Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
10. Do not slander [tattle on] a slave to his master, Lest he curse [denounce] you and you be found guilty. The Sojourner of Proverbs 30 is a humble man. He makes this clear in verses 2-4, where he says that he is stupider than anyone else on earth, but…
In retrospect and at first glance, many of the issues that have plagued and divided the Church seem incredibly trivial. The Quartodecimians were branded as heretics for celebrating Easter on 14 Nisan. One of the issues that divided the Eastern and Western Churches in 1054 was the kind of bread…
The gifts of the wise men have been commonly interpreted as royal gifts to the infant King of the Jews. Each of the three gifts is, indeed, connected with kings and kingship in Scripture. The Lord’s anointed is pictured wearing a crown of gold in Psalm 21:3, and the gold…
The Church is not in good shape. Nearly every week we hear about another prominent Christian leader who has fallen into scandalous sin. Many shepherds feed their flocks a diet of baby food, if not outright poison. Few Churches celebrate the Lord’s Supper regularly, and few Christians appreciate its importance.…
Two things I asked of Thee, Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and words of falsehood far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches, Feed me with the food that it my portion, Lest I be full and deny Thee, And say, "Who is the LORD?"…
During the Middle Ages, Joseph, the husband of Mary, was the butt of many jokes. Medieval theater and art often depicted him as something of a buffoon, decidedly marginal to the gospel story. In part, this was the unfortunate obverse of the exaltation of Mary; any man would suffer by…
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In his recent book on the West’s war on “Jihadism,” Weigel observes that it is ironic that the “new atheism” has emerged just when religion has become unavoidably dominant in world politics. Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris would, Weigel suggests, deprive the West of necessary categories for engaging Islamic radicalism: “a…
In his recently reprinted Family and Civilization , Carle Zimmerman notes that the “domestic family” ideal developed in the 12th century. In this model, marriage is liberated from family power, from patriarchalism. He quotes from a text on Canon law: “The marriage jure canonico ought to be completely free from…
One of the most controversial claims of some postmodern thinkers is that language creates rather than simply reflects meaning. Whatever the truth of that as a global statement about language’s generation of meaning, it is fairly obvious that language generates meaning at a lower level. In his first encounter with…
Noami sojourned in the fields of Moab for 10 years (Ruth 1:4), which points to the conclusion of the book, where the author traces the descend of Judah for 10 generations, to David. After 10 years, Naomi returned to the land, which by then had become fruitful (1:22). After 10…
James Jordan points out in his lectures on Ruth that the book contrasts Boaz with Elimelech as husband. Elimelech is a failure as a husband, leaving the land and then leaving Naomi alone. The contrast of the two men also has a political dimension. Israel’s kings were in a quasi-marital…
A favorable Publishers Weekly review of Michael Burleigh’s Sacred Causes criticizes his obscure language: “Use of odd words such as ‘erastianism’ and ‘soteriological’ detract from what is otherwise a rewarding example of intellectual history.” It’s a book about religion and politics, mind you.
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