Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day. If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready (Psalm 7.11, 12). David’s inspired lyrics do not sound very encouraging to modern ears–especially to modern Christian…
The story of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:25-37) is one of the best known and most loved of Jesus’ parables. I am not going to attempt to exegete the passage, as that has been done admirably and ably by others. Rather, I want to briefly examine what bearing the passage…
In Romans 2.6-16, Paul writes, He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there…
It was still dark as David approached the crest of the little ridge. The eastern horizon was not even gray. It was early. But he knew this trail well. Every morning before dawn and every evening before dark, he would walk down to the well and carry water back to…
The theme of Romans is the righteousness of God (Rom. 1:16-17). That is to say, Romans is something of a theodicy. Paul is defending God’s covenant faithfulness, particularly in light of Jewish unfaithfulness. How does it work? Without getting into exegetical details, we can still sketch out the big picture.…
The New Perspective on Paul (NPP) is a loosely defined movement held together primarily by a common understanding of Second Temple Judaism. All NPP theologians basically adhere, with varying degrees of intensity and consistency, to Ed Sanders’ claims with regard to the nature of pre-70 A.D. Judaism. Sanders has sought…
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Speech exists that we may "lovingly create names," writes Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy ( In the Cross of Reality , 149). "Speaking is always courting" (149). Courtrooms exist for those times when speech falters. In a courtroom, speech turns from courtship to dispute and this setting changes the character of speech: "In…
Jay Zysk's Shadow and Substance is a recent contribution to a growing literature linking early modern theology with early modern drama. Zysk focuses on the ways Reformation disputes about the Eucharist play into plays, how Eucharistic semiotics shapes understandings of bodies and signs, flesh and spirit, letter and figure, words…
For Luther, faith isn't mere assent to truth, nor even confidence and trust in a distant savior. As David Fink puts it, "Faith . . . becomes the unitive force," or, in Luther's words, it "takes hold of Christ and has Him present, enclosing Him as the ring encloses a…
In his analysis of Luther's treatment of Galatians (in Reformation Readings of Paul ), David Fink gives a brief overview of pre-Reformation interpretations of the letter. Jerome said that the letter "is concerned especially with establishing the 'cessation of the old Law and the introduction of the new Law.'" Jerome…
Vico's claim that verum et factum convertuntur , "the true and the made are convertible," has been taken as a sign of the foundational atheism of modernity. Benedict XVI sees Vico's claim as a secularization, a turn from the uncreated truth that is God to constructed human things. As Robert…
"Liberals and communists," writes Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy ( In the Cross of Reality ), "have in common that they wish to make do without church and dogma, and indeed without faith. . . . reason is enough, for we can say what we think" (141). Both retain the term "believe," but…
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