Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Suppose that the theistic evolutionists are right, and that the Big Bang Hypothesis is correct. In that case, God originally created a Primeval Atom, which then exploded and congealed to form the present universe. Now, if you had arrived on the scene one quintillionth of a second after God created…
According to Galatians 3, Abraham heard the gospel when the Lord promised that "all the nations shall be blessed in you." Paul quotes here from Genesis 12:3, but the context puts an odd slant on the Old Testament text. Galatians 3 starts with a series of rhetorical questions about the…
Ephesians 2.15: ton vomon twv enotwn en dogmasin katargesas, ina tous duo ktise en autw eis ena kainon anthrwpon, poiwn eirenen having annulled the law of the commandments in decrees, in order that He might create in Him[self] the two into one new man, making peace. The above translation is…
In The Oddness of the Feast of Booths , we saw that the Feast of Booths is a commemoration of the first encampment of Israel at Sukkoth (Booths) in Exodus 12:37, almost certainly the first celebration of the week of Unleavened Bread after the first Passover. The Feast of Booths…
James Jordan has pointed out in Through New Eyes and elsewhere that the Mosaic system of worship comes to an end with the dismemberment of the tabernacle in 1 Samuel 4-6. Because of the sins of Eli and his sons, that priestly family is cut off and the ark is…
In a significant essay in the 19 April 1999 issue of The Weekly Standard, entitled "Wars of Hatred and the Hatred of War," Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr., points out a significant shift that seems to be taking place in the modern world. He begins by asserting his thesis, that a…
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In the current issue of Pro Ecclesia (Spring 2014) Todd Billings offers what he describes as a “Catholic-Reformed” alternative to Moral Therapeutic Deism and to contemporary “correlationist” approaches to contemporary theology. He finds “correlationist” instincts operating not only in latter-day Tillichian efforts to catch the wave of postmodernity, but also…
The Spurs are back in the finals against the formidable Heat, and of course Spurs fans everywhere are jittery (there are at least 3 outside San Antonio, perhaps more). It’s a good time to steel oneself against the possibility of tragedy and turn philosophical about sports. Or, to be philosophical,…
Ramses III was not the only ancient conqueror who castrated his conquered enemies (see Niehaus, Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology , 143). He destroyed the household of the conquered enemy by making it impossible for the household to reproduce. They were made eunuchs for the kingdom of Ramses.…
In a recent post , I presented a case for seeing the sacrificial system of Leviticus as a continuous wedding feast. The portions of the animal placed on the altar were considered “bridal” food for Yahweh the divine husband. I was drawing on the work of James Jordan, and Jordan…
John Walton observes that there are no real parallels to the imprecatory Psalms in Ancient Near Eastern hymnody ( Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context , 147). That is no accident: “In the monotheism of Israel, the suffering of the righteous constituted a much more serious problem than it…
It was suggested long ago by Origen that the canonical arrangement of the three books of wisdom - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song - is deliberate. It represents the progress of wisdom. Origen saw it the trajectory as one from the principles of “moral knowledge” through the recognition of the…
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