Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Timon Cline wrote recently that “theonomists” didn’t run Puritan New England. 1 He is correct, in his major thesis, that the claim that “Puritanism and the natural law tradition are antithetical” is “wildly ahistorical.” Mr. Cline demonstrates that Puritans repeatedly extolled natural law. Besides the Puritan sources Mr. Cline mustered,…
The Church is the land of the walking trees. In Mark’s Gospel, the identity of Jesus is slowly and progressively revealed. Though St. Mark announces at the beginning of his narrative that Jesus Christ is “the Son of God” (1:1), this is a reality that must be spoon-fed to His…
All Scripture is of ultimate significance as the word of God, but it may be helpful to think about what makes a book (in this case, a letter) possibly unique within the canon. In this case, the “general” nature of Ephesians should stand out, but it often is not recognized…
Where do we draw the lines between what is right and wrong? This question is fundamental to civilization, fundamental to a free society. To put this question in the bluntest and most offense terms: if there is a time to kill — which Solomon says there is — whom shall…
This article was originally posted in May of 1994. We speak of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The early Church tended to speak of Him as Father, Word, and Spirit. In this short essay, I want to suggest some other ways to think of the Trinity, ways that…
Jonah’s Home The story of JONAH belongs in the book of KINGS. JONAH balances the story of the unnamed Judean prophet (1K13) in KINGS’ literary structure. Each story describes a journeying prophet that crosses land or sea to confront a wayward king. The two stories are located during the reigns…
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a book unread on the shelf a rebuke
“Do good and lend, without hoping for anything in return.” That is the heart of Christian ethics, according to some, and the kind of gift that Derrida considers impossible. But is this sentence, by itself, the heart of Christian ethics? If so, Christian ethics is inherently contradictory, for Jesus goes…
The transition from Luke 6:11 to Luke 6:12ff is highly significant. We know it’s significant because it is preceded by a night of prayer, as are many of the milestones in Jesus’ ministry. What is at stake in the choosing of the Twelve? Jesus has come preaching the kingdom, and…
David Brooks has a typically delightful and instructive piece in the current issue of Atlanti c. He points out that over four decades, 49 members of Congress have run for President, and of those exactly 49 have been beaten. The main reason, he says, is that Congressmen live in a…
In the “What Vietnam syndrome?” category, Lawrence Kaplan reports in The New Republic that opinion polls show that Americans are quite willing to go the distance in Iraq, even at the cost of considerable casualties. One poll asked people the maximum tolerable number of casualties for Iraq, and the mean…
James Wood is always worth reading. His latest review in The New Republic examines the first novel of Monica Ali, entitled Brick Lane . It tells the story of Nazneen, an eighteen-year-old Bangladeshi woman who is taken from her home to an arranged marriage to a much older man in…
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