Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Inspired by the “Moscow Mood” Debate In a shocking 1961 study, Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram would don an official-looking white lab coat and tell a volunteer to administer increasing shocks to another “volunteer” in an adjacent room strapped into an “electric chair” just out of sight. The shocks were incrementally…
My title and the substance of the article are borrowed from a section of David Wenham’s excellent book, Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity? I am appropriating ideas from the pages in his book which address the question, “Why Does Paul refer to Jesus’ Life and Ministry so…
Some of us may be familiar with the notion that the epistle of James is like a New Testament version of Proverbs or other wisdom literature. According to this line of thinking, the epistle of James (together with the other wisdom literature) is basically a collection of timeless sayings without…
This summer I started walking a long trail that ran north from our home. On my best days, I would walk a total of five miles at a brisk pace. This trail follows the power lines that serve a significant portion of North Dallas and stretches far past the two…
I am an Australian. I went to the American Academy of Religion mega-fest last year to meet up with some friends, to present a paper at a ‘science and religion’ panel, and to marvel at the sheer scale of how Americans do things. It was quite a ride. Looking at…
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 We evangelicals do not often understand the roles of men and women in ministry. Because our consumerist culture has gutted the notion of family as it was historically understood, all Biblical passages about women in church ministry (a familial organism) are almost incomprehensible to…
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In Spirit, John ascends to the sky and steps through an open door into the throne room of God (Revelation 4). Like the hovering Spirit of Genesis 1:2, the Spirit that carries John unveils a sevenfold scene: 1) A throne and one sitting on it, Revelation 4:2b-3a. 2) An emerald…
Donald Trump's position paper makes the case for strong borders: “A nation without borders is not a nation. A nation without laws is not a nation. A nation that does not serve its own citizens is not a nation.” Pat Buchanan calls it an “invasion” and says that the issue…
In a classic 1962 paper, “The Denomination,” David Martin challenged the prevailing idea that a denomination is an “advanced stage in the development of a sect.” As a sect becomes wealthy and well-established, it softens its rigor, becomes more tolerant and less perfectionist, and eventually settles in comfortably as a…
“This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded that you do, that the glory of Yahweh may appear to you,” Moses tells the assembled Israelites (Leviticus 9:6). What is that thing we must do to see glory? The following verses answer that question. Aaron comes near to the altar, offers…
My colleague James Jordan likes to say that the tabernacle is made out of hearts. He cites Exodus 25:2: “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; every man whose heart moves him shall raise my contribution.” And Exodus 35:21: “Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone…
In their study of evangelicals and race, Divided by Faith , Michael Emerson and Christian Smith found that white evangelicals attribute American race problems to three causes: “prejudiced individuals,” “other groups - usually African Americans - trying to make race problems a group issue when there is nothing more than…
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