Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In the Bible, fatness is such a blessing, that it is especially hard to understand why wicked men are permitted to enjoy such a state. It requires a theodicy and faith in God. Thus: “For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek . They are…
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The allusion to the Exodus story is contained in the first words of Deuteronomy 14:1 — “ye are the sons of Yahweh your God” — as well as in 14:2 in the use of the technical term translated “treasured possession,” “His own possession,” “peculiar people,” “precious people,” and so forth.…
I have argued that Deuteronomy 14:1-21 is an independent literary unit that applies the Third Word to the lives of Israelites from the time of Moses and Joshua. In this short pericope, Moses suggests broad and deep meaning by means of literary allusion to the stories of the creation and…
In his recently republished The New Creation , the late, delightful Herbert McCabe defends the priesthood of the plebs as roundly as anyone could want. Citing Hebrews, he claims that "there is an essential difference between the Christian community and the community of the Old Law, or any other religious…
Augustine famously prayed, “Our hearts our restless until they rest in You.” True indeed. Being creatures, we inherently sense our ontological poverty—our innate condition of dependence—and are compelled to find a sense of security. And it is also true—as Augustine’s own narrative painfully illustrates—that one of the things we most…
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Some of the following notes were taken from a longer introduction to Julius Caesar posted on this site some months ago. INTRODUCTION For several generations, Julius Caesar has been a staple of high school English literature, coming from a period when education was rooted in Greek and Roman classics and…
Paul Nickell’s 1951 Westinghouse Studio One production of Coriolanus is fast-paced, well-acted, and, making allowances for technological weaknesses, interesting and fun to watch. It is also very unlike the play that Shakespeare wrote. The play begins with plebs rioting (or milling around) in the streets of Rome, complaining about the…
The stage history of Coriolanus is as interesting as the play itself. It has provoked riots and demonstrations, and has been used as a way of preventing riots and demonstrations. Here are a few excerpts from RB Parker’s excellent introduction to the play (The Oxford Shakespeare): RIGHT-WING INTERPRETATIONS ?In reaction…
Glory and Song, 2 Chronicles 5:1-14 INTRODUCTION As we close out this brief series on worship, we will be looking at two separate but related issues: the glorification of worship, and music in worship. These are related in several ways: Music is itself a means of enhancing or glorifying worship;…
INTRODUCTION For Elizabethans, Rome was not only an ancient power but a very real contemporary power. The plays of Shakespeare that are set in Rome and those derived from Roman models often work in both registers, bringing papal Rome into plays set in ancient times. I will look at some…
I wonder: If we take Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar as a play about both ancient and Papal Rome, then the point seems to be that ecclesiastical imperialism is unavoidable, that it will take its vengeance and return in more virulent forms. The “puritans” like Cassius attempt to cut the head off…
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