Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
This may not be a good title for an essay, especially one written by a Christian minister who is deeply sympathetic with the people of Hong Kong. I suspect that many of our friends there would be overjoyed at the prospect of a significant infusion of “democracy.” They even raise…
Despite its deadly serious purpose, The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the funniest book in the Bible. Jesus’ sheep hear His voice but they often fail to get His jokes. God always delivers His witticisms deadpan because that is the easiest way to separate the sheep from the goats in…
The study of symbolism is seen by some as a curiosity, rather far removed from the central matters of life. According to them, anyone who spends time studying Biblical imagery and symbolism may well be getting into a "dangerous" area. Persons who engage in an "overly symbolic" interpretation of Scripture…
The meaning of my title will not be apparent till the end, but he who endures will find intellectual relief, if not satisfaction. One of my favorite quotes from John Walvoord comes from his commentary on the book of Revelation. 1 With regard to the “stars of heaven” falling to…
Christmas is just around the corner, which means the topic of purchasing gifts for children has been floating around my conversations. Minimalism has been on trend for the last few years, and many families have adopted the mindset of “less is more” when it comes to gifts. In Christian circles,…
A Speech Given to a Christian School Hello High Schoolers and Middle Schoolers! I’m one of the local pastors in town, and one of my main jobs is to study the Bible. So I have come today to speak to you about some basic points about the Bible. One of…
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Jesus is described twice in Revelation as the “root of David” (5:5; 22:16). “Son of David” or “Seed of David” makes sense; Jesus comes from the Davidic line. But Jesus is not only the fruit, but the root of the Davidic house. He is the original Anointed One before who…
In a 1984 JBL article, Elizabeth Struthers Malbon suggested that the boat in Mark’s gospel represents a “mediator” between sea and land, and pointed out that Jesus treats the sea as if it were land (walking on it, showing no concern for the unsteadiness of the waves, etc.). If we…
PROVERBS 21:20 The verse could be translated, more woodenly, as “Stores desired and oil in the habitation of the wise; but the foolish Adam swallows it.” The verse contrasts the conduct of the wise and of the foolish, and the basic contrast is between the wise man who has things…
Well, a bit of looking pays off. One Justin Champion has written a study of priestcraft in early Enlightenment England, The Pillars of Priestcraft Shaken (Cambridge 1992), which is available in its entirety online at: http://www.newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk/catalogue/viewcat.php?id=OTHE00029. Chapter 5 begins with a paragraph that links the attacks on priestcraft with the…
Writing of Spinoza, Jonathan Israel ( Radical Enlightenment ) notes that Spinoza outlines “the concept of priestcraft as a system of organized imposture and deception, rooted in credulousness and superstitution, which loomed so large in the subsequent history of the Enlightenment and was to receive massive amplification in the books…
Not of the Hitchens-Dawkins-Harris variety, but of the seventeenth century variety. The four figures most often attacked for formulating a thoroughgoing atheistic perspective were Spinoza (for his biblical work as well as his metaphysics), Hobbes, La Peyrere (author of Pre-Adamites ), and Lodewijk Meyer (author of Philosophia Scripturae Interpres ).…
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