Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
My good friend, Jason Ewert, recently posted a review of Pastor Douglas Wilson’s book, Against the Church . Jason correctly notes that Pastor Wilson’s main pastoral motivation in writing this book is to combat dead orthodoxy. Dead orthodoxy is a real problem in Reformed churches that celebrate the primacy of…
At the church I pastor, we have four servers who distribute the communion elements to the congregation, and I distribute the elements to those in the foyer and nursery. The servers and I do not partake of the bread and wine until the congregation is served first. As this has…
We at Trinity House believe that the church ought to raise and train her future pastors. Part of that training may be carried out by specialized institutions like Trinity House, but the church and her leaders are ultimately responsible for that training. To encourage churches to assume that responsibility, Trinity…
Sandra Jacobs's The Body as Property examines the role of physical disfigurement in the Hebrew Bible, with focus on the Torah, and more specifically on the (fictitious) Priestly document, P. After an introduction laying out a rationale for the comparative method that guides her research, she explores circumcision, the use…
Yahweh saves. That’s what Isaiah’s name means, and that’s what Isaiah’s prophecy is about. Yah saves Judah when Aram and Israel pressure her. He saves Jerusalem from the Assyrian siege. He brings Judah back from the grave of Babylonian exile. But this triumphant message of Isaiah fizzles. The last few…
Are apostasy and assurance mutually exclusive? Some seem to think so. But let’s consider this a bit: No Reformed man would ever say that a man who is “saved” today will be safe forever no matter what . Rather we say, “your sins are forgiven, now, walk faithfully, glorify the…
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In the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32), Moses says that the vine of Israel grew from a cutting from Sodom’s vine, from the vineyard of Gomorrah. Such vines produce only bitter fruit or worse - venom from dragons ( tanniyn ; vv. 32-33). The image is picked up in Isaiah,…
Yahweh promises to give the land to Abram, but not yet: “for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete (Heb. shalem )” (Genesis 15:16). When their iniquity settles in, when it lives peacefully in the land without opposition or disturbance, then the time is ripe for God to…
It’s one of the most famous passages in Schweitzer’s The Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Critical Study of its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede , perhaps the most famous in all New Testament studies : “The son of man lays hold of the wheel of the world to set…
Two afternoon readings converge nicely. Why does love remain? asks Jacob Taubes ( The Political Theology of Paul (Cultural Memory in the Present) ). Why do we need love when we’re perfect? Because for Paul God’s power is perfected in weakness. “We are not as the Gnostics see us,” he…
Augustine ( Answer to Faustus, a Manichean: (Works of Saint Augustine) , 12.31) observes that Joshua’s name was not “thoughtlessly” given to him at birth. Rather, he was first called “Hoshea,” and his name was changed to Joshua/Jesus to make it clear that he was a foreshadowing of a later…
Yahweh tell Ezekiel that he is a singer or a musician who entertains Judah with his sensual song. His song seduces them to listen, but they won’t do what Ezekiel tells them to do (Ezekiel 33:32-33). John and Jesus are also singing prophets, though their tunes are different. John sings…
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