Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Book of Genesis contains eleven distinct markers readily acknowledged as the toledot formula. 1 Commentator Nahum Sarna counts the ’elleh toledot to be “…one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Book of Genesis”. 2 Among translations, the noun is variously translated as “generations” (ESV, KJV), “records of the generations”…
The answer that immediately comes to mind to the question in the title is Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah. He was conceived during the extension of life that God granted Hezekiah in response to his ardent prayer on his sick bed (2 Kings 20:1-11, 21:1). His reign is summarized in…
Back in 2019, on a whim, I sketched out a setting for a modern fantasy story: a single coffee shop that is simultaneously present in multiple cities throughout the world: “...you know the one. Books by local authors, brochures for a walking tour of the city’s outdoor sculpture, a poetry…
Peter O’Brien’s translation of Colossians 4:2 surprised me: “Persevere in prayer as you watch for the Lord’s return, and be thankful.” 1 What is surprising about that? Well, none of my English translations mentioned “the Lord’s return” — nor does the Greek text! Translated literally, the verse just says: “In…
I Natural Law This is a brief (well, briefer than it could be) first attempt at responding to a very small section of Stephen Wolfe’s recent book The Case for Christian Nationalism . It’s partial, deeply incomplete, and does not at all address the book as a whole; it is…
The scuttlebutt of the last hundred years would tell us that Albert Einstein was a horrible husband, Winston Churchill was a racist, Mother Theresa was a hypocrite, and Caravaggio a murderer. From Benjamin Britten’s boys to Gandhi’s girls, it can be depressing and confusing to hear about people of great…
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Malcolm Gladwell’s lengthy essay on the Branch Davidians normalizes and humanizes a group that even to American Christians was a strange, unnerving cult. Gladwell presents a damning indictment of the FBI response to the extreme Adventist community that was destroyed near Waco in 1993. Gladwell argues persuasively that the government…
Trevaskis ( Holiness, Ethics, and Ritual in Leviticus ) proposes a chiastic outline of Leviticus 21-22: Priestly defects (Lev. 21.16-24) A. [4 defects] blind, lame, disfigured, an ‘overgrown limb’ ( ???? ) (v. 18) B. [2 defects] impaired leg, impaired hand (v. 19) C. [6 defects] hunchback, withered member, a…
Van Ruler is an advocate of “theocracy,” but he at the same time insists that toleration is “an absolute necessity in the state” ( Calvinist Trinitarianism and Theocentric Politics , 186). It is necessary because every people is religiously mixed, because intolerance invariably leads to coercion, because of the reach…
Bad question, says Justin Barrett ( Cognitive Science, Religion, and Theology , 26): “No aspect of our biological development, let along our cognitive development occurs without important contributions from both our biological endowment and our environment. Cells don’t divide and multiply without a steady stream of chemical nourishment from their…
I review Leigh Trevaskis’s Holiness, Ethics, and Ritual in Leviticus at the Trinity House site. Click here .
Donald Rayfield reviews two recent essay collections on cultural relations between England and Russia in the TLS : Anthony Cross, A People Passing Rude : British Responses to Russian Culture and Russia in Britain, 1880-1940 , edited by Rebecca Beasley and Philip Ross Bullock. The links are broader and deeper…
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