Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The translation and theology of the Hebrew term kapporet have long been puzzling to scholars. On the translation of the term, I have nothing new to offer. I wish instead to concentrate on the theological symbolism of the kapporet . The kapporet was the solid gold slab that laid "above"…
“Three lines are enough” -Rabindranath Tagore My second favorite((I frequently use the “my second favorite” as a figure of speech meaning: “here’s a good one” and to also prompt the question, “What’s your first favorite?”)) haiku was written by some internet wag: Haikus are easy But sometimes they don’t make…
The history of the Reformation couldn’t adequately be recounted without discussing the remarkable role played by the relatively recent innovations and developments in book production and printing. The printing press facilitated the rapid production and dissemination of multiple copies of pamphlets and books, which enabled the Reformers to circulate their…
As evangelicals, we’re convinced that Christ’s work is finished, complete, and utterly sufficient. For many evangelicals, this is the gospel: Nothing can take away from Christ’s work, and surely nothing can be added to it by my works or my penance, by self-denial or sacraments or sacrifice. Nothing is lacking…
Evangelicalism needs a return to formal and Biblical worship. Worship is a public act, performed on the surface of God's true altar, the world, before His throne. Man's chief end is to glorify and enjoy God, and worship is done for God's pleasure. It is man's highest privilege to dance…
The evidence of sin and its death ruling in the world is clear. Paul describes the situation vividly in the opening section of his letter to the Romans. No matter who you are, Jew or Gentile, you have the same problem: you are “under sin” (Romans 3:9). Being under sin…
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Amid the swirl of sexual harassment charges, Claire Dederer asks what we ought to do with the art of monstrous men. It's not a side issue. Many of the geniuses in the history of art have been monstrous. Dederer even ventures that monstrosity is inherent in artistic achievement. You need…
Things are not as they should be, and Judah calls for Yahweh to descend to help. Rip the heavens, shake the earth, boil the sea; tear the three-story house of the universe apart brick by brick, but come down to help! (Isaiah 64). Judah has come to acknowledge that she’s…
The following is snipped from my essay in The Words of the Wise are like Goads . The imagery of Ecclesiastes 7 hooks back to the imagery of Lady Folly from the early chapters of Proverbs, the exhortation to delight in the woman you love leans toward the Song of…
Calum Carmichael is one of the most inventive biblical scholars around. He has made his career with studies of the interaction of narrative and law in the Old Testament, arguing, for instance, that the Levitical rules of consanguinity represent judgments on the practice of the patriarchs. It's not entirely persuasive,…
The bulk of the Chronicler's account of the reign of Abijah (2 Chronicles 13) is taken up with a long speech by the king, delivered before a battle with Jeroboam of Israel. Standing on Mount Zemaraim ("Twin Peaks") he calls Israel to return to Yahweh with a "Shema": "Hear me,…
For some, the "two kingdoms" political theology of Luther and Calvin is the essence of Reformation political theology. Francis Oakley argues ( Watershed of Modern Politics ) that it was an unstable early position that later Reformers couldn't sustain and eventually abandoned. Luther claimed that Christians existed "between the two…
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