Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
First John 5.16-17: If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life–to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for…
A few years back I read Lesslie Newbigin’s little book Truth and Authority in Modernity . 1 I was particularly impressed with his argument in chapter 2 “The Mediation of Divine Authority.” Now, maybe this is old hat to many of you, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it…
Baptism is not Christian circumcision. There’s a lot of loose talk to that effect in Presbyterian circles; but it’s not accurate. The old world rite of circumcision was fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Baptism unites us to Christ and therefore makes us participate in the circumcision of…
In recent years I’ve observed a number of Reformed-type churches trying to institute corporate handraising in certain sung parts of worship. This often does not seem to work very well. Some people don’t do it. Some do it half-way. Some do it with one hand. Some dramatically stretch to the…
Most modern scholars recognize that behind Arius’s campaign to differentiate Jesus from God was the Hellenistic theological conviction that the high God cannot suffer. Rowan Williams argues that Arius had the right idea about divine suffering, but the wrong idea of God, which “puts the unavoidable question of what the…
Charismatics have been much maligned for constantly “praising the Lord.” They would say if you hit your finger with a hammer, you should instantly say, “Thank you Jesus that You let me hit my finger…” This of course, as we all know, is stupid. There was once a lady who…
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INTRODUCTION Jesus’ ministry is linked to John’s. When John is arrested, Jesus moves to Galilee and settles in Capernaum (4:12-13), and later John’s death leads to another withdrawal (14:13). Jesus removes Himself from harm’s way so that the kingdom of God can get its first foothold in Galilee. THE TEXT…
According to American literary critic Harry Levin, the modern novel is born from a war against artifice. The problem is, How is a novelist to create an appearance of life-like realism? The answer, from Cervantes on, is to reject “that air of bookishness in which any book is inevitably wrapped.”…
A reader, John Halton, writes in response to my comments on Tintin in the Congo : “I think the reason why Tintin in the Congo has ‘suddenly become controversial’ is fairly simple: a new paperback edition of the book has just been released in the UK. “As long as I…
Published in 1931, Tintin in the Congo has suddenly become controversial. The British Commission for Racial Equality urges that this volume of “racist claptrap” be removed from bookshops everywhere; “It beggars belief in this day and age that any shop would think it acceptable to sell and display Tintin in…
Matthew 4:2: After Jesus had fasted forty days and forty night, He afterward became hungry. Jesus goes into the wilderness as the Last Adam and as the true Israelite. And like Adam and Israel, He is tested regarding food. He finds Himself surrounded by the stones of the desert, and…
Much of the following depends on Austin Farrer’s discussion in The Triple Victory . Why was Jesus tempted in the particular ways He was tempted? The best answer to that question is typological. Jesus is the true Israel, and He is faced with the same series of temptations that Israel…
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