Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Leo the Great's second sermon on the Ascension, Sermon 74 . I. The mystery of our salvation, dearly-beloved, which the Creator of the universe valued at the price of His blood, has now been carried out under conditions of humiliation from the day of His bodily birth to the end…
Life, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy says, is suffering, battle, pain, shock, failure, elation. Human beings are always torn, always riven. Much of human life, individually and collectively, is an effort to deal with suffering and death. By being the first Man, Jesus establishes the possibility of a different stance toward suffering and…
Is Christian baptism given to believers only or to believers and their children? That’s the question that must be answered—but only if you’re Baptist or Presbyterian. That’s how the question is framed between these two denominations in this dispute, and it’s along these lines the debate unfolds as each side…
Again and again the liturgy of St Chrysostom calls God a lover of mankind. He is Philanthropolos Theos (man-loving God), Kurios Philanthropolos (man-loving Lord), Philopsychos (lover of the soul). Philanthropy wasn’t a Christian invention. Roman benefactors gave benefits to subordinates. What was new was the shape of philanthropy, for the…
Perhaps the most fearful of all possibilities in the world is the possibility of betrayal on the part of someone who is in a “position of trust.” This, unfortunately, is the first block in what ought to be the foundation of every marriage in the world. Every woman has a…
It seems that denominationalism has had its day. A 2009 Barna survey found that denominational commitments have gone squishy in mainline Protestant churches, and Evangelicals don’t fare much better than the rest. After a similar survey, Ron Sellers of Ellison Research said that Protestants are as “loyal to their denominations…
Showing page 112 of 309
Showing page 1 of 43
One of the remarkable insights of Mira Balberg’s remarkable book on Purity, Body, and Self in Early Rabbinic Literature is the contrast she draws between biblical and rabbinic notions of impurity. For biblical writers, she says, “the only participants in the impurity system, apart from the primary sources of impurity,…
John is told to prophesy. Then he is given a “reed like a rod” and told to measure. Which is it - prophesy or measure? And if the former, why these tools? For starters, we can link this to the scene of measuring that is found in Ezekiel. John has…
Paul’s offers this description of his experience at the end of Galatians 2: He died to the law. Immediately he adds that he himself was crucified with Christ, so it seems that he died to the law when he was crucified with Christ (whenever that was). Yet though he died…
According to Paul, the baptized are clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27). In baptism, all the baptized are joined in “one” in Christ Jesus. We can read backwards in Galatians 3 to see what that means. The “one” is the “one seed” of Abraham (3:16). We might follow NT Wright in…
Like her other books, Diane Ackerman’s The Human Age is like a long, informative conversation with a witty woman who has been everywhere, done everything, and talked to everyone who has something interesting to say. Given the environmental concerns that inspired this book, The Human Age is somewhat more polemical…
We think of other people as being, well, other , outside. Others might have some effects on the outer shell of the self, but not the hard core of me . At the very least, my physical self is my own. Aristotle might have predicted that this isn’t true. And…
Showing page 490 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
