Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I thought it might be good to put this up here, since it is 14 years old, and itself reflects earlier discussion. From this you can see that we at BH have been considering this notion for quite some time. Clearly, the last word has not been said. — James…
Hopefully, my commentary on James will be out later this year. But here are a few chiasms for your consideration. I think the James 5 chiasm orginally came from Doug Jordan. The entire book of James is focused on how the pastors and leaders (“brothers”) of the church use their…
In my first post I noted that the parables of Jesus were not simply illustrative stories. They are really nothing like the kind of simple, homely illustrations that preachers often use to explain difficult concepts to their congregations. Just to be clear: there’s nothing wrong with illustrating one’s sermonic statements.…
Ephesians is often treated as a pure type example of the Pauline method that “the indicative preceds the imperative.” But what Paul does first is pray . Simply reading verse 3 and following involves readers in a prayer of thanksgiving to God–and much more so for those listening to the…
Yesterday, I took part with my oldest son in a church-sponsored city outreach project (not because I’m especially prone to such behavior but because my son has a Boy Scout requirement that this would help him meet). Before we were sent out on our various jobs, the leader gave a…
There is a scene in Prince Caspian , the second in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia that helps explain why it is we have four Gospels, that is four accounts of the Good News of Jesus Christ—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is the account of Lucy’s longed-for experience…
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In his contribution to Must Christianity Be Violent?: Reflections on History, Practice, and Theology , Milbank points out that “the monasticization of the whole of society is much more difficult than the monasticization of the celibate few” (197). Any attempt to establish a quasi-monastic way of life for laity has…
A typically rich passage from Milbank ( Theology and Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason ): “Augustine’s critique of pagan religion concerns also its many gods and the ritual relations of the city to these gods. A diversity of gods, governing different areas of cultural life, implies that these areas may…
Writing in the Columbus, Ohio, Dispatch , Rob Portman proves his credentials as a Good Republican. When he found that his son is gay, he questioned his earlier opposition to gay marriage: “I wrestled with how to reconcile my Christian faith with my desire for Will to have the same…
Much of Thomas’s discussion of Jesus’ resurrection has an “Abelardian” flavor. The resurrection is less an integral part of the “accomplishment” of redemption and more a support for the life of the believer. Of the five reasons given for the necessity of the resurrection, only one is about the achievement…
Christ’s death delivered from sin. It’s less often recognized that Jesus’ death also glorifies; by His suffering, He brings “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). Thomas makes a place for “glorification” as an effect of Christ’s death largely by his attention to the liberation of the saints from Abraham’s bosom…
In a review of a surrealism exhibit at the LA County Museum of Art, Sanford Schwartz comments on the dilution in the meaning of the word “surreal”: “Surrealism has entered the language as a synonym for almost anything that seems odd, uncanny, or freaky. For some, the very word connotes…
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