Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Book of Genesis contains eleven distinct markers readily acknowledged as the toledot formula. 1 Commentator Nahum Sarna counts the ’elleh toledot to be “…one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Book of Genesis”. 2 Among translations, the noun is variously translated as “generations” (ESV, KJV), “records of the generations”…
The answer that immediately comes to mind to the question in the title is Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah. He was conceived during the extension of life that God granted Hezekiah in response to his ardent prayer on his sick bed (2 Kings 20:1-11, 21:1). His reign is summarized in…
Back in 2019, on a whim, I sketched out a setting for a modern fantasy story: a single coffee shop that is simultaneously present in multiple cities throughout the world: “...you know the one. Books by local authors, brochures for a walking tour of the city’s outdoor sculpture, a poetry…
Peter O’Brien’s translation of Colossians 4:2 surprised me: “Persevere in prayer as you watch for the Lord’s return, and be thankful.” 1 What is surprising about that? Well, none of my English translations mentioned “the Lord’s return” — nor does the Greek text! Translated literally, the verse just says: “In…
I Natural Law This is a brief (well, briefer than it could be) first attempt at responding to a very small section of Stephen Wolfe’s recent book The Case for Christian Nationalism . It’s partial, deeply incomplete, and does not at all address the book as a whole; it is…
The scuttlebutt of the last hundred years would tell us that Albert Einstein was a horrible husband, Winston Churchill was a racist, Mother Theresa was a hypocrite, and Caravaggio a murderer. From Benjamin Britten’s boys to Gandhi’s girls, it can be depressing and confusing to hear about people of great…
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Michael Hattaway writes, in an introduction to Early Modern English literature (Blackwell, 2005), “A primary difference between Renaissance and modern concepts of writing involves meanings for ‘literature’ and for ‘fiction.’ As surviving library catalogues reveal, contemporaries of Donne and Shakespeare did not recognize the groupings that determine the display of…
It’s significant that Jesus is said to “anoint” the blind man’s eyes with the clay-and-spittle (John 9:11). We wouldn’t normally think of clay as a promising material to “anoint” someone with, but this is the way that the man describes Jesus’ action. The word is often associated with the work…
In John 9, Jesus makes an allusion to the creation story when He explains to His disciples the reasons for the blind man’s blindness. The man is not blind because of his own sin, or his parents’ sins, but instead so that the work of God might be displayed in…
The “Middle Ages only had thumb screws, not the media.” -Karl Kraus, early 20th century Viennese writer
During the seventeenth century, the church grew rapidly in China. According to Chan Kei Thong, “In 1640, three decades after [Matteo] Ricci died, there were 60,000 to 70,000 Catholic converts; by 1651, their numbers had more than doubled to 150,000. By 1664, the figure had ballooned to at least 254,980.…
During the reign of Tang, the founder of the Shang Dynasty (1766 B.C.), China suffered a seven-year drought. Someone suggested that a human sacrifice was necessary. Chan Kei Thong tells the story: “Tang appointed a day for this to be done, and a great multitude gathered for the unprecedented event.…
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