Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
References to the Son of Man coming on the clouds occur five times in the Synoptic Gospels. Three times such expressions appear in the parallel accounts of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:36; Luke 21:27). Then, in parallel accounts of Jesus’ trial before the leaders of Israel, such expressions…
Just what the difference is in the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and the New Testament is a question not so easily answered. The distinction is often said to be that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit is on the believer, but in the New…
1. Introduction You should think of 1917 at church on Sunday. Why? Let me explain. There's one film every Oscar season which everyone seems to have watched—your parents, your colleagues, even your pastor. This year, it's 1917— Sam Mendes' WW1 epic following two British Tommies on a seemingly impossible quest…
This piece was originally part of the Bowyer response to the Theopolis series surrounding Professor McDermott’s essay, “Rethinking Israel.” For the sake of brevity, it was removed from the initial response, to be published as a standalone piece. As we’ve argued previously , we are strongly supportive of the right…
Richard Bauckham’s groundbreaking work, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony , is profoundly insightful, but the message of the book is hampered by the presupposition of Marcan priority. Ironically the place where this assumption perhaps does its most damage is in Bauckham’s discussion of the apostle Matthew…
The Protestant Reformation was defined by certain clarifying disagreements between the medieval Church and those who came to be known as Protestant Reformers. Chief among these was the nature of justification: whether one was justified by works, or by faith and works, or—as Martin Luther contended—by faith alone. Now over…
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Partly in reaction to Western trends, partly inspired by them,, nineteenth-century Russian Orthodoxy, writes Orlando Figes ( Natasha’s Dance: A Cultural History of Russia ) retreated into Russianness: “the Russian church grew introspective and withdrawn, more intolerant of other faiths, and more protective of its national rituals. It became a…
For nineteenth century Russians, France was the model civilization. The model polity too. James Billington ( Fire in the Minds of Men: Origins of the Revolutionary Faith ) points out that the early revolutionary upheavals in Russia were inspired by a Western revolutionary nationalism that was ultimately of French origin.…
We are not a nation of atheists, says Ross Douthat . We are religious, but we prefer a religion (and a God) who is OK with “human appetites and all the varied ways they intertwine. From the sermons of Joel Osteen to the epiphanies of Eat, Pray, Love , our…
When Paul urges the Judaizers who trouble the Galatian churches to “mutilate themselves” (Galatians 5:12), it seems like a crude joke. They like cutting foreskins; might as well go all the way to cut off the whole thing. But it’s not just a vulgar insult. As many commentators have noted,…
Rev. Richard Bledsoe explores victimhood and the gospel at the Trinity House site.
INTRODUCTION Zion has been pleading with God to bare His arm and come to her rescue (Isaiah 51:9), and Yahweh has promised to do it in a dramatic public way (52:10). When the arm is revealed, it’s not what Zion expected (53:1). THE TEXT “Who has believed our report? And…
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