Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
John the Baptist says, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt. 3:11).” Much debate surrounds the nature of this statement and what exactly it prophesies. Sacramental, baptistic, and charismatic Christians…
First Corinthians is not considered one of the Pastoral Epistles, but there is much to learn from Paul about pastoring a congregation by the way he writes to the Corinthians. Briefly, 1 Corinthians is an exposition of the cross and resurrection. In the first fourteen chapters, Paul gives an exposition…
Fredrik Hagglund ( Isaiah 53 in the Light of Homecoming After Exile (Forschungen Zum Alten Testament) ) argues against the common notion that Isaiah 53 is about the atoning suffering of Yahweh’s Servant. The Servant’s suffering is vicarious (i.e., he suffers for the sins of others) but it is not…
With the inheritance of Canaan and the dividing up of this priestly territory among the tribes, Israel became a microcosm of the nations of the world. This division between Israel and the nations as a substitutionary “land and sea” would prevent another global rebellion, and thus another global judgment. ((For…
One of the more revealing aspects of Paul and James’ soteriology is the different ways they both use Genesis 15:6 (“And Abraham believed God and it was counted for him as righteousness,”) as a proof text to defend their comments about the gospel. The key observation to make is that…
The disintegration of the EU is not the end of the world. It is a sign that the end of the world is anything but nigh. Western culture as we know it is dying at the hands of usurpers, traitors and prodigals. Even the worst rulers throughout Christian history at…
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The Ten Words are a portrait of the true Israel, the true Adamic Son. They provide, in short, a portrait of Jesus. They are commandments, yes, but they are more fundamentally a character sketch of the true man who worships God alone, who bears the Name of God weightily, who…
God speaks worlds into existence, worlds that do not have the capacity to respond before the Word is spoken. Jesus calls dead Lazarus from the tomb, a Lazarus who has lost the capacity to hear and obey. Creative speech confers the capacity to hear and respond. This seems to be…
Some typically sharp observations from a 1995 essay by Robert Jenson ( Either/Or ). First, on pluralism and the ideology of pluralism. What's new in the modern age isn't the reality of competing faiths: "The presence of contrary faiths and practices within a society often causes formidable problems, as America…
The sixth word says, “Thou shalt not kill.” What does that prohibit? Does it prohibit killing of all kinds – including killing animals? Does it prohibit all killing of human beings? Does it prohibit war or capital punishment? Some translations use the word “murder” but that is too specific. Hebrew…
Some notes from an upcoming lecture on Richard III , drawn from Thomas Costain's popualr history, Last Plantagenet, with additional details from Peter Saccio, Shakespeare’s English Kings . Shakespeare's first tetralogy covers an especially tumultuous period in England’s history. Henry VI’s reign was split into two parts. His armies were…
Proverbs 22:2 says: “The rich and poor have a common bond, Yahweh is the maker of them all.” The text has an immediate contemporary application. Rich and poor aren’t different species, and they shouldn’t occupy different spaces. But, in the U.S. at least, we’re “coming apart,” as Charles Murray has…
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