Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
We have moved from death to new life, from Lenten darkness to Easter light. And while Easter Sunday may have come and gone, it's effects are continually with us. This season has brought with it several new relationships, events, and signs of growth for Theopolis. We have been networking with…
In The People's Work , a social history of Christian Worship, Frank Senn summarizes the developments of the medieval period with regard to the Eucharist. He begins by challenging the assumption that medieval society was held together by “the church.” He notes that the church was often divided and conflicted,…
The structure of the Bible resembles something which was grown rather than built, composed rather than assembled. Its employment of “structure-as-sign” at every level from micro- to macrocosmic leads to the conclusion that a hermeneutic worthy of Scripture requires not only training in history, art and music but also the…
For some in first-century Israel, Easter was anything but good news. It was a terrifying surprise. For the rulers and powers that put Jesus to death, the idea that He had been raised by some power beyond their control was chilling. Early in Luke’s gospel, we're told that Herod thought…
Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. (John 21:11) This is one of those texts in the Bible that many people puzzle over. It is not a puzzle…
God is not mocked, Paul says. God is mocked, says Matthew. Who’s right? The two are in perfect harmony, but to see that, we need to run through the passage again. We’ll see that at every point, the mockery is being turned against the mockers. At every point, mockery is…
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Eberhard Jungel ( Justification , 78-80) defines God’s righteousness in terms of His self-consistency: “the doctrine of justification sees God as being utterly consistent with himself and therefore righteous , when it conceives of him as the justifying God who justifies not the righteous, but the unrighteous, not the pious,…
In their contribution to Purity and the Forming of Religious Traditions , Michael Guichard and Lionel Marti recount a spell for getting rid of a menacing wild cat who brings evil omens by growling and moaning in the yard. Here’s the recipe: At night, the victim set up a stoup…
Symbolic boundaries might appear to be merely metaphorical. They aren’t real boundaries. We only treat them as boundaries. Presumably, what is meant here by a “real boundary” is a fence, wall, or other artificial or natural obstacle that prevents us from moving from where we are to the far side…
The flesh is weak, vulnerable. We don’t like being weak and vulnerable. So life according to the flesh is reactive. We recoil from pain. We retaliate to protect ourselves. The Spirit resists the reactiveness of the flesh. As can be seen in the Spirit-filled Jesus, the Spirit revels in vulnerability.…
A few weeks back, I published a brief essay on Protestantism and sacraments on the Patheos site. Some of my friends have clamored for clarifications. Hence this post. My claim was that Protestantism cannot achieve its pastoral aims without high view of the efficacy of sacraments. I focused on baptism.…
Reformed theologians and epistemologists tend to psychologize Romans 1:18-32. God’s character and demands are evident in the creation, but human beings, while knowing God, suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Sinners become double-minded, both knowing God and not-knowing, both aware of the truth but denying the truth, and becoming self-deceived in…
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