Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
One of the major themes of the book of Acts is that Christ’s servants follow in His footsteps. For instance, if we compare the lives of Jesus and Paul, we find that each engaged in several years of travelling and preaching. Each set his face toward Jerusalem. In each case…
(This continues a discussion of the Biblical and Assyrian chronologies, begun in earlier posts. You can click on the category, "Biblical Chronology," to see the previous posts. Was Ahab at Qarqar? Allis writes: "According to his Monolith Inscription, Shalmaneser III, in his sixth year (854 B.C.) made an expedition to…
I am not infrequently asked for advice on how to implement the kinds of things I’ve discussed in Rite Reasons and in my book The Sociology of the Church. To that end I’m providing in this essay some nuts and bolts that grow out of more than ten years of…
The first commandment given in the Levitical sacrificial legislation has to do with the animals appropriate to sacrifice: "When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of cattle ( behemah ), from the herd or the flock" (Lev. 1:2). Cattle alone were…
In the first week of November, the voters of the state of Washington were asked to approve or disapprove physician-assisted suicide. This has led to a good deal of comment on the issue of euthanasia in the press, and provokes the following reflections. 1. From a social policy standpoint, the…
We come this month to one of the most pernicious problems in the reconstruction of Ancient Near Eastern chronology, the problem of the Assyrian King Lists. We cannot proceed further with our survey of the chronology of the kings of Israel until we remove this roadblock from our path. We…
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RW Southern describes the medieval church’s conception of its place in the world: “the church was much more than the source of coercive power. It was not just a government, however grandiose its operations. It was the whole of human society subject to the will of God . . .…
Yoder ( Body Politics ) suggests that “flesh” in the New Testament can refer to “ethnicity.” Citing 2 Corinthians 5, he writes that “Paul is defending the missionary policies, for which he was being criticized, according to wich on principle he makes Jews and Gentiles pray and eat together. What…
Galatians 6 is roughly organized as a chiasm: A. Bear one another’s burdens B. Boasting in oneself and not another C. Sowing and reaping; flesh D. Do good C’. Judaizers want good show in flesh/boast in flesh B’. Boasting only in Christ Jesus: crucified to world A’. I bear stigmata…
What did the Judaizers want? According to Galatians 6:12, they wanted to make a “good show” in the flesh. The verb for “making a good show” ( euprosopeo ) is a hapax in the NT and very rare elsewhere, but we might make a go at translating and interpreting through…
Matthew Continetti analyzes our cultural moment, and the likely impact of Obama’s policies, in a Weekly Standard piece. He says that Obama recognizes that the problem is a collapse of responsibility among cultural and political elites, following by a corresponding collapse of trust in those elites. Yet, Obama’s stimulus package…
“They pierced my hands and my feet.” The voice is the voice of David, but we know from the gospels that the words describe Jesus on the cross. Jesus is fixed to the cross by nails through his feet. Feet are associated with strength and dominion. A conqueror tramples his…
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