Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Why there is more to Jephthah than meets than eye It was not that long ago that I realized the Jephthah-story and the Jesus-story were basically the same story. Sounds crazy, I know. But here is a one-paragraph synopsis of both: The people of God have gone their own way,…
G.K. Chesterton famously said that the Gospels don’t reveal Jesus’ mirth. It’s true we never catch Jesus laughing. But can we believe He never did? I don’t think so. Laughter is human, and Jesus was fully human. Jesus promised that those who mourned would laugh. He mourned; would He not…
Matthew 2 has all the elements of an exodus story. There’s a murderous king, who slaughters Jewish babies. There’s a infant who will be Israel’s future deliverer, saved from the murderous king so He can later return to save His people and lead them to the Promised land. There’s an…
The calendar of Israel was primarily theological, centered on commemorating the salvific acts of God, but also agricultural, celebrating the creation-restoring effects of those salvific acts. The feasts of the first month celebrated the reviving of the world in the Spring, and typified the cutting off of the Savior in…
The chiastic shape corresponds to the shape of human life. This should not surprise us, because we are made in the image of God, and God is manifest in Word and Spirit. If we are living epistles, our lives will look a bit like the literary shape of the books…
Back in January, Venkatesh Rao wrote a fascinating post on the Ribbonfarm blog, discussing different forms of models of narrative. Engaging with Ursula LeGuin’s talk ‘The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction’ , Rao explores her contrast between the (male) ‘hero narrative’ and the (female) ‘carrier-bag story’, and suggests a third…
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Suetonius records that Augustus escaped a threat of death as an infant. A portent convinced the Romans that a king was about to be born, and in response the Senate planned to ban the rearing of male children for a year. Some of the Senators’ wives were already pregnant, and…
We are right before God because Jesus has obeyed perfectly, offered Himself on the cross, and received the verdict of righteousness in the resurrection, a verdict in which we are included by union with the Risen Christ. We come to share in this verdict by faith. But a question arises:…
The emperor invited Luther to speak for himself at the Diet of Worms. By that time, the Pope had already had a stack of Luther’s writings, enough to identify 41 errors that he wanted Luther to retract. Eck knew full well what Luther had written; he had a table full…
The emperor invited Luther to speak for himself at the Diet of Worms. By that time, the Pope had already had a stack of Luther’s writings, enough to identify 41 errors that he wanted Luther to retract. Eck knew full well what Luther had written; he had a table full…
Imagine you’re a sharp young NT scholar of Reformed conviction, who wants to engage the latest NT scholarship fairly, critically, and appreciatively where appropriate. Imagine you’re a theologian of Reformed inclinations who’s looking for a place to do creative theological work. Imagine you’re a Reformed Old Testament scholar who wants…
Of all the declarations of the PCA FV Study Report, the most mystifying is the one that reaffirms justification by faith and rejects final justification according to works. This became the central issue in the “debate” on the floor of GA, and this was likely the reason for the resounding…
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