Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Interwoven within Leviticus’ opening offerings is a redemptive storyline meant to be rehearsed. Each offering makes a particular contribution to the retelling of the Exodus deliverance. Like learning a dance, Israel’s opening rituals recount their steps from Egypt to Sinai in a fashion meant to perpetually imprint its experience on…
In Capernaum, the leaders of Israel questioned Jesus in their hearts. Beside the sea, they questioned his disciples about their rabbi’s practices. They challenged Jesus in the grain fields, sought to trap him in the synagogue, tried to seize him, thinking he was mad, and accused him of being possessed.…
An essay on ministry taken from recent notes for a ‘solemn charge’ I gave our pastoral team (together with their spouses) at All Saints Honolulu, a church-plant that enters its fifth year. I. After receiving the sword of Goliath from Ahimelech at Nob, and after fleeing first to and then…
When thinking about the book of Genesis, we often think of beginnings, the beginning of the world, humanity, the elect people of God. The word “genesis” itself means beginning. Genesis is also known as the book of promises. Genesis contains three of the major Old Testament covenants: Adamic, Noahic and…
A Theological and Typological Commentary on Luke 24:4 In Luke 24:4, we are told that as the women arrived at the tomb on Easter morning, they encountered “two men in dazzling apparel” standing beside them. This description, on its own, may not immediately provoke questions. The traditional interpretation identifies these…
For Part 1, click HERE . The four Gospel accounts give us their strange and wonderful historical accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. The rest of the New Testament, either explicitly or by suggestion, refers to the resurrection in every book except 3 John. Unlike the Gospel accounts, however, most…
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Thomas, riffing on the tabernacle furniture like a medieval James B. Jordan ( ST I-II, 102, 4, repl. 6): “The outer tabernacle, which denotes this present world, also contained three things, viz. the ‘altar of incense,’ which was directly opposite the ark; the ‘table of proposition,’ with the twelve loaves…
Love him or not, you gotta admit that Thomas Aquinas is thorough. One of the initial negative answers to the question, “Are there sufficient reasons for the ceremonies pertaining to holy things?” ( ST I-II, 102) is about the orientation of Israelite sanctuaries. Objection 5 is: that “the power of…
Matthew Levering has a fascinating discussion of Thomas’s understanding of Christian worship as the fulfillment of the temple in his outstanding Christ’s Fulfillment of Torah and Temple: Salvation According to Thomas Aquinas (91-97) . From 1 Kings 8, Thomas claims that God “infinitely transcends the Temple’ and yet has “chosen…
I offer some reflections on writing next door this morning.
In a wide-ranging 2001 review of books on “new natural law” by John Finnis and Robert George published in the journal Religion ), G. Scott Davis zeroes in on sexual ethics, which he notes is one of the main themes of George’s essays on natural law. Drawing on the Finnis/Grisez…
Reflecting on the reference to Psalm 69:9 in John 2:17, Alan Kerr ( The Temple of Jesus’ Body: The Temple Theme in the Gospel of John (Library of New Testament Studies) , 85-6) notes that the verb “consume” is a sacrificial term that might refer to Jesus’ death. Thus, “within…
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