Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In a recent article in Biblical Horizons , I argued that the imagery of James 1:21 alludes to baptism, and particularly to baptism as an ordination and incorporation into the holy priesthood. This understanding of baptism as ordination to priesthood is not, I have since discovered, original, but in fact…
He will be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them (Zechariah 6:13b). A prime difficulty in the interpretation of this verse is the antecedent of the pronoun "them." A number of alternatives have been offered. Some suggest that the "two"…
Like certain kinds of music, the unchanging rhythm of Aquinas's Summa gets into your bones. Read a few sections and it begins to run through your head. You start drumming your fingers, humming, swaying gently to the rhythm of Videtur-Sed Contra-Responsio, Videtur-Sed Contra-Responsio, “It seems-On the contrary-I answer.” The only…
The Book of Revelation is a gold mine of liturgical information. The various hymns and exclamations in Revelation have always been used in Christian worship. As I have been studying Revelation this year, it occurred to me that make a complete hymn out of the various hymns in the book.…
In the book of Revelation we find a triad of Strong Angels, and another triad of Other Angels. The purpose of this essay is to explore the Biblical background of these two sets, and thus fill out their meaning. The first triad of angels we encounter in the Bible comes…
In Revelation, the term aggelos means messenger, of course, but with a special emphasis on messenger as covenant administrator. This is immediately obvious from the fact that the angels are constantly acting to enforce the covenant one way or another: sealing people, bringing judgment, calling for repentance, etc. They are…
Showing page 272 of 309
Showing page 1 of 43
A student, Sara Whear, noted the inclusio around Galatians 6: Those who are “spiritual” restore one who is caught in a trespass (v. 1) matches the blessing on the “spirit” in v 18. “Bear one another’s burdens” matches Paul’s claim that he “bears the brand-marks of Jesus” (vv. 2, 17).…
A student of mine, Brian Marr, has produced a fascinating study of the literary and structural features of Acts 6-9. One of the things that emerges from Brian’s study is the way Luke highlights parallels between Stephen and Saul, making Saul/Paul a new Stephen, destined for a future martyrdom that,…
Take a look at the addendum to Mark Horne’s introduction to Romans at the Trinity House site.
At the beginning of February , I noted that Good Republicans who are accommodating to current trends in liberal sexual politics are going to help Democrats marginalize Bad Republicans (the religious right). At the New York Daily News James Kirchick simultaneously reports on the latest from the Good Republicans and…
Jesus’ sufferings could not have been the most painful of all because, as the Stoics say, moral virtue mitigates pain and Christ was virtuous. Thomas responds to this objection (III, 46, 6) by insisting that the Stoics are wrong: “the Stoics held all sadness to be unprofitable, they accordingly believed…
A few weeks ago, I noted (citing Galatians 4) that Paul does not observe the common Protestant stricture on drawing doctrinal conclusions from types and allegories. Not surprisingly, the same is true of Thomas. Thomas answers the question of whether Christ ought to have suffered on the cross ( ST…
Showing page 782 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
