Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Brian: This is, I guess, the ultimate news flash. Maybe the last one. Just a couple of minutes ago a lot of people ascended up into the air and met the returning Jesus Christ. At least that seems to be what happened. As you can see, our cameras are on…
Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who knows where mythology leaves off and history begins–or which id which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that…
One of the mysteries in Esther is why Mordecai refused to acknowledge Haman. We are never explicitly told, and such guesses as that he was continuing Yahweh’s war against Amalek do not carry weight. If such was Mordecai’s purpose he was in sin, because it was Yahweh’s war, not his.…
Below are two views of marriage that came out of an e-mail exchange. The first is a kind of of phenomenology of marriage, and of behavior within marriage. It is who we are by nature. It is bad news, very bad news. The second entry is what can be done…
The previous essay on “Monocovenantalism” brought up this matter, so a few comments here. In this area also the mindless militants have perverted the conversation. The notion that the death of Jesus was insufficient for our justification and that we must also have an imputation of His perfect life in…
Repeatedly over the last several years a variety of characters have accused the so-called “Federal Vision” of being “monocovenantal.” Many other wild and unsubstantiated accusations against the “Federal Vision” have been made, of course. Recently I learned that two of the men on the Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s study committee on…
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The Lord’s Supper models a proper meal, but for that very reason it models a properly ordered community, the right order of human society. How we eat together, with whom we eat tells us what kind of community we are. It also presents a model of work, creativity, culture, the…
In a 1972 essay on Les stars , Edgar Morin explains the difference between actors and stars by referring to ancient heroic myths. Stars are heroes of adventure, action, tragedy, and love like the heroes of myths. They are “divinisee et mythique” (39). The star's mythical, quasi-divine status applies both…
In a paper on Academia.edu, Alan Darley of the University of Nottingham examines Thomas's revision of the Pseudo-Dionysian notion of hierarchy, stressing the importance of Scripture in Thomas's revisionary efforts. Along the way, following a number of recent scholars, he highlights the central role of Scripture in the Summa .…
Stephen Greenblatt uses the anthropological theory of Alfred Gell to explain Shakespeare's universal appeal, particularly Gell's notion of the “distributed personality”: This refers to “the ability of an artist to fashion something - Gell called it an ‘index' - that carries agency, his own and that of others, into the…
In an essay in the 1978 collection, Perspectives on Luke-Acts , Donald Miesner explains the chiastic structure of Paul's missionary journey: A. Jerusalem to Antioch, Cyprus, Asia Minor, 12:25-13:14a B. Paul's initial address to Jews at Antioch, 13:14b-52 C. Paul is persecuted at Iconium, gives speech at Lystra, 14:1-28 D.…
The liturgy provides a rich and holistic model of evangelism and discipleship, holding together dimensions of Christian living that often fly apart. The liturgy begins with a call to enter the presence of God; just so, our entry into Christ is not a product of our diligent efforts but the…
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