Leviathan and His absolute power over him, Job instantly repents in dust and ashes. He confesses, "I know now…
Our purpose in this study is to lay out the chronology and history of the Kingdom of Judah from the reign of King Josiah to the completion of the exile of the Jews under Nebuchadnezzar, with particular attention to the events recorded in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Empire of Assyria…
Protestants have always insisted that the sacraments bring no benefit without a response of faith, but this seems to undermine infant baptism, since infants do not appear to be able to exercise faith. Luther and Calvin held together their insistence on faith with infant baptism by claiming that infants can…
Traditional Presbyterian theologians regularly cite 1 Corinthians 11:28 as an argument against the practice of paedocommunion. Children must be able “to examine themselves” before they come to the table. Supposedly this text demands a certain level of intellectual capability as well as the capacity to engage in self-conscious introspection, both…
Yahweh’s two speeches at the end of the book of Job (38-41) should bring some closure to the book. The prologue has the whole cosmic order arrayed against the blameless and upright Job, "a man who feared God and shunned evil" (1:1, 8; 2:3). Yahweh’s capstone speeches affirm God’s absolute…
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Bediako cites a report from Voice Weekly about a conflict concerning drumming in African Christian worship: “A sharp conflict recently erupted between the Christian churches and the traditional authorities in teh Ghanian town of Akim Tafo over violation by the churches of a ban on drumming during a traditional religious…
Kwame Bediako summarizes the trends of African theology under two headings: liberation and study of indigenous religions. He focuses on the latter, emphasizing that this study is a theological enterprise, and not simply cultural anthropology. He also suggests that this emphasis of African theology provides a case study in theology…
Philippians 2:17-18: But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. Christians sometimes misunderstand…
Philippians 2:5: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Toby has pointed out this morning how much Paul emphasizes the effect of the gospel and the Spirit on our minds. We are to strive together with one mind, to cultivate humility of mind, set our…
Genesis 2:21-22: So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and…
Bediako says that Christianity has always had more success evangelizing primal religious areas than “advanced” religions like Buddhism or Hinduism or Islam. Or modern Western secularism. Perhaps the West needs to be re-primitivized in order to be re-evangelized. Or perhaps the West needs to learn that it was never so…
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