Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In this essay we will think about how the whole Bible is structured as one Word of God. To begin with, there is only one Bible, not two. While we divide the Bible into Old and New Testaments, that division has no more meaning than divisions into chapters and verse,…
How should one badly bruised and inadequate church relate to another? (I am not addressing the blessed possessors of absolutely perfect churches, naturally.) I believe there are three things to bear in mind. First, we must be open to the values in other Christian traditions - even Roman Catholic and…
The third and sixth day have a second creative act. Note the chiastic arrangement of the material in these special acts and the parallelism between them, see the figure below. The author arranges the description of each day as a chiasm. Each line in the chiasm is mated with a…
Now the two of them were naked, the man and his woman, and they did not sense shame (Genesis 2:25) The nakedness of Adam and Eve requires several comments. First of all, against those who think that nakedness is what God intended for humanity as a permanent estate, we have…
I’ve been reflecting on the meaning of integration, and our longing for integration in a fragmented world. I’ve been connecting my own covenant epistemology further with the thought of scientist-philosopher Michael Polanyi, artist Makoto Fujimura, and Classical Christian metaphysician D.C. Schindler. In my last post , and now in this…
Luke 13:31-33 is one of the strangest passages in the Gospel of Luke. It begins with a time note that sounds emphatic “At that very hour.” Then, we are told of Pharisees bringing a message that Herod wants to kill Jesus! In His answer, Jesus speaks of a three day…
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Aulen again, quoting passages from Luther’s Galatians commentary: “To destroy sin, to smite death, to take away the curse by Himself, to bestow righteousness, bring life to light, and give the blessing: to annihilate the former, and to create the latter: this is the work of God’s omnipotence alone. But…
Aulen again, quoting passages from Luther’s Galatians commentary: “To destroy sin, to smite death, to take away the curse by Himself, to bestow righteousness, bring life to light, and give the blessing: to annihilate the former, and to create the latter: this is the work of God’s omnipotence alone. But…
Explaining how Luther revived the “classic” Christus Victor theory of the atonement, Gustav Aulen points to Luther’s deployment of patristic rhetoric and imagery that had been lost in the Middle Ages: “Luther loves violent expressions, strong colors, realistic images, and in innumerable passages he describes Christ’s conflict with the tyrants…
Four times in our sermon text, the writer reminds us that ?there was war?Ebetween Israel and Judah. That phrase becomes a refrain throughout the chapter. Only once, however, do we read of a specific incident in that war that lasted several generations. During the reign of Asa of Judah, Baasha,…
?Anyone of Baasha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat.?E The dynasties of Jeroboam and Baasha are remarkably similar. Both kings are confronted by prophets; both enjoy comparatively long reigns, but are…
INTRODUCTION In this session, we will move ahead in our tour through the Trinity liturgy, covering the Confession and Absolution and the ?ascension.?E CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Confession belongs at the beginning of the service. We enter into God?s house, invited for a meal, and we need to clean up before…
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