Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Higher critics have, for a long time, posited a Second Isaiah to account for the structural and tone differences in the book from chapter 40 on. Now, we do believe in a Second Isaiah, but believe that the form critics have generally suffered from a lack of imagination both in…
A couple of the most serious mistranslations in our Bibles are found in the book of Leviticus. The main reason these errors have gone unreformed, I believe, is because Leviticus is simply not studied often enough, so the problem has never been fully addressed. The first mistranslation is found right…
Thomas Kuhn’s book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , is really a parenthesis inside of the larger reality of Christian history. Progress and forward movement inside of science is a footnote to the larger and more general reality of covenant renewals in both Biblical and Christian history. The fundamental mark…
James Jordan, in the June/July 1995 Biblical Horizons, wrote a very helpful essay, "The Great Hangover," the gist of which I entirely agree with. The theme of the essay was that the Church to move forward must shuck off the old husks of Hellenism, Rabbinism, and undo admiration for all…
Traditionally, the three offices in the Presbyterian churches have been teaching elder, ruling elder, and deacon. These have been associated with priest, elder, and Levite respectively. We have seen that the deacon is in fact an apprentice and assistance elder. We have also seen that Levites as well as priests…
John 7:39 interprets Jesus’ offer of living water as an offer of the Spirit to those who believe, "for," John continues, "the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified." John was not making an ontological statement about the Spirit, as if the Spirit did not exist until…
Showing page 269 of 309
Showing page 5 of 43
Ernst Cassirer ( The Individual and Cosmos in Renaissance Philosophy ) characterizes Nicholas of Cusa as the first modern man in that he focused the concern of philosophy not on God but on “knowledge about God.” In this emphasis, Cusa was making a decisive break with medieval scholastic thought, though…
The gospel has done its work almost too effectively. OC institutions and forms ?Esacrifice, laws of uncleanness, central sanctuaries, gradations of priestly privilege, distinctive dress ?Ewere the very stuff of life of ancient Israel. When it is said that the gospel changed all that, we have a tendency to say,…
Who is being satirized in Twain’s Connecticut Yankee ? The Yankee or the court? Overtly, the court, for its superstition, ignorance, filthiness, and so on. But Hank Morgan comes off as equally insular and parochial, and far more of a snob. I wonder if Twain noticed, and if it’s deliberate?
Sermon outline for Sunday, January 18: Lost and Found, Luke 15:1-35 INTRODUCTION In Luke 15, we again see Jesus engaged in “table talk.” Tax collectors and sinners come to hear Him (v. 1), but the complaint from the Pharisees and scribes is that Jesus eats with them (v. 2). In…
There appears to be some allusion to Israel’s wilderness wanderings in Luke 15. When Jesus eats with publicans and sinners, the scribes and Pharisees “grumble” about it, as Israel did in the wilderness. The complaint in both cases, moreover, centers on food ?Ethe lack of food in the wilderness and…
There appears to be some allusion to Israel’s wilderness wanderings in Luke 15. When Jesus eats with publicans and sinners, the scribes and Pharisees “grumble” about it, as Israel did in the wilderness. The complaint in both cases, moreover, centers on food ?Ethe lack of food in the wilderness and…
Showing page 2135 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
