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…
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Rosentock-Huessy’s discussion of German universities is closely linked to his treatment of the Reformation. The universities took on prominence during the Reformation because the princes of various German territories had to find some authoritative voice to judge in religious matters. Universities also provided a unifying institution within Germany, and so…
Rosenstock-Huessy’s discussion of Luther makes sense if we recall what ERH says about the unique origins of a human type and the repetition of a human type. Luther’s biography is not just about his contribution to the Reformation; ERH says that the “German Reformation hinges on the personal biography of…
Another sign that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is being noticed again is the publication of Christoph Irmscher’s Longfellow Redux , reviewed in the January 5 TLS. Several things about Longfellow are striking: First, what Irmscher calls his “relentless availability” to readers, not only in the “undemanding nature of his published work”…
Stephen King, that is. Ross Douthat has an interesting article on King in the current issue of First Things . He places King’s novels in the context of modern fiction, which has ignored supernatural events and beings: “King has effectively expanded the definition of realism to include a set of…
Stephen King, that is. Ross Douthat has an interesting article on King in the current issue of First Things . He places King’s novels in the context of modern fiction, which has ignored supernatural events and beings: “King has effectively expanded the definition of realism to include a set of…
In his book Reading Matthew , David Garland discusses the significance of “turning the other cheek”: “W. Wink argues that the issue for Jesus is not simply resistance or surrender but what kind of resistance. He claims that turning the other cheek is a third way, which he labels ‘nonviolent…
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