Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Suppose that the theistic evolutionists are right, and that the Big Bang Hypothesis is correct. In that case, God originally created a Primeval Atom, which then exploded and congealed to form the present universe. Now, if you had arrived on the scene one quintillionth of a second after God created…
According to Galatians 3, Abraham heard the gospel when the Lord promised that "all the nations shall be blessed in you." Paul quotes here from Genesis 12:3, but the context puts an odd slant on the Old Testament text. Galatians 3 starts with a series of rhetorical questions about the…
Ephesians 2.15: ton vomon twv enotwn en dogmasin katargesas, ina tous duo ktise en autw eis ena kainon anthrwpon, poiwn eirenen having annulled the law of the commandments in decrees, in order that He might create in Him[self] the two into one new man, making peace. The above translation is…
In The Oddness of the Feast of Booths , we saw that the Feast of Booths is a commemoration of the first encampment of Israel at Sukkoth (Booths) in Exodus 12:37, almost certainly the first celebration of the week of Unleavened Bread after the first Passover. The Feast of Booths…
James Jordan has pointed out in Through New Eyes and elsewhere that the Mosaic system of worship comes to an end with the dismemberment of the tabernacle in 1 Samuel 4-6. Because of the sins of Eli and his sons, that priestly family is cut off and the ark is…
In a significant essay in the 19 April 1999 issue of The Weekly Standard, entitled "Wars of Hatred and the Hatred of War," Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr., points out a significant shift that seems to be taking place in the modern world. He begins by asserting his thesis, that a…
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“Day of wrath” in Romans 2:5: This is universally (so far as I know) taken as a reference to the final day of judgment. But a) is there any other passage in Scripture that uses this phrase to refer to the final judgment? and b) is the final day of…
There’s a pretty devastating review of A.S. Byatt’s latest novel in the current issue of The New Republic . I’ve not kept pace with Byatt since I read Possession years ago, but I remember being impressed with Byatt’s erudition and range as a writer. The TNR reviewer, though, suggests that…
Strive to Enter, Luke 12:54-13:35 INTRODUCTION Jesus said that blasphemy against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but that blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven (Luke 12:10). The contrast has to do with different periods of Jesus’ work. He came as “Son of Man,” warning the Jews…
And here’s another thing from Murphy on the Exodus plagues: “The Pharaoh’s magicians had proudly imitated Moses’ conjuring: they can turn rods into crocodiles too. But was it wise to demonstrate that they can as powerfully invoke a plague of frogs as the prophet of Yahweh? They are on automatic…
Oh, as I read on, Murphy is making the book worth it: On Pharaoh and the plagues: “As Egypt’s sources of life and fertility are destroyed, plague by plague, so Pharaoh’s respose rigidifies. Pharaoh is progressively mummified.” She later adds: “The substitution [of Egypt’s firstborn] makes sense if we see…
The first few pages of Francesca Aran Murphy’s The Comedy Of Revelation were delightful, but her section on Genesis was disappointing. The comedy she sees in Genesis is mainly of her own making ?Eshe simply retells the biblical stories in a jazzy, smark-alecky fashion, and we’re supposed to say, presumably,…
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