Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I grew up on the north side of Chicago. My parents were evangelicals and I was raised in the faith. I graduated from a large public high school in which practicing Christians were very few and very far between (though nominal Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox were in abundance), which…
During the recent round table discussion on the future of Protestantism , Peter Leithart advocated a much greater degree of unity in the Church than we presently enjoy. Another participant in the discussion wondered aloud how Leithart's vision would be different from the ministerial associations that presently exist in many…
"But he, wanting to justify himself, said, 'And who is my neighbor?' And Jesus said to him, 'First, your neighbors are the people in your church, then the ones with whom you enjoy greatest doctrinal or ecclesiastical commonality, then those with whom you enjoy less commonality.'" -Said Jesus... never Since…
A number of years ago, I came across something in the Puritan Thomas Goodwin in regard to John 17:22. Goodwin points out that Jesus prays that they (the disciples) might be given the glory of the Father as a means to an end. The end is unity, and the means…
In her prize-winning book, Gilead , Marilynne Robinson uses the pastoral settings of Iowa to challenge ministers to live up to their high callings. One of the most powerful themes in the novel is the pastor’s power to “bless.” The tension in the novel builds as we watch Rev. Ames…
One of the few glaring errors of the Protestant Reformers was the failure to welcome children back to the Lord's Table. Something that seems to go along with this was the exclusion of other kinds of Christians, primarily Roman Catholics, from Holy Communion in Protestant churches. Exclusion of Roman Catholics…
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In a long and informative essay review in an October issue of TNR , Richard Taruskin explains the apparent crisis of classical music as a market correction. Between the early 1960s and 1987, lots of foundation and federal money flowed to composers and performers, inflating the numbers beyond what the…
Isaiah 11:8: And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. As Toby has explained to us this morning, Isaiah is talking about Jesus. Jesus is the only-begotten child of His heavenly Father, the new…
We begin a New Year on Tuesday. New Year’s Day is a time for assessment and self-evaluation, for reflecting on the past and looking toward the future. It is also a time of uncertainty. Amid all the uncertainties, we can be completely sure about two things. We can be sure…
Solomon says that emotions are judgments that, like many judgments, are not necessarily deliberative, articulated, or reflective. If so, why do we feel that emotions “come on” us? Solomon explains that it’s because we focus “on the feelings and flushings that typically accompany our emotional upheavals in times of crisis.”…
Robert Solomon notes the familiar experience of emotions that intensify ” as we express them,” adding that this requires explanation “since Freudian theory and most psychological theories since seem to think that emotions are ‘ventilated’ through expression and intensified through suppression.” Is this perhaps another sign of the overwhelming impact…
In the London Telegraph, Christopher Hitchens sums up the life of Benazir Bhutto, calling attention to her impressive courage. But Hitchens also notes that the courage had a touch of fanaticism that leaves a dangerous legacy. He recalls that during her terms as Prime Minister she pursued a pro-Taliban policy:…
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