Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Christian tradition has always had an uneasy relationship with the materiality of creation. Dirt, liquid, sex, blood, and bodies—the world and the flesh stand in company with the Devil as two of the three great enemies of the saints. Mundus, caro, et diabolus , as the old Latin saying…
Since the destruction of Jerusalem was an event of earth-shattering covenantal significance, what might be the meaning of the subsequent tragic events at the desert fortress of Masada? In Hebrew, the name Masada means “strong foundation or support,” from a root meaning “to hunt, lie in wait for prey.” Located…
Take a long look at the photo above. To whom is this woman praying? It is hard to tell, isn’t it? Suppose we watch her for a while. We may see her bow low to the floor. Her lips may move, though perhaps it is too low for us to…
Psalm 137 is widely regarded as one of the meanest of the imprecatory psalms. Certainly as we read it it is seems to be a song of pure vengeance. The exiles in Babylon, in grief over the judgment that Babylon has brought upon them, pray for the destruction of that…
Forty men and women came from all over the United States to attend the 2018 Trinity Term course at Theopolis. Pastors, students, teachers, an electrician, a city planner, and others from a variety of denominations spent five days at Beeson Divinity School studying covenant epistemology under the tutelage of philosopher…
Matthew records that Jesus "withdrew" to Galilee to begin His public ministry there after He "heard that John had been delivered up" (Mt. 4:12). Matthew’s typically matter-of-fact style veils the truly remarkable character of Jesus’ withdrawal. Matthew has been presenting Jesus as the Messiah, the Seed of Abraham and Son…
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Isaiah 9 describes not only a dawn, but the dawn of victory. With the light comes a multiplication of the nation, a repopulation of the land, gladness like the gladness of harvest (v. 3). This gladness is the result of a deliverance, a new exodus that will deliver Israel from…
Matthew says that Jesus’ residence in Capernaum fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 9 about the dawning in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. There are several aspects to this. 1) Isaiah 9 comes at the end of a prophecy concerning the Aramean crisis in Judah. Rezin of Aram and Pekah…
It’s no wonder that the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, the region of Galilee, was considered a place of darkness. Towns had been sold to the Gentile Hiram, and apparently pronounced worthless (1 Kings 9). This region was the first to go into exile (2 Kings 15:29), and the Assyrians…
Though Austen lived almost two decades into the nineteenth century, she is usually characterized as a writer of the eighteenth. Her aesthetic and tastes were set in stone by 1800 (when she was 25), and she was untouched by romanticism. Indeed, she is often read as an anti-Romantic writer. The…
Gabrielle White offers an abolitionist reading of Austen’s work, and of Emma specifically. Part of the evidence is circumstantial. Some of Austen’s best-loved writers favored not only the abolition of the slave trade (which happened in 1807) but also the abolition of chattel slavery in British colonies (which didn’t happen…
Ellen Belton points out that in the 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice , “Elizabeth and Darcy (Colin Firth) are hardly ever frames together until well into the second half of the film, and when they are shown in the same shot, the effect is to emphasize the obstacles…
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