Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Protestant-Catholic relationship has hardly been an untroubled one. And yet, the possibilities for various layers of reconciliation are better then at any time since the original schism 500 years ago. One of the symbols for the church that is used in Scripture is the church as a household (Ephesians…
Despite the layers of wiping, covering, and ransoming during the Day of Recoverings, true unity still has not been achieved. Divorce is still possible; God still might leave his people. Thus the Day of Recoverings must be repeated every year. The perpetual expression of unity between God and man in…
The events of Leviticus 16 are commonly known as “The Day of Atonement,” from the Hebrew phrase yom hakippurim, in Leviticus 23:27. However, it would be more accurate to say, “The Day of Atonements,” [i] since the word is plural. The plurality primarily relates to 16:33, which states five different…
Mary Douglas, against the common notion that primitive religious rituals were illogical and random asserts, “The analysis of ritual symbolism cannot begin until we recognize ritual as an attempt to create and maintain a particular culture … Any culture is a series of structures which comprise social forms, values, cosmology,…
Jesus holds seven stars. They are the angels of the seven churches (Revelation 1:20). For ancient readers and hearers, "seven stars" would evoke a number of associations - the seven planets, the seven stars of Ursa Major, and the seven stars that make up the Pleiades. The last makes a…
When he first arrives in Harran, at Paddan-Aram, the home of Laban his uncle, Jacob sees a well. Wells are mentioned frequently in Genesis. Twice Hagar finds a well in the wilderness (Genesis 16:14; 21:19). Philistines seize Abraham’s well (21:22-34), and Abraham’s chief servant finds a wife for Isaac at…
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Leo the Great, Homily for the Nativity of our Lord . Our Saviour, dearly-beloved, was born today: let us be glad. For there is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of…
Micah 3: Hear now, O heads of Jacob, and you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice? You who hate good and love evil; who strip the skin from My people, and the flesh from their bones; who also eat the flesh of…
Christmas is the beginning of the gospel story. Pentecost is its end. The Spirit encloses the whole process, since He is both the agent of the incarnation and the Pentecostal gift of Jesus to His Bride. Salvation isn’t finished at Christmas, when God dwells with us in the man Jesus.…
Exodus 30:22-33 is a recipe. It prescribes the ingredients for the holy oil to anoint both the furnishings of the tabernacle and the priests. The text subdivides into three sections, each of which includes a statement about holiness: A. Recipe for anointing oil; it is holy, 30:23-25 B. Anointed things;…
What is a temple? Etymologically, the word is linked with measurement, a member of a family that includes temperature, temperament, tempo. A templum is a measured area. As David Steindl-Rast puts it ( Gratefulness ), originally the "measured area was not even on the ground but in the sky." Over…
Exodus 30:18-21 is the third of Yahweh’s seven speeches prescribing the form and furnishings of the tabernacle. It describes the laver placed in the court of the tabernacle, and corresponds neatly to the third day of the creation week, when the Lord separated the waters of the earth to allow…
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