Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The name of Harry Turtledove is well known to readers of fantasy and science fiction. Turtledove is an historian, and most of what he writes is in the "alternative history" genre. A fine collection of short stories, available in paperback, is his Agent of Byzantium . These stories are set…
In answer to a question, the following about the unicorn, a supposed "New Age" symbol: The unicorn, or monoceros (one-horn), was known around the ancient world. Some scholars believe it may have been the one-horned goat that is still bred today. Others think it may have originated in tales of…
3. A Brief Survey of Esther (continued from the previous issue) Haman told the king that "a certain people" were rebellious against him, and that Haman wanted to rid the king of their noxious presence. The king agreed, and the two sat down to a feast. This is the third…
It has become routine in October for some Christian schools to send out letters warning parents about the evils of Halloween, and it has become equally routine for me to be asked questions about this matter. "Halloween" is simply a contraction for All Hallows’ Eve. The word "hallow" means "saint,"…
2. The Setting of the Book of Esther (continued from previous issue) Astyages E. W. Faulstich presents his arguments in his book History, Harmony, The Exile & Return . 1 To understand it, we have to have some background. The Assyrians ruled the near east. Median king Cyaxeres decided to…
In my commentary on Judges, I demonstrated that Jephthah in his Spirit-led vow intended to offer to Yahweh the first person who greeted him from the doors of his house after the battle. Since it was a custom for the young women to come out dancing to greet the returning…
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W illiam Johnstone ( 1 & 2 Chronicles, Volume 1 ) argues that the Chronicler depicts Israel's warfare as “sacramental.” The brief account of the war with the Hagrites in 1 Chronicles 5:18-22 is an early example. “Israel is the agent of the LORD'S rule on earth,” he writes, adding…
A faith has been shaken, illusions shattered, pieties punctured,” writes Damon Linker at The Week . The faith is progressivism, which Linker characterizes as liberalism-plus. Progressives believe in rights and all that but “add something else: a quasi-eschatological faith in historical progress that gives the movement its name. This belief…
T o Roman pagans, Judaism was a solvent of the bonds linking religion, household, and polity. Tacitus wrote, “Those who come over to their religion . . . have this lesson first instilled into them, to despise all gods, to disown their country, and set at nought parents, children, and…
P aul's Damascus road conversion from persecutor of the church to apostle is well-known. His life story figures his hope for Israel, that the people who killed the Lord of glory would see the pierced Shepherd and repent. Peter's transition from persecutor to apostle is less obvious, but no less…
E vangelicals have long been dismissed by Catholics, Orthodox, and confessional or mainline Protestants as “biblicists.” Evangelicals are still being dismissed as biblicists these days, but more often than in the past the charge comes from others within the broadly Evangelical world. It's not always clear what's being condemned when…
H ope Jahren's memoir of a life in science, Lab Girl , has three sections: “Roots and Leaves”; “Wood and Knots”; “Flowers and Fruits.” She intersperses autobiographical chapters with vivid, personified descriptions of the life of plants. “No risk,” she writes, “is more terrifying than that taken by the first…
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