Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The sin of Ham in Genesis 9 continues to elicit comment, since it seems mysterious. We read in 9:21-23 that Noah uncovered himself inside (the covering of) his tent, that Ham (entered the privacy of Noah’s tent) and saw his father’s (not “Noah’s”, n.b.) nakedness, that Ham told his two…
Recently the magazine Tabletalk published a series of essays against Calvinist theologian N. T. Wright. The black cover of this issue lets us know just how dangerous this man is. But how dangerous is N. T. Wright? Well, he’s dangerous to some people, but not to others. Let’s see: He…
You need to read Rob Rayburn’s defense of his presbytery to the PCA SJC (Standing Judicial Committee). If you’ve been out of the loop on this, that’s okay. But what has happened in the last few years is that people have made accusations against Peter Leithart, and in response the…
What does it mean to read the Bible as inspired literature? The method is not new nor is it uncommon in Dutch Reformed circles. Exegesis must be Christocentric, plenary (all the text serves a theological purpose), respect the context in God’s redemptive plan, and plumb the full literary depth of…
Reading in John Calvin’s sermons on 2 Samuel today, I came across this wonderful statement. This comes from a sermon preached on July 3, 1562, “The True Worship of God,” an exposition of 2 Sam. 6:1-7. Calvin is discussing the implications of the affirmation that Yaweh, the God of Israel,…
A great deal of confusion about the relative value of “virginity” and marriage can be avoided if one pays careful attention to the text of Paul’s advice in 1 Corinthians 7. The two most important observations are: 1) that Paul’s specific recommendations are made because of the “impending crisis” (v.…
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A year ago, I observed the shift from singular “Servant” to plural “servants” within Isaiah 40-54. Further work has revealed a larger pattern. ebed , “servant,” is used 42x in the Hebrew text of Isaiah. The distribution of the word is significant, It is used only five times in the…
Balaam tries to curse Israel but the Lord turns the curse to blessing. He alludes to the exodus of Jacob and Israel from Egypt, and then says, “He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, and…
In his history of Mesopotamian religion, Treasures of Darkness , Thorkild Jacobsen calls attention to the intimate relationship between a temple and the god who was supposed to reside in it. The presence of the temple was “visible reassurance that the God was present and available, that he - as…
At the creation, God spoke and “did” or “made” ( ‘asah ) things. God speaks again to Judah, with the same creative word, a word that will form a new heavens and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17). Something is “done” or “made,” as it was at the beginning (Isaiah 65:12;…
I offer a brief assessment of postmodernism at the Trinity House web site .
John Walton’s discussion of Intelligent Design is a mess ( The Lost World of Genesis 1 ). He writes, “The difficulty they face is that if there is intelligent design, there must logically be an intelligent designer” (126). That inference is not a “difficulty,” but one of the aims of…
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