Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
This is the second of a three-part study of Genesis 1. 1:3-5 – Light In God’s final actions of the first day, that He addresses the problem of darkness. In evaluating God’s giving of light, we should evaluate the order of events of His creative activity on the first day.…
“In the beginning God created…” With these words, God begins His self-revelation. We first catch God in the act of creation, and in so doing are ourselves caught up into the dramatic exposition of the Divine Life. To witness the Theo-Drama of the Creator is not an entry into the…
In order for Exodus 23:19b (“you shall not boil a kid in his mother’s milk”) to be interpreted properly it must be situated in its biblical context, which necessitates a proper understanding of Exodus 24:1-11. It is the primary contention of this paper that it is only through the lens…
Trinity House President Peter Leithart will deliver a paper on "Constantine the Pious" this week at an international symposium sponsored by the Universitatea Babes-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca , Romania.
Through the prophet Isaiah, Yahweh threatens to send Assyria to Judah and Israel. He will swing Assyria as an ax to lop down the proud trees of Judah (10:33-34). He is going to lop off the branches of the trees, and cut down the tall trees. Trees are people, and…
Peter Leithart, President of Trinity House, will deliver a lecture a a conference on "Constantine: Religious Faith and Imperial Policy," which will be held October 4-5 at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. The conference is co-sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Center of Hellenic Studies at Richard Stockton and the Orthodox…
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Exodus 18’s description of Jethro’s advice to Moses seems disconnected from its context. As Martin Hauge explains ( Descent from the Mountain , 252), the story actually anticipates the entire narrative of chapters 19-40: “The story of the second day presents how parts of the Moses function were transferred to…
Recent studies of the Levitical system have questioned the “facile” links that commentators draw “between its ritual instructions and narratives, its theology, and Israel’s ritual practices” (James Watts, Ritual and Rhetoric in Leviticus , 15). Citing William Gilders ( Blood Ritual in the Hebrew Bible ) and Wesley Bergen (…
James Watts ( Ritual and Rhetoric , 87-88) calls attention to the repetitions of Leviticus 4-5, especially of the basic roots, cht (sin, sin offering) and ‘ shm (guilt, trespass offering): “the refrain ‘sin that he sinned . . . as sin’ appears eight times (4:3, 14, 23–24, 28, 5:6,…
Andrew Sullivan defends same-sex marriage as a “federalist” who is willing to wait for States to make the change. Not everyone is so patient, or Constitutional. CNN reports today that “Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department will issue a memo Monday that recognizes same-sex marriages ‘to the greatest…
Lists typically don’t make for electrifying reading. Ancient lists in unknown languages less so. But in House Most High , A.R. George’s compilation of ancient Mesopotamian temple lists, the lists offer multiple insights into the structures of ancient religion. Topographical lists show the geographic distribution of temples; “theological” lists, lists…
For two and a half millennia, Mesopotamian cosmology saw the world as a multi-story universe. Wayne Horowitz ( Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography ) summarizes: “Sumerians and Akkadians understood the universe as consisting of superimposed levels separated by open space. From above to below, the levels were: a region of heaven above…
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