Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In the beginning, this was home. The world, I mean. Creation wasn’t just a series of unconnected events, a flashy display of building prowess. Yes, creation was intended to give God glory—which I guess you could say means that the creation was supposed to show the greatness—the weight —of God.…
We think we know. God is a stern Rule-Maker who has a bit of an anger management problem. Or, God is the indulgent Daddy in the sky. Or, God used to be a stern Ruler, but he got nice. Christians don't believe any of that. Christians say the one God…
Unfortunately today, baptism seems so… tiny . It’s actually… cute (maybe sweet?) when it’s given to a child. A little baby, a small gathering of people, a little bowl of water, tiny drops sprinkled upon the little baby’s head followed by a small applause and a short prayer. How… small!…
Early on in the history of the church, Christians understood that the 1st century Jewish practice of meeting for prayer at set times of the day was a good and biblical practice to continue. We find references to this in several places in Scripture. In Acts 3 we find Peter…
Editors’ note: For those interested in a review of Richard Hays’s latest book, see here . Richard Hays is a renowned New Testament scholar. The professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School originally studied English literature, giving his reading of Scripture a pronounced literary sensibility. He’s perhaps best known…
As many commentators point out, Genesis is structured by 10 uses of the word toledoth , "generations." The word means something along the lines of "begotten things," and the toledoth statements head the various sections of Genesis. When Genesis 2:4 announces "these are the begettings of heaven and earth" and…
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Maggie Jackson ( Distracted ) writes, “One yearlong study found that workers not only switch tasks every three minutes during their workday but that nearly half the time they interrupt themselves.” And this: “Nearly a third of fourteen- to twenty-one-year olds juggle five to eight media while doing homework.” I…
INTRODUCTION The Jewish leaders rejected John and Jesus, but this is nothing new. Jesus reminds them in parables that they have spent their entire history rejecting Yahweh’s servants and servants. THE TEXT “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it,…
Jesus’ parable of two brothers (Matthew 21:28-29) is puzzling on several levels. There is a major textual variant; the NKJV, following one tradition, puts the defiant-but-remorseful brother first and the NASB puts the compliant-but-disobedient brother first. We can address the textual question, I think, when we have figured out the…
Gothic architecture, Augustus Pugin argued, operated on the principles that “there should be no features about a building which are not necessary for convenience, construction, or propriety” and that “all ornament should consist of enrichment of the essential construction of the building.” Classical architecture, he thought, failed to achieve this,…
Christians, Tertullian argued, were perfectly willing to offer sacrifice on behalf of the emperor, but it had to be a specifically Christian sacrifice ( Ad Scapulam , ch 2): “A Christian is enemy to none, least of all to the Emperor of Rome, whom he knows to be appointed by…
Revelation 7 describes the sealing of the 144,000, and this number is broken up into 12,000 among 12 tribes. It is a repetitive passage, and the rhythm of tribes and numbers is reminiscent of the description of the offerings presented to the tabernacle by each tribe in Numbers 7. Both…
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