Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
We assume we understand “chapter two” of Ephesians, and therefore generally get the entire Old Testament wrong. We also misunderstand the evangelism in Acts. Our misunderstandings might have happened without Ephesians 2, but the confusion is mutually reinforcing. This confusion (either cause or effect or both) also extends to a…
From the Cucumber to the Cross All creation groans with the pains of childbirth, so the Apostle Paul tells us in his epistle to the Roman church. This is a fact that I believe every living person not only knows, but feels deeply. Something about this world just isn’t quite…
Angela Standhartinger has written about the so-called “house-hold code in Col. 3:18-4:1.” Her introductory paragraph is illuminating. The household code in Col. 3.18-4.1 is the earliest text in the New Testament that calls on women, children and slaves to submit to men, fathers and masters. In many respects this text…
On the Woman Question Strength and honor are her clothing And she shall rejoice in time to come. There’s been, I’m sorry to say, more Discourse. Primarily though not exclusively on Twitter. About the Woman Question, again. So I figured I’d make things a little worse by highlighting an aspect…
How to Spot a Simulation The smartest way to take over the world is to replace it with a fake one. The smartest way to replace it with a fake one is little by little. Part 2 Part 1 can be found HERE . Dirt or gold Another difference between…
How to Spot a Simulation The smartest way to take over the world is to replace it with a fake one. The smartest way to replace it with a fake one is little by little. Part 1 Deception is the common factor in all of Satan’s schemes, but throughout history…
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Assuming Gen 1:1 describes an act of creation and is not a title: It’s striking that the Gen account begins with the creation of two realms rather than a single entity or realm. Hesiod says that there was one reality, chaos; Anaximander says “together were all things”; Thales claimed that…
Bill Cavanaugh has argued that the early modern “wars of religion” were not really conflicts about religion but rather conflicts that created the modern notion of religion. Something similar can be said about the war between Scripture and science in the early modern period. In fact, these were both the…
Wim JC Weren proposes a “macrostructure” for Matthew in a 2006 article in Biblica. His scheme is not convincing, but along the way he makes some helpful observations. 1) He suggests that there’s a topographical thread running through the gospel, marked by various recurrent refrains. From the beginning of the…
Christina Hoff Sommers and Sally Satel, One Nation Under Therapy: How the Helping Culture is Eroding Self-Reliance . New York: St. Martin’s, 2005. 310 pp. PE classes are dangerous places. Dodge ball might leave nasty bruises, and, worse, the frustrations of competition and failure permanently destroy a kid’s psyche. Non-competitive…
Jeffrey Geoghegan examines the OT events that take place during sheep-shearing festivals in an article in Biblica . He tries to discern the common themes in the four passages set during sheep-shearing: Gen 31, 38; 1 Sam 25; 2 Sam 13. He argues that sheep-shearing was a “significant celebration, characterized…
When Jesus promises to send the Spirit, he describes the Spirit as the “Paraclete.” This word is often translated as “Comforter,” but the Greek word has a legal connotation and is actually closer to “Advocate” or even “Defense Attorney.” A Paraclete doesn’t “soothe” so much as “defend.” That’s a good…
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