Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
"The faithful use of sacraments, and indeed a fully sacramental view of creation, is vital to the life of the Church. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are rites that directly shape the community and the Body, because they were given by God for that express purpose. A deficient practice of…
Weightlessness is fun. At the beginning of Gravity (2013) , we can see one astronaut dancing the Macarena and another one playing with his jetpack. They like it out there in the space. Apart from zero-gravity they can enjoy beautiful views, and even the silence is likable, although Matt Kowalski…
I recently went to a lunch that is more or less quarterly. About a dozen of us go. It is a lunch held in honor of a retired professor of religion and philosophy. I have been one of his acquaintances for more than 40 years. In his tenure as professor,…
Why Theopolis? Don't we already have seminaries and Bible colleges and other institutions for theological education? Why do we need another one? I get this question now and again. I ask myself this question even more often. What follows is a partial answer. Back in the 1990s, seminaries seemed to…
I think the logic of the Lutheran Reformation can be summarized in one sentence, attributed to Luther himself: "God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does." The first half of that statement is justification by faith . God doesn't need our works to satisfy his justice or…
If you are looking to start a fight with Christians, there is hardly a better subject to do so than the arts. Music, movies, paintings, and literature have provided no small battlegrounds for Christians to war. We are emotionally invested in the arts. A song, a book, or a film…
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It is clear that the Lord?s Supper has some kind of relationship to the death of Jesus. Jesus said at the Last Supper that the bread was His body, given for you, and the wine was His blood, poured out as the blood of the new covenant. When Paul talks…
This is repetitive, but here goes: Luke?s account of Jesus?Ecrucifixion ends on a note of triumph. After Jesus breathes His last breath, the Roman centurion confesses that Jesus was ?righteous?Eand begins to praise God. The crowds of people who had come out for the spectacle go home beating their breasts…
There is another chiastic pattern running in Luke’s account of the crucifixion. If we focus attention on the people mocking Jesus, we have this pattern: Jewish rulers (v 35) Roman soldiers (vv 36-37) Criminal (v 39) But when the second criminal addresses Jesus, things begin to reverse and unravel. Someone…
Luke’s account of the crucifixion is organized in a neatly chiastic form: A. Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus’ cross, 23:26 B. Women follow Jesus, beating their breasts, 23:27-31 C. Criminals crucified with Jesus, 23:32-33 D. Jesus forgives mockery and abuse, 23:34-38 C’. One criminal mocks Jesus, the other believes, 23:39-43…
Luke’s account of the crucifixion is organized in a neatly chiastic form: A. Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus’ cross, 23:26 B. Women follow Jesus, beating their breasts, 23:27-31 C. Criminals crucified with Jesus, 23:32-33 D. Jesus forgives mockery and abuse, 23:34-38 C’. One criminal mocks Jesus, the other believes, 23:39-43…
Luke 23:26-56 INTRODUCTION When Christians think of Jesus?Ecrucifixion, we often focus attention on the intense physical suffering that Jesus endured. There is no doubt that He was in anguish. During crucifixion, the victim would have his body torn with nails and his limbs stretched and contorted, as he slowly suffocated.…
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