Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). The famous definition of faith with which the eleventh chapter of Hebrews opens has received a number of different interpretations. The crux of the problem is the interpretation of the words translated in…
This essay is an exploration of one element of the final of the four Gospels, the Gospel of John. My thesis is that the Gospel of John answers the issue of "friendship" being a homoerotic category. It challenges the "Greek Way of Love and Friendship" 1 It is indeed the…
"And I also way to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it" (Matthew 16:18). Matthew 16:13ff. has historically been one of the most oft-cited passages of Scripture. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was used…
Matthew 8-9 records three clusters of miracles, interspersed with snatches of Jesus’ teaching about various aspects of discipleship. Just as the Sermon on the Mount displays the authority of Jesus’ Word in teaching, these chapters display the authority of Jesus’ Word over sickness, uncleanness, the creation, demons, and death. In…
The association of women and wells in the Scriptures has long been noted by theologians, a symbolism closely connected to marriage which begins in Genesis and climaxes in Revelation. There is a lesson drawn in the water of wells that I’d like to explore, but before that I must trace…
Of course, since the Israelites had agriculture, Solomon was not paleolithic as that term is used today. But "paleo" is simply a prefix meaning old or previous , the opposite of "neo." In that sense, I wonder if we might understand Solomon better if we interpret his statements and riddles…
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There’s an interview regarding by recent book on empire at http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevinwax/ this morning.
Shylock has been played for sympathy frequently in the past century. But the sense that his character fits badly in a comedy is an old one. Already in 1709, Nicholas Rowe wrote, “Tho’ we have seen that Play Receiv’d and Acted as a Comedy, and the Part of the Jew…
In an old article in the Shakespeare Quarterly , Barbara Lewalski suggests that Merchant of Venice is a moralistic allegory depicting the character of Christian love. In the play, Christian love involves “giving and forgiving: it demands an attitude of carelessness regarding the things of this world founded upon a…
Mahood again ( The Merchant of Venice (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) ), describing Shakespeare’s and Shylock’s use of the gospels in the play (p. 198-9). “On Shylock’s first meeting with Bassanio, his detestation of the Christians breaks out in the dactylic rhythm and harsh consonants of ’ to eat of…
In an appendix to his edition of The Merchant of Venice (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) (pp. 197-8) , M. M. Mahood explores Shakespeare’s use of the Bible in the play. He notes the extensive echoes of the Jacob narrative, some explicit some not so much. “Shakespeare is unlikely ever to…
Should we love God disinterestedly, without expectation or desire for return from Him, without any desire for happiness? It’s a common idea, but Milbank rightly argues against it. He asks “what constitutes God’s loveability”? His answer” “every charm, every attractive feature of anything whatsoever, radiates outwards, rendering things apprehensible and…
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