Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Before considering the details of the Leviticus, we must have before us certain matters that have been established in Genesis and Exodus. These are things that we as Israelites already know when we first hear Moses report what God dictated to him in Leviticus. Adam Let us begin with Adam.…
(continued from issue 142) 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘An adam, 1 when he brings near from you p a Nearbringing 2 to Yahweh, from livestock 3 from the herd and from the flock you p shall bring near your p Nearbringing. 4 2.…
Trying to Deal Honestly with Luke 10.25-37; 18.18-30; and Parallels When Christ enjoins upon the young man the duty of following him (Mt. 19:23), he does not give a counsel, but a command to all in common because no one can have a hope of salvation unless he follows Christ…
Initial Observations: How the Gospel Challenged the Pharisees In another paper , I argued that the “Law-Gospel” hermeneutic, as applied to Luke 10.25-37; 18.18-30, resulted in a fundamental misreading of the text. Thinking of the context of those passages in Luke’s Gospel has given me some further reflections on how…
I recently heard of a new English translation of the Bible being prepared by men concerned to preserve a literal word-for-word rendering of the Hebrew and Greek but also sensitive to ecclesiastical tradition. I wrote to the committee and asked if they were going to fix the traditional translation of…
All Christians struggle with sin. Many times even relatively mature Christians commit sins they thought they had long since left behind and end up struggling anew with sinful habits in thought, word, or deed. Naturally, this means they must rouse themselves to action in putting to death the deeds of…
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John uses the word “darkness” seven times in his first epistle. Assuming that he uses the imagery in the same way he does in the gospel, I surmise that the light/dark language of 1 John is about the conflicts of Judaism/Judaizers and the church. The first use (1:5) is a…
John’s use of “dark” and “darkness” is often taken as a symbol of evil, dualistically related to the good that is symbolized by “light.” While his usage does sometimes stretch to this, the fundamental dualism is not moral but temporal. Dark is the period of day before dawn; light is…
INTRODUCTION The main conflict of the early church was not with Greek philosophy or Roman power, but with those Jews who refused to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah and the Judaizers within the church who wanted to bring Gentiles under the Law. John’s first letter, like most books in the NT,…
In his Oxford “very short introduction” to Continental philosophy, Simon Critchley suggests that Continental philosophy is “a professional self-description” and a “cultural feature.” The former is “a necessary - but perhaps transitory - evil of the professionalization of the disciple.” The latter is not so much a geographic conflict as…
1 Corinthians 11:29-30: He who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. It would be nice if the enemies of God were all outside the church,…
What is the message of the imprecatory Psalms? That Christians have an excuse to be mean-spirited, vicious, and vengeful? That Christians should distribute curses and blessings in equal measure? That Christians get to be macho and talk tough? No. The main message of the imprecatory Psalms is the message of…
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