Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). The famous definition of faith with which the eleventh chapter of Hebrews opens has received a number of different interpretations. The crux of the problem is the interpretation of the words translated in…
This essay is an exploration of one element of the final of the four Gospels, the Gospel of John. My thesis is that the Gospel of John answers the issue of "friendship" being a homoerotic category. It challenges the "Greek Way of Love and Friendship" 1 It is indeed the…
"And I also way to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it" (Matthew 16:18). Matthew 16:13ff. has historically been one of the most oft-cited passages of Scripture. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was used…
Matthew 8-9 records three clusters of miracles, interspersed with snatches of Jesus’ teaching about various aspects of discipleship. Just as the Sermon on the Mount displays the authority of Jesus’ Word in teaching, these chapters display the authority of Jesus’ Word over sickness, uncleanness, the creation, demons, and death. In…
The association of women and wells in the Scriptures has long been noted by theologians, a symbolism closely connected to marriage which begins in Genesis and climaxes in Revelation. There is a lesson drawn in the water of wells that I’d like to explore, but before that I must trace…
Of course, since the Israelites had agriculture, Solomon was not paleolithic as that term is used today. But "paleo" is simply a prefix meaning old or previous , the opposite of "neo." In that sense, I wonder if we might understand Solomon better if we interpret his statements and riddles…
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The schism in the American Presbyterian church following the revivals of the late eighteenth century was, Niebuhr suggests, “a conflict between two generations of Scotch-Irish, between an immigrant generation nurtured in Europe and the first native-born, frontier-bred generation” ( Social Sources of Denominationalism , 156-7). The younger generation became a…
Friends of the Theopolis Institute: Before he attended the Theopolis course on Holistic Mission during Easter term, 2014, Jonathan Sedlak lived with his family in the quiet, comfortable Milwaukee suburb of Slinger, Wisconsin. An intensive week in Birmingham changed all that. Listening to missionary Wes Baker and hashing over readings…
Further reflections on rivers in the book of Revelation, following up on an earlier note . “River”( potamos ) is used eight times in Revelation, and the eight references form a repeated pattern: A. Third trumpet, star falls on rivers; turn to poison, 8:10. B. Sixth trumpet, release angels at…
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire from heaven (Genesis 19:24). This was a response to the “outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah,” which was “very great” on account of their “exceedingly grave” sin (18:20). Presumably, the cry is the cry of the oppressed, or the cry of innocent blood that,…
S imon Gathercole ( Defending Substitution ) finds a common theme running through alternatives to substitutionary conceptions of atonement: They emphasize the cosmic and oppressive power of Sin, but downplay the role of specific acts of sin—sin s —in Paul's theology. Gathercole acknowledges that Paul can speak of Sin as…
William Swatos's 1979 monograph, Into Denominationalism , is a model of careful historical and sociological judgment. Though he relies on secondary scholarship, the book is rich in historical detail, even though it covers a wide swath of history, from Henry VIII to the establishment of the Episcopal Church in the…
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