Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
A while back a friend told me that his church had finally introduced weekly communion. He told me that they were having an 8:00 a.m. service on Sundays for anyone who wanted to have communion. At present only about five people were coming to this service, but he was hopeful…
According to James B. Jordan’s outline of Deuteronomy, the first commandment section runs from 6:1 to 11:32, and the second commandment section begins with 12:1. 1 That this division of the text is sound is confirmed by a comparison of 6:1 with 12:1. Deuteronomy 6:1 announces that "this is the…
Calling Jerusalem the "holy city" comes so naturally to Christians that it comes as something of a surprise to realize how infrequently the phrase is used in Scripture. Not only is Jerusalem rarely called holy, but in the Old Testament this classification is found only in texts that refer to…
Nicodemus’s conversation with Jesus in John 3:1-15 is often regarded as an illustration of the tremendous stupidity of the Jews of our Lord’s day. Those who take the passage this way fail to recognize the profound nature of Nicodemus’s questions and of Jesus’ answers. In verse 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus…
In his book 1994? , Harold Camping asserts that the life spans of the primeval patriarchs of Genesis 5 & 11 were actually epochs, one after another. This together with other mistakes in interpretation yields for him a creation date of 11013 B.C. From here, Camping tries to work out…
I have received a number of letters asking for my comments on this difficult passage. Here is my best shot! 2. Now I praise you because you remember me in everything, and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. This statement opens a new section…
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P lutocrats , Chrystia Freeland’s 2013 book, is about the rise of the “global super-rich” and the ways the global economy squeezes the middle classes in development countries. Freeland argues that “we are living through two, slightly different gilded ages that are unfolding simultaneously. The industrialized West is experiencing a…
“T o understand the mind-set of the super-elite,” writes Chrystia Freeland in Plutocrats , “your starting point should be the reality—and their own self-perception—that they, too, lead anxious, overworked, and uncertain lives.” Unlike the super-rich of earlier ages, most of today's billionaires didn't inherit wealth, and they aren't a leisure…
D oes Protestantism Have A Future? The answer to that question depends on what we mean by the word “Protestantism.” We Protestants typically think of Protestantism in doctrinal terms. Protestantism is the sola s, justification by grace through faith, opposition to the merit theology of medieval Catholicism. These doctrines are…
I n his commentary on Revelation 4, Victorinus spins off a fascinating allegory about the wings of the living creatures who surround the Lords’ throne. Four living creatures with six wings each: Victorinus does the obvious and multiplies. The resulting twenty-four wings represent the twenty-four books of the Old Testament,…
A fter he recounts Yahweh’s commitment to the Davidic line (1 Chronicles 17), the Chronicler recounts David’s conquests (ch. 18). David strikes to the west (Philistia, v. 1) and east (Moab, v. 2; Aram, vv. 3-8), and Abishai later follows up with an annexation of Edomite territory to the south…
T he Chronicler’s account of the death of Saul (1 Chronicles 10) is organized in three paragraphs: first, an account of the battle of Mount Gilboa; then, an account of the Philistine seizure of Saul’s body and its rescue by men from Jabeth-Gilead; finally, an editorial evaluation of Saul. The…
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