Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Protestant-Catholic relationship has hardly been an untroubled one. And yet, the possibilities for various layers of reconciliation are better then at any time since the original schism 500 years ago. One of the symbols for the church that is used in Scripture is the church as a household (Ephesians…
Despite the layers of wiping, covering, and ransoming during the Day of Recoverings, true unity still has not been achieved. Divorce is still possible; God still might leave his people. Thus the Day of Recoverings must be repeated every year. The perpetual expression of unity between God and man in…
The events of Leviticus 16 are commonly known as “The Day of Atonement,” from the Hebrew phrase yom hakippurim, in Leviticus 23:27. However, it would be more accurate to say, “The Day of Atonements,” [i] since the word is plural. The plurality primarily relates to 16:33, which states five different…
Mary Douglas, against the common notion that primitive religious rituals were illogical and random asserts, “The analysis of ritual symbolism cannot begin until we recognize ritual as an attempt to create and maintain a particular culture … Any culture is a series of structures which comprise social forms, values, cosmology,…
Jesus holds seven stars. They are the angels of the seven churches (Revelation 1:20). For ancient readers and hearers, "seven stars" would evoke a number of associations - the seven planets, the seven stars of Ursa Major, and the seven stars that make up the Pleiades. The last makes a…
When he first arrives in Harran, at Paddan-Aram, the home of Laban his uncle, Jacob sees a well. Wells are mentioned frequently in Genesis. Twice Hagar finds a well in the wilderness (Genesis 16:14; 21:19). Philistines seize Abraham’s well (21:22-34), and Abraham’s chief servant finds a wife for Isaac at…
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Some reflections on the trial of Yahweh in the book of Isaiah over at the Trinity House site .
David is already failing as king before he takes Bathsheba. Instead of being on the field with his men, he’s lazing around back home. His men have taken vows to refrain from sex with their wives; David not only enjoys his own wives, but takes another man’s, one of the…
Idolatry has deprived Israel of her senses. This was one of the early messages to Isaiah (Isaiah 6). Yahweh sent him out to a people who had been deprived of their senses because of their commitment to idols. They become like the idols they serve. They still have eyes, but…
Paul Helm has a remarkable article on the uses and limits of Confessions. He points to the work of Chad Van Dixhoorn, whose investigations into the Minutes and Papers of the Westminster Assembly have uncovered the pressures, personalities, and clashes behind the Westminster Confession. As Helm says, “In the nature…
Hao Wu knows why people are blown away by Alibaba Founder and CEO Jack Ma. As an employee of the company, Hao Wu was awed from his first management meeting in 2007: “I heard founder and CEO Jack Ma say that Alibaba is a great company, not because it has…
Seven angels have appeared. They are given trumpets, but before they start there is an “interlude” as an eighth angel offers incense and then throws coals from the altar to earth (Revelation 8:3-5). When he does, the phenomena of the throne (Revelation 4:5) are replicated on earth. At the end…
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