Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Why there is more to Jephthah than meets than eye It was not that long ago that I realized the Jephthah-story and the Jesus-story were basically the same story. Sounds crazy, I know. But here is a one-paragraph synopsis of both: The people of God have gone their own way,…
G.K. Chesterton famously said that the Gospels don’t reveal Jesus’ mirth. It’s true we never catch Jesus laughing. But can we believe He never did? I don’t think so. Laughter is human, and Jesus was fully human. Jesus promised that those who mourned would laugh. He mourned; would He not…
Matthew 2 has all the elements of an exodus story. There’s a murderous king, who slaughters Jewish babies. There’s a infant who will be Israel’s future deliverer, saved from the murderous king so He can later return to save His people and lead them to the Promised land. There’s an…
The calendar of Israel was primarily theological, centered on commemorating the salvific acts of God, but also agricultural, celebrating the creation-restoring effects of those salvific acts. The feasts of the first month celebrated the reviving of the world in the Spring, and typified the cutting off of the Savior in…
The chiastic shape corresponds to the shape of human life. This should not surprise us, because we are made in the image of God, and God is manifest in Word and Spirit. If we are living epistles, our lives will look a bit like the literary shape of the books…
Back in January, Venkatesh Rao wrote a fascinating post on the Ribbonfarm blog, discussing different forms of models of narrative. Engaging with Ursula LeGuin’s talk ‘The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction’ , Rao explores her contrast between the (male) ‘hero narrative’ and the (female) ‘carrier-bag story’, and suggests a third…
Showing page 83 of 309
Showing page 6 of 43
When John first sees the heavenly worship as he ascends to heaven, the four living creatures take the lead with an unceasing Sanctus. The twenty-four elders fall down before the One on the throne, cast their crowns before the throne, and praise God for His glory, honor, and power. They…
When the Lamb breaks the fifth seal, martyrs cry out for vindication. That launches a thread of the plot of Revelation that continues to the end of the seven bowls. At this point, these seem to be the salient moments: 1) Martyrs cry out for vindication and are told to…
Daniel Castelo’s Confessing the Triune God is a contribution to Cascade’s Wesleyan Doctrine Series. The Trinity is not a possession of Methodism, and much of Castelo’s book covers familiar ground - the roots of Trinitarian theology in the gospel, the early church debates about the Trinity, the danger of projection,…
Oliver Crisp admits that he has “been drawn to the margins of theological orthodoxy or to the doctrinally eccentric.” His reason is constructive: “those occupying such liminal places are intrinsically interesting subjects for theological exploration,” not least because “their work . . . throws light on upon the shape and…
Genesis is full of genealogies: A genealogy for Cain (ch. 4), for Seth (ch. 5), a table of the sons of Noah (ch 10), of Shem and Terah (ch. 11), of Ishmael (ch. 25), and of Esau (ch. 36). Besides those seven (!) genealogies, there are other lists of names…
The innumerable multitude that appears in Revelation 7:9 wears white robes, made clean by being washed in the blood of the Lamb (7:14). This cleansing gives them a sevenfold blessing: 1) They are before the throne, serving God day and night; 2) they are covered with the Lord’s tabernacle; 3)…
Showing page 535 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
