Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
A Study in Biblical and Practical Theology Sunday School Notes / Epiphany 2004 Introductory Note: January 6 is Epiphany in the traditional church calendar. Though Epiphany is often treated as a single day, with the Sundays following counted as “Sundays after Epiphany,” we will treat Epiphany as an extended season.…
Imagine someone from another world trying to learn to live in our society according to our customs. What if someone gave him a check for a hundred dollars for his birthday–the first check he had ever seen in his life? Would he immediately understand how a check was used? Perhaps…
According to Presbyterian doctrine, as articulated in the Westminster Confession of Faith, baptism is a baptized person’s “admission… into the visible church.” By referring to the “visible church,” the document makes clear it is referring to the present institutional Church with all her imperfections, as opposed to the future Church…
N. T. Wright claims that in the Apostle Paul’s writings “righteousness,” as it predicated of humans, denotes “covenant membership.” When he wrote this in the New Bible Dictionary edited by Sinclair Ferguson, J. I. Packer, and David Wright, no one thought this was too big a deal. However, when he…
It seems almost human nature to think that we can find something to do for God that will make Him do us favors. If we live more virtuously, or cut down on a vice or two, then God will have to reward us. But the problem with this notion is…
The First Commandment teaches us to trust in Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. The First Commandment reads (I’m using NASB throughout): “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Obviously, trusting in someone or something else (even one’s own good works) for justification, sanctification, and eternal life”…
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SR Hirsch has some characteristically stimulating comments about the description of the ark of the covenant in Exodus 25. 1) He points out that the phrasing at the beginning of the ark section (25:10) is different from the opening syntax for the other furnishings of the tabernacle. Instead of addressing…
For Aquinas, the ideal situation of justice is a situation of equality. Only when the persons acting toward each other are equal is there “justice without qualification.” For an act to be an act of justice per se , it’s necessary that the persons be “absolutely other” and “absolutely distinct,”…
Richard Bauckham has written two books on Moltmann, and he summarizes his findings in a general article on Moltmann in David Ford, ed., The Modern Theologians . He first traces the development of Moltmann’s work, from the early trilogy (Theology of Hope, The Crucified God, The Church in the Power…
In his book on the Trinity, Veli-Matti Karkkainen gives a superb detailed summary of Moltmann, and offers some pointed, even devastating, criticisms. Moltmann puts the cross as the center of his understanding of God: “the cross of the Son stands from eternity in the centre of the Trinity.” Another guiding…
One of the main critics of contemporary interpretations of Augustine has been Michel Rene Barnes of Marquette. He summarizes the case against Augustine, and the fundamental problems with that case, in a 1995 article from Theological Studies. I am also drawing on the discussion of Lewis Ayres’s recent Nicaea and…
Uriah Y Kim reviews my Kings commentary in a recent issue of Reviews in Religion and Theology . He’s got some criticisms, but overall it’s a fair review. A couple of responses on specific points: 1) He thinks my contention that there is a “seventh-king” pattern is suspect; my counting…
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