Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The idea of atonement is not a distinctly Christian, or even Hebraic, concept. It also makes an appearance in ancient Greek thought (among other places). The Greek tradition is by no means monolithic, so it isn’t possible to speak of a “Greek” concept of atonement. But there are certain commonalities…
As we know, there are seven deadly or capital sins. Prior to the list of the seven deadly sins there was a list of eight evil thoughts or demons. It was made by an Eastern monk, Evagrius Ponticus. When the list was transposed to the West, one evil thought was…
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is one of those epistles in Scripture to which pastors and teachers resort to show the church everything that it shouldn’t be . There is, of course, good reason for this. The Corinthian church was filled with all sorts of problems. Personality cults (i.e., factions),…
Today is Ash Wednesday , and as many Christians of the Protestant formerly "low church" persuasion are reacquiring some of the good and ancient practices of the church, one question in particular comes to the front: to ash or not to ash? That is, while many of us are finding…
A murder of tweets. To observe Lent rightly, we have to be persuaded that we already stand in God’s favor. Ash Wednesday reminds us to number our days. It helps us gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). We keep Easter to manifest and deepen our prior share in resurrection.…
Dale C. Allison, Jr., The New Moses: A Matthean Typology (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993). Dale Allison 1993 book is a superb case study in the New Testament's use of the Old. Though he focuses on only a single typology (Christ as a new Moses) in only a single gospel (Matthew), Allison's…
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Many object to typology because it seems to lack control, but one obvious control is historical context. Consider this piece of poetry: Jack-booted waves march down a silent street, Cross the thresholds of besieged homes, Batter doors, and smother all in brown. Think about how the imagery works if the…
“Figure of speech” is a figure of speech.
Are imprecatory prayers inconsistent with the biblical demand to love our enemies? On the surface it seems so, but since the Bible contains both imprecations and commands to love our enemy and since Scripture is internally consistent, they cannot be contradictory. Far from being contradictory, in fact, they are mutually…
In his 1946 essay, “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell cites this from Harold Laski: “I am not, indeed, sure whether it is not true to say that the Milton who once seemed not unlike a seventeenth-century Shelley had not become, out of an experience ever more bitter in…
Joshua 10:26-27: Afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees; and they hung on the trees until evening. And it came about at sunset that Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where…
In today’s sermon, we’ll learn about Joshua’s zeal for fighting the enemies of Yahweh in order to conquer the land of promise. While he is fighting five kings, the sun begins to go down. He could easily have said, “Enough for today. We can take care of them tomorrow.” Instead,…
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