Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
First John 5.16-17: If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life–to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for…
A few years back I read Lesslie Newbigin’s little book Truth and Authority in Modernity . 1 I was particularly impressed with his argument in chapter 2 “The Mediation of Divine Authority.” Now, maybe this is old hat to many of you, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it…
Baptism is not Christian circumcision. There’s a lot of loose talk to that effect in Presbyterian circles; but it’s not accurate. The old world rite of circumcision was fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Baptism unites us to Christ and therefore makes us participate in the circumcision of…
In recent years I’ve observed a number of Reformed-type churches trying to institute corporate handraising in certain sung parts of worship. This often does not seem to work very well. Some people don’t do it. Some do it half-way. Some do it with one hand. Some dramatically stretch to the…
Most modern scholars recognize that behind Arius’s campaign to differentiate Jesus from God was the Hellenistic theological conviction that the high God cannot suffer. Rowan Williams argues that Arius had the right idea about divine suffering, but the wrong idea of God, which “puts the unavoidable question of what the…
Charismatics have been much maligned for constantly “praising the Lord.” They would say if you hit your finger with a hammer, you should instantly say, “Thank you Jesus that You let me hit my finger…” This of course, as we all know, is stupid. There was once a lady who…
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Religions, Milbank ( Beyond Secular Order ) argues, do not necessary aim for the ultimate. “Many human religions relate themselves, both theoretically and practically, to a cosmic level which they talce to be less than ultimate - often marked by a mythically narrated violent ‘brealc’ which leaves a reserved space…
Phillip J. Long’s study of Jesus the Bridegroom traces the origins of Jesus’ imagery of the eschatological wedding banquet. Isaiah 25 is typically identified as the background, but Long demonstrates that this passage is part of a rich tapestry of expectation. He draws from historical accounts to describe the hints…
Rosenstock-Huessy offers a test for distinguishing between humanism and faith ( Die Sprache des Menschengeschlects ): Whenever “man” is used in the singular without reference to God, the speaker or writer is giving voice to humanism. The easy liberalism that says “Man creates God is false” not only because man…
Isaiah pronounces a woe against those who “add house to house and join field to field, until there is no room” (5:8). He warns that the houses of the land-greedy elites will be left desolate (v. 6). We can imagine that wealthy landowners took a page from Ahab, who manipulated…
We don’t have to reach back to antiquity to find apologists for bestiality. Midas Dekkers begins his Dearest Pet with some musings that blur the difference between human sex and bestiality: “Back at the boys’ school girls seemed like beings from another planet, so different were they in our eyes.…
Leviticus is full of numerical designs, often using repeated leitworten to highlight themes in a particular section. Chapter 3, for instance, uses the word “fat” ( chalev ) twelve times, and the divine speech that lays out the torot for the various offerings (6:1-7:38) uses the word blood ( dam…
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