Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In a recent article in Biblical Horizons , I argued that the imagery of James 1:21 alludes to baptism, and particularly to baptism as an ordination and incorporation into the holy priesthood. This understanding of baptism as ordination to priesthood is not, I have since discovered, original, but in fact…
He will be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them (Zechariah 6:13b). A prime difficulty in the interpretation of this verse is the antecedent of the pronoun "them." A number of alternatives have been offered. Some suggest that the "two"…
Like certain kinds of music, the unchanging rhythm of Aquinas's Summa gets into your bones. Read a few sections and it begins to run through your head. You start drumming your fingers, humming, swaying gently to the rhythm of Videtur-Sed Contra-Responsio, Videtur-Sed Contra-Responsio, “It seems-On the contrary-I answer.” The only…
The Book of Revelation is a gold mine of liturgical information. The various hymns and exclamations in Revelation have always been used in Christian worship. As I have been studying Revelation this year, it occurred to me that make a complete hymn out of the various hymns in the book.…
In the book of Revelation we find a triad of Strong Angels, and another triad of Other Angels. The purpose of this essay is to explore the Biblical background of these two sets, and thus fill out their meaning. The first triad of angels we encounter in the Bible comes…
In Revelation, the term aggelos means messenger, of course, but with a special emphasis on messenger as covenant administrator. This is immediately obvious from the fact that the angels are constantly acting to enforce the covenant one way or another: sealing people, bringing judgment, calling for repentance, etc. They are…
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Derrida on Plato on writing says “In order for these contrary values (good/evil, true/false, essence/appearance, inside/outside, etc.) to be in opposition, each of the terms must be simply EXTERNAL to the other, which means that one of these oppositions (the opposition between inside and outside) must already be accredited as…
Baal is AntiChrist. Like Nabu, who usurps the place of his father Marduk in Babylonian mythology; like Thoth in Egyptian mythology, who substitutes and replaces Ra; like Zeus, who rebels against his father Chronos and takes his place as chief of the pantheon ?Eso Baal attacks and replaces his father…
There’s a very moving piece on the Nigerian Anglican, Archbishop Peter Jasper Akinola in the current issue of the Atlantic Monthly , written by Philip Jenkins. It’s wonderful to see how the Lord is raising up sturdy Christian leaders from the Southern Hemisphere to challenge the decadent churches of the…
Communion meditation for October 12: We all know that Paul teaches that the Supper tests and manifests what is on the heart. Some the Corinthians were weak and sick, Paul said, and some had fallen asleep because they took the Supper wrongly. But this idea did not originate with Paul.…
Babel has become a key image for postmodern Western thought. A number of years ago, Princeton’s Jeffrey Stout wrote Ethics After Babel , reacting to the Babelic move of some moral philosophers (such as MacIntyre and Hauerwas), who pointed to the difficulties of translation and even conversation across the boundaries…
Exhortation for October 12: In the section of Luke’s gospel that we are examining this morning, hospitality serves as a symbol for receiving Christ. To receive one of the messengers of Jesus is to receive Jesus and to receive Jesus is to receive the One who sent Jesus. Hospitality is…
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