Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Cornelius Van Til offered a revolutionary exposition of the Christian worldview through the lens of Reformed theology. He argued and, I believe demonstrated, that Biblical metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics mutually presuppose and include one another. Every ethical statement of the Bible — commands about righteousness — presuppose the existence and…
In the introductory portion of Deuteronomy, Moses’ last sermons to the people of Israel — people that he regarded as his own beloved children — there is a statement that may seem paradoxical to a modern reader. It invites questions and maybe even creates problems in our understanding. Here are…
In his discussion of the biblical type scene, Robert Alter speaks of the “patterns of repetition, symmetry, [and] contrast” which characterize the narratives of Scripture, patterns that give pleasure to the reader while also building up a web of meaningful connections between texts. 1 But if readers are to notice…
In 1 Timothy 2, Paul writes: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Timothy 2:12-14). This…
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5 When the above verse is read during a Lord’s Day service, no doubt, every extrovert in the room thinks to himself, “Well, that rules out me.” After all, the meek folks in the room are the ones you…
The flames of the altar tell a mysterious story beyond mere atonement. The altar was a place of union, glory, worship, love and forgiveness, laughter and tears, renewal and hope. The altar is where Israel would feast with God, sacrifice to God, worship God, confess, and receive forgiveness from God.…
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Sacra doctrina, for Aquinas, involves the stripping of idols. So says Fergus Kerr: “Step by step, once we learn to read the text in this way, one idolatrous temptation after another is stripped away. The apophatic theology is designed to liberate us of the pictures of God that only too…
Denys Turner considers tradition and faith in the January 2004 issue of the IJST , but the more obvious subject is Derrida and the tradition of negative theology, particularly as expressed in Pseudo-Denys (no relation) and Eckhart. Turner deftly disposes of Derrida’s dictum that ” tout autre est tout autre…
Robert Jenson continues his series of essays on Christ as Culture in the January 2004 issue of IJST , arguing that “Christ is Art.” Here are a few of the highlights: 1) Jenson defines art as experimentation with possible worlds. One of his examples is Mondrian: “Mondrian and his allies,…
J. M. Coetzee, the South African novelist who won the Nobel Prize for literature last year, offers an intriguing exchange concerning the classics and faith in his novel, Elizabeth Costello (I can’t read that without thinking “Elvis.”) Costello is a highly successful novelist now in her sixties who hits the…
It would seem that non-Trinitarian ontologies cannot secure a notion of beauty, and this seems to be the case because of the tragic ontologies that dominate non-Christian thought. 1) Beauty is fittingness, a matter of harmonics. Thus, beauty requires that there be plurality. Need at least two for things to…
Thursday was Ascension Day. It is celebrated to mark Jesus’ ascent to heaven that occurred forty days after His death and resurrection at the time of Passover. Though Ascension Day is rarely emphasized in the church calendar, it is essential to the whole of Jesus?Elife and ministry and to the…
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