Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
We lost Crimea. That is very clear. Putin proved he was not lying when he said he would place women and children ahead of his soldiers to storm Ukrainian military bases. Russian soldiers did exactly that with women (some who volunteered and some who were forced). Russia now occupies all…
Sound is an indicator of life and energy. “Sound signals the present use of power, since sound must be in active production to exist at all.” Things don’t have to be alive to make themselves visible, and “a primitive hunter can see, feel, smell, and taste an elephant when the…
In the most famous section of his best-known novel, Dostoevsky’s Ivan Karamazov brings forward his case against God. He opens with a horrific litany of outrages against children. Turkish soldiers make a baby laugh and then shoot a pistol into his face. A little girl is beaten, thrashed, kicked by…
At the heart of Esther Lightcap Meek's splendid Little Manual for Knowing is a concept she picked up from Michael Polanyi, "subsidiary-focal integration." The concept begins from the insight that all our knowing, all our experience, is double. We focus on something, but we are capable of "indwelling" that focal…
Jesus promises the overcomers of Pergamum "hidden manna" and a "white stone." The hidden manna is often linked with the manna stashed away in the ark of the covenant. The white stone has proved more elusive. Exodus tells us that manna was white (Exodus 16:31) and like bdellium (Numbers 11:7),…
Leviticus 23 begins with a reference to “Yahweh’s appointed times” ( mo’ade-YHWH ). Mo’ed is the common term for the feasts of Israel. A few dimensions to this term. First, it means “appointed time” or “designated time.” It is a time set by Yahweh. Yahweh has claimed certain times as…
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The contrast between the angels and the Son in Hebrews 1-2 is primarily a contrast of the law “delivered through angels” (cf. 2:2) and the word now spoken in the Son. But these chapters also touch on another aspect of angelic ministry. Twice the author mentions the oikoumene , once…
OK, so the ubiquity of the Obamas at the news stand is an annoyance, but consider the alternative: Another round of Angelina v. Brad v. Jen v. the world, or Brittany’s latest meltdown, or whatever. The usual celebrities will be back soon enough, but for the moment let’s bask in…
Galatians 4:4: When the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son. Advent is about the beginning of a new time, a new history, a new calendar, a new creation. We know that it’s about a new time because it brings a new table. This has been God’s way…
Galatians 4: When the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent for…
Christians often have a hard time with the incarnation. How can an exalted, sovereign God become flesh? This question starts from the wrong end. Instead of trying to learn about God and then trying to make sense of the incarnation, we should learn of God as the God of the…
Barth provides a flurry of quotations to demonstrate that Calvin’s Christology was perfectly catholic. Augustine wrote, “Quando in forma servi et mediator esset, infra angelos esse voluit in forma Dei supra angelos mansit; idem in inferioribus via vitae qui in superioribus vita.” It could also be called the extra-Thomasisticum: Christ…
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