Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Summary In what follows, I will consider the “year-stamps” employed in Scripture, i.e., statements of the form, “Such-and-such an event took place in the Xth year of Y.” In the process, I will suggest some ways in which the Biblical narrative might relate to events in the extra-Biblical world, though…
In the first essay on the parable of the Prodigal Son, I suggested that the problems commentators and others encounter in interpreting Jesus three-part parable are not accidental. These are not just problems in our ignorance of cultural background. They are intentional features of the stories —stories designed to poke…
The story of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most well-known story in the Bible. As others have observed, it may also be one of the most misunderstood. In two short essays, I will point out features of this story that are commonly neglected, aspects of Jesus’ parable that might…
The parable of Lazarus and the nameless rich man is not an independent story. It is part of a long context that begins in Luke 15:1, where Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners and the scribes and Pharisees grumble. In response to their hardheartedness, Jesus tells a three-part…
The Bible is written so that even when a reader cannot pick up on what might be deeper or more detailed aspects of a text, there is virtually always a message to be heard. In the ancient world, where the “reader” of Scripture would likely be a church official facing…
The distinction between garden (or vineyard) and field begins in Genesis 2. This relates to the ordering of the formless world. Plants of the field are contrasted with the garden planted by God in Genesis 2:5&8. Later on, under the Old Covenant the Israelites will be required to keep their…
Showing page 77 of 309
Showing page 6 of 43
Grace Langness, a graduate student at New St. Andrews, analyzes the structure and theology of Galatians 5-6 at the Trinity House site.
Milbank again, from the 2005 article in Religion and Literature , arguing for the importance of play not just to sanity but to political critique: “the sane adult must continue to play—to keep the world of her work in perspective, she must continue to imagine other realities. To sustain, for…
In a 2005 article in Religion and Literature, Milbank explores the importance of fantasy literature as part of an effort to re-enchant the world and recover a genuine vision of childhood. Trinitarian insights are at the heart of the “subversion of traditional notions of catechesis” that makes its appeal to…
INTRODUCTION Isaiah 55 closes a section of Isaiah that began with chapter 40. Yahweh promised forgiveness (40:2), and now He has brought it (55:6-7). He promised return form exile (40:3-5), and it’s happened (55:12-13). He promised that His word would stand (40:8), and it has (55:10-11). THE TEXT “Ho! Everyone…
Isaiah 53:8, 1: As for his generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living . . . . He will see His seed, He will prolong His days. Reproduction by itself doesn’t create a Christian heritage. Something else has to happen, and Isaiah…
March is the maddest month, breeding Gators from the South regional, mixing Golden eagles and Buckeyes, stirring Bulldogs to close wins. Harvard surprised us, coming over New Mexico In a shower of threes. I watch, much of the night, and wager on Duke.
Showing page 768 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
