Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In the first post of this series, I proposed that the sacraments of baptism and communion are the nexus point for the evangelical and ecumenical movements. In the following post , I proposed a new orientation for ecumenism – a conciliarity of the cross – with the necessary confession of…
“Contextualization” is now, and has been for a long time, the buzzword for the day. 1 Missionary effort in non-Western countries is all about “contextualization” — making our communication of the Gospel, if not the Gospel itself, fit into the culture to whom we from the West speak. 2 There…
In my previous post , I highlighted the sacraments as the point of convergence between evangelicalism and ecumenism arguing that baptism and communion are presented in the New Testament as signs of the gospel that simultaneously enact and remember union with Christ and the unity of Christ’s body. I concluded…
Click HERE for Part I of this series. What does baptism have to do with culture? As I said in the previous essay, the short answer is “everything!” To begin with, baptism is baptism into Jesus’ death (Romans 6:3). Paul explains this as the crucifixion of the “old man” (“old…
In the accounts of our Lord’s nativity and early childhood, so familiar to us from many years of Advent and Christmas services, we often fail to recognize in them the gentle intimations of a greater nativity that is yet to come. The attentive ear, however, can discover in these passages…
Isaiah warns that Yahweh is coming to remove Judah’s leaders in every area of social, economic and political life so completely that there will be no one left to lead besides children (3:4) and women (v. 12). As Isaiah goes on, however, it becomes clear that the women of Judah…
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I n their classic 1982 article on “broken windows” policing , George Kelling and James Q. Wilson note that while many communities can self-police to some degree, actual uniformed police are essential: no citizen in a neighborhood, even an organized one, is likely to feel the sense of responsibility that…
G eorge Kelling's and James Q. Wilson's famous and influential “Broken Windows” article raises a question more relevant today than when the article appeared in the Atlantic in 1982: What is policing for? Law enforcement, or community order? The two aren't the same. They ask, “Should police activity on the…
C hris Cillizza suggests at CNN that The Simpsons can explain method behind Trump's scandal du jour madness: “There's an episode where ancient tycoon Monty Burns decides to get a physical. A set of tests is run. And the doctor informs Burns he is ‘the sickest man in the entire…
T o John Ruskin's eye, the economists of his time (John Stuart Mill, e.g.) had a reductive understanding of human nature. According to the economists, “The social affections . . . are accidental and disturbing elements in human nature; but avarice and the desire for progress are constant elements. Let…
T he industrious John Paul Heil has produced another book, this on the Gospel of Matthew . The subtitle captures his approach: “Worship in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Heil points out that the book begins with the announcement of God's presence in Jesus, who is “God With Us,” and with…
J oseph Poon devotes a monograph , based on his PhD thesis, to identifying the land and sea beasts in Revelation 13. Poon makes creative use of the tripartite structures identified by Georges Dumezil to explain how the dragon, the sea beast, and the land beast form a triad. Dumezil…
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