Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Several weeks ago, a picture of a man working at Trader Joe’s went viral. At first glance, it was hard to tell what was worthy of note in the picture—a man simply standing near a cash register. It turns out, the picture went viral not because of what the man…
Among the many allusions in the transfiguration story, one allusion, or rather, one group of allusions, is especially prominent — allusions to Mt. Sinai. The first and least obvious of the allusions to Mt. Sinai is the expression “high mountain” in Matthew and Mark and “the mountain” in Luke. Ancient…
The revelation of Jesus’ glory at the transfiguration is one of the most important stories in the synoptic Gospels. At Jesus’ baptism — the inauguration of New Covenant baptism with the Holy Spirit and the paradigm for Christian baptism — God the Father spoke from heaven: “You are My Son,…
The first section of Proverbs (chapters 1-9) contains two lengthy descriptions of temptations that a young man should resist and avoid (1:10-19 and 7). The two temptations are recruitment into a robber gang and being enticed by an adulterous wife. I've argued before that these are the two perversions of…
Is there a Gospel invitation? To many evangelical Christians, the answer to that question is an unqualified "yes." Some calvinists, reacting against the misleading character of the "altar call," seem less interested in inviting men to anything than they are in sending men away to think about the message they…
Effective pastoral care helps people progress to maturity. Historically, the Christian church worked out the sacramental system to assist people with the various conversions of life. While we Protestants believe in only two sacraments, it is helpful for us to look at the sacramental system, because there is some wisdom…
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1) Methodologically, Mauss is particularly interested in investigating what he calls the “total social fact,” a social reality that gives expression to all sorts of institutions simultaneously. Gift-exchange events such as the potlatch are “religious, juridical, and moral” and “relate to both politics and the family”; they are “economic” events…
There is a wonderful scene in Evelyn Waugh’s Unconditional Surrender where the English Gen. Ritchie-Hooke attacks a German garrison in broad daylight, virtually alone. The Germans are left scratching their heads: “The single-handed attack on a fortified position by a British major-general, attended in one account by a small boy,…
In The Republic 588d, Plato writes, “words are a more plastic material than wax.” We can construct any manner of phantasmagorical creature in words, but think of how inept any pictorial depiction of Revelation appears, or how bizarre a portrait based on the Song of Songs would be. (Jonathan McIntosh…
A couple of weeks back, TNR published a lengthy review of Richard Neuhaus’ latest book that expanded into a warning about the danger that Neuhaus and his fellow theocons pose to American democracy. John Wilson has a lively rebuttal to the TNR piece in the current issue of Books &…
John Webster (in an essay in Volf and Welker, God’s Life in Trinity ) prefers the term “fellowship” to “communion” in describing the way creatures participate in the perfect life of God: “God communicates his absolute life. This communication does not mean that creatures participate in the life that is…
INTRODUCTION If “gift” has become a major category of recent thought, it is largely because of the influence of anthropology. Marcel Mauss’ The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies is the single most important work in this regard, and we’ll spend some time examining Mauss’ work…
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