Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I grew up on the north side of Chicago. My parents were evangelicals and I was raised in the faith. I graduated from a large public high school in which practicing Christians were very few and very far between (though nominal Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox were in abundance), which…
During the recent round table discussion on the future of Protestantism , Peter Leithart advocated a much greater degree of unity in the Church than we presently enjoy. Another participant in the discussion wondered aloud how Leithart's vision would be different from the ministerial associations that presently exist in many…
"But he, wanting to justify himself, said, 'And who is my neighbor?' And Jesus said to him, 'First, your neighbors are the people in your church, then the ones with whom you enjoy greatest doctrinal or ecclesiastical commonality, then those with whom you enjoy less commonality.'" -Said Jesus... never Since…
A number of years ago, I came across something in the Puritan Thomas Goodwin in regard to John 17:22. Goodwin points out that Jesus prays that they (the disciples) might be given the glory of the Father as a means to an end. The end is unity, and the means…
In her prize-winning book, Gilead , Marilynne Robinson uses the pastoral settings of Iowa to challenge ministers to live up to their high callings. One of the most powerful themes in the novel is the pastor’s power to “bless.” The tension in the novel builds as we watch Rev. Ames…
One of the few glaring errors of the Protestant Reformers was the failure to welcome children back to the Lord's Table. Something that seems to go along with this was the exclusion of other kinds of Christians, primarily Roman Catholics, from Holy Communion in Protestant churches. Exclusion of Roman Catholics…
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Jim Rogers of Texas A&M takes some issue with my discussion of the justice of NATO bombings in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  I’ll briefly take up Jim’s questions about human shields in another post.  Here’s Jim’s response: [1][a] Yes, in general, but your post doesn’t really deal with the problem of…
Athanasius points to the biblical teaching of creation from nothing to prove that creation is in its nature changeable.  It’s not simply that something comes from nothing is fragile, unstable, dependent; it also seems that creatures have a changeable nature because their origin is change: Scripture “teaches that [the Son]…
Athanasius argues that “Father” is preferable to the Arian “Unoriginate” as a name for the First Person.  It is more Scriptural, and it also names the First Person by reference to God the Son rather than by reference to the creation. Plus, “Father” is the liturgical name for the First…
Over the past sixty years, writes Dambisa Moyo ( Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa ), Africa has received over $1 trillion in aid.  Study after study concludes that it has had minimal, or even negative effects on Africa’s economies:…
Hilary Clinton had some stiff opposition last week in Pakistan.  Everywhere she went in her dazzling blue pants suit, Pakistanis raged about US policy in Afghanistan and along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.  One woman pointedly asked, Do the US drone bombings that kill Pakistani civilians count as terrorism?  Clinton of course…
Mike Bull responds to my comments on Athanasius’ discussion of purity and bodily secretions: “I agree with Luther, but isn’t the point more that what comes out is ‘worthless”? Moving beyond the Old Testament pedagogical purpose of ceremonial uncleanness, affirming the goodness of bodies does not necessarily include any goodness…
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