Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Figure: Literary structure of the Garden narrative The Garden narrative describes God forming the adam , resting him in his presence, then provisioning for his appetites of food, vocation, and mate. It continues to describe a snake, the introduction of death, and humanity's expulsion from the garden. The pages of…
I’ve spent the last few years studying the theology of St. Irenaeus (d. circ. 200ad). In particular, I’ve been gripped by the way that Irenaeus consistently resisted the anti-body emphasis that emerged in later Christian theology. His eschatology is remarkably focused on the resurrection of the body, and the renewal…
Details of Jesus in Exodus 1:22-2:25 Although there are a great many Christ-types in the Old Testament, it is hard to overplay the obviousness of some that seem to necessarily rise to the top before others. One of these is Isaac, with his near sacrifice by his own father after…
What can we say about Cain's wicked sanctuary-city of Enoch? First that it was built with a brother's blood as its cornerstone. The Church is also built such, for Jesus was the younger brother of the whole Adamic race, slain by that company of older brothers because they hated Him.…
In Genesis 2:9 the ground brought forth trees good for food, delightful to view, and in two cases, life-giving or rule-bestowing. Adam, made of the ground (2:7), would by implication bring forth new trees, and thus trees and plants are among the symbols for human beings throughout the Bible. The…
One of the must fundamental teachings of the Bible and of the Christian religion is that man does not have life in himself. Man must get life from outside of himself, in order to maintain his life. The way this is done is through eating and drinking. Apart from life,…
Showing page 78 of 309
Showing page 1 of 43
Dumitru Staniloae has this to say about the asymmetry between the economic and ontological relation of Son and Spirit in Orthodoxy: “from the order in which the divine persons are manifested in the world Catholic theology infers an order of their relations within the Godhead, and admits no freedom for…
According to Balthasar, the Father’s abandonment of Jesus on the cross leaves him without any knowledge - he enters a state of absolute unknowing, and in this state remains faithful and obedient to the Father. As Levering explains it, “Jesus only moves to the pinnacle of obedience (the pinnacle of…
Explaining the fittingness of Christ’s passion as the means for salvation, Thomas says “In the first place, man knows thereby how much God loves him, and is thereby stirred to love him in return, and therein lies the perfection of human salvation.” The “second” reason is that Christ by His…
Thomas is not typically viewed as a theologian of gift, but Matthew Levering argues that Thomas teaches that the Trinity is a communion of gift-giving. Thomas says in a comment on John 5:20, “because the Father perfectly loves the Son, this is a sign that the Father has shown him…
INTRODUCTION Jesus has done works of power in the cities of Galilee, but they refuse to repent (11:20-24). They are too wise to receive God’s revelation through Jesus, too proud to take on His yoke. THE TEXT “ Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His…
Jesus asks a series of questions about who John is, about what people were expecting from him. Did they go into the wilderness to see reeds shaken by the wind? Or a man in soft clothing? Or a prophet? The answer to the second is clearly No: John is not…
Showing page 1543 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
