Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The idea of atonement is not a distinctly Christian, or even Hebraic, concept. It also makes an appearance in ancient Greek thought (among other places). The Greek tradition is by no means monolithic, so it isn’t possible to speak of a “Greek” concept of atonement. But there are certain commonalities…
As we know, there are seven deadly or capital sins. Prior to the list of the seven deadly sins there was a list of eight evil thoughts or demons. It was made by an Eastern monk, Evagrius Ponticus. When the list was transposed to the West, one evil thought was…
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is one of those epistles in Scripture to which pastors and teachers resort to show the church everything that it shouldn’t be . There is, of course, good reason for this. The Corinthian church was filled with all sorts of problems. Personality cults (i.e., factions),…
Today is Ash Wednesday , and as many Christians of the Protestant formerly "low church" persuasion are reacquiring some of the good and ancient practices of the church, one question in particular comes to the front: to ash or not to ash? That is, while many of us are finding…
A murder of tweets. To observe Lent rightly, we have to be persuaded that we already stand in God’s favor. Ash Wednesday reminds us to number our days. It helps us gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). We keep Easter to manifest and deepen our prior share in resurrection.…
Dale C. Allison, Jr., The New Moses: A Matthean Typology (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993). Dale Allison 1993 book is a superb case study in the New Testament's use of the Old. Though he focuses on only a single typology (Christ as a new Moses) in only a single gospel (Matthew), Allison's…
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Some notes cut from a larger project. The story of the first books, as Stephen Mitchell explains in the introduction to his recent translation of the poem, is a story of civilizing. The entire poem is framed by references to the city of Uruk, but the city moves from a…
Jesus tells the Pharisees who accuse Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan that, on the contrary, He is the stronger man who binds the strong man and comes to plunder the “vessels” of his house (Mark 3). The only other place where Mark uses the word…
NT Wright suggests that Jesus’ response to the Pharisees’ complaint about his disciples “harvesting” on the Sabbath puts them in the role of Doeg the Edomite, who watched David get showbread from the priests at Nob (end of Mark 2). A student points out that the Edomite theme is still…
The structure of Mark 3:1-6 seems to be basically chiastic: A. Jesus’ entry to synagogue B. man with withered hand C. heal on Sabbath? D. Jesus to man E. Jesus to Pharisees F. Silence E’. Jesus angry and grieved at Pharisees D’. Jesus to man C’. ?? B’. restored hand…
How can we justify knowledge? Very roughly: Foundationalist justification is justification from the origin. We can’t let the argument stray from the source, lest it meander. Pragmatic justification is justification at the end. We know what is true because it proves true, it works. Foundationalist justification is “tragic.” Pragmatic justification…
Richard Muller points out the essential continuity of Protestant interpretation with patristic and medieval models: “The Reformers and, indeed, the Protestant orthodox all assumed that the living Word addressed the church directly in and from the text. In other words, they advocated a spiritual and ecclesial exegesis that participated in…
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