Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Why there is more to Jephthah than meets than eye It was not that long ago that I realized the Jephthah-story and the Jesus-story were basically the same story. Sounds crazy, I know. But here is a one-paragraph synopsis of both: The people of God have gone their own way,…
G.K. Chesterton famously said that the Gospels don’t reveal Jesus’ mirth. It’s true we never catch Jesus laughing. But can we believe He never did? I don’t think so. Laughter is human, and Jesus was fully human. Jesus promised that those who mourned would laugh. He mourned; would He not…
Matthew 2 has all the elements of an exodus story. There’s a murderous king, who slaughters Jewish babies. There’s a infant who will be Israel’s future deliverer, saved from the murderous king so He can later return to save His people and lead them to the Promised land. There’s an…
The calendar of Israel was primarily theological, centered on commemorating the salvific acts of God, but also agricultural, celebrating the creation-restoring effects of those salvific acts. The feasts of the first month celebrated the reviving of the world in the Spring, and typified the cutting off of the Savior in…
The chiastic shape corresponds to the shape of human life. This should not surprise us, because we are made in the image of God, and God is manifest in Word and Spirit. If we are living epistles, our lives will look a bit like the literary shape of the books…
Back in January, Venkatesh Rao wrote a fascinating post on the Ribbonfarm blog, discussing different forms of models of narrative. Engaging with Ursula LeGuin’s talk ‘The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction’ , Rao explores her contrast between the (male) ‘hero narrative’ and the (female) ‘carrier-bag story’, and suggests a third…
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Luke 22:29-30: Jesus said to His disciples during the Last Supper, Just as My Father granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Last Thursday was Ascension…
Acts 8:36: As Philip and the eunuch went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized? Baptism is God’s work, not mine. The voice you hear will be my voice, and I will be the one to pour…
Peter Beinart offers one contradictory, one misleading, and one astonishing argument in favor of the estate tax on the “super rich” (TNR, May 15). The contradictory argument first: He quotes from Teddy Roosevelt to the effect that the wealthy owe a particular debt to the state because they benefit disproportionately…
Easter is about faith, hope, and love. Easter is pre-eminently about the love of God for us. The Father loved His Son and rescued Him from death. When the Father rescued the Son, He also rescued us, so that we can join in Paul’s taunt-song against death: “Death is swallowed…
In a recent defense of the Enlightenment in Scotland and Naples, John Robertson focuses on the importance of commerce as an agent for renewing society. According to the summary of the TLS reviewer (March 24), Robertson “argues that the Enlightenment in Scotland and Naples began when David Hume, Ferdinando Gliani…
In his recent book on “religion as a natural phenomenon,” Daniel C. Dennett deploys an evolutionary theory of religion in an effort to curb the abuses of religion. After over 400 pages, he is able to come up with this deep wisdom: “in the end, my central policy recommendation is…
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