Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
After 9 chapters of genealogy, the Chronicler begins his history with the death of Saul and the rise of David. The latter part of 1 Chronicles 12 describes the assembly of warriors from the twelve tribes to Hebron to celebrate David’s coronation as king. They have a three-day feast, with…
In the introduction we saw that Matthew and Luke are the only gospels which include “fire” in John the Baptist's narrative. If Matthew and Luke are the priestly and prophetic gospels, the inclusion of fire is of great importance. Priests are servants of the altar, working with fire every day.…
The feet of the great statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream cannot be interpreted as a prediction of the states of modern Europe, but the lessons from their failure can certainly be applied . The statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream spoke of God’s ordaining of four empires which would rule in succession throughout…
This past Sunday afternoon, I drove just a few miles west of my neighborhood to visit the corner of Sherman Blvd. and Burleigh St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Amid a crowd I stood, looking at a huge gas station and multiple vehicles, all completely destroyed. Hundreds of feet of yellow caution…
1 Chronicles 12 is a flashback. The Chronicler has told the story of Saul’s death at the battle of Mount Gilboa. He has described how “all Israel” gathered to David at Hebron to make him king over all Israel (11:1-3). At the beginning of chapter 12, we move back to…
A great story draws you into specific details while delivering an ending that keeps you coming back. It brings you into the minutiae of life in such a way that requires patience, only to deliver a breath of fresh air time and again. The climax of the biblical story comes…
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The following is an excerpt from Against Christianity, published in 2003. It seems more relevant today, in the age of Trumpism, than it did when I wrote it. Much popular Christian history operates in what may be called a “Eusebian” mode, treating America as the culmination of redemptive history. Eusebius…
Jean Baechler ( The Origins of Capitalism ) doesn't buy any of Marx's various accounts of the rise of capitalism. In every permutation, Marx's theory of the "original of the capitalism system presupposes the capitalist system" (25). Baechler continues: "To express myself in Platonic terms, I would say that the…
A number of things are called "most holy" ( qodesh qadashim ) in the Old Testament. Various sanctuary furnishings are "most holy" - the altar of ascensions (Exodus 29:37), the altar of incense (Exodus 30:10), the tent, the ark, the table of showbread, the lampstand, the laver (Exodus 30:29), incense…
Writing in the 1670s, Pierre Nicole turned the pessimistic anthropology of Jansenism into an apology for liberal order. "Men," he wrote, "being devoid of charity out of the derailment of sin, remain none the less filled with needs and are dependent on one another in countless ways." How can these…
Jean-Claude Michea ( Realm of Lesser Evil ) traces the unconscious roots of liberalism. Liberal egotism is the uneducated egotism of infants, who "desire to be all-powerful" (118) and express "boundless rage" (119; quoting Christopher Lasch) against anyone who fails to gratify. If parents fail the in task of "primary"…
A few discarded snippets from a review of Rosenstock-Huessy's Sociology, Volume 1 . Sociologists, Rosenstock-Huessy charges, often formulate their theories in this fashion: “an obscure Force A and a Relation B . . . affect Mr Y.” If sociologists are going to deal with reality itself, they need to take…
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