Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Matthew 8-9 records three clusters of miracles, interspersed with snatches of Jesus’ teaching about various aspects of discipleship. Just as the Sermon on the Mount displays the authority of Jesus’ Word in teaching, these chapters display the authority of Jesus’ Word over sickness, uncleanness, the creation, demons, and death. In…
Since the early 1980s, several of the conservative Reformed Churches have debated and wrestled with the issue of paedocommunion (infant communion). The PCA and the OPC assigned study committees to examine the question, both of which produced useful reports both in support of and against the position. Though the debate…
(This issue of Biblical Chronology concludes a discussion of the Biblical and Assyrian chronologies, begun in previous posts. Click on the category link of "Biblical Chronology" above to see previous issues. Did Shalmaneser Know Jehu? Allis writes: "The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser contains, in addition to brief accounts of the…
Movies Movies as an art form have a powerful impact because they take place in a dark room, on a large screen, with no distractions, and because they entail many of the arts: music, acting, choreography, design and color, etc. A movie can be an overwhelming experience for a young…
The Hebrew word translated as "grain offering" or "cereal offering" is minchah . Like the translation of `olah as "burnt offering," the translation of minchah as "grain offering" is somewhat deceiving, since minchah does not refer to grain or cereal. In liturgical contexts outside of Leviticus, in fact, the word…
"He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces" (Leviticus 1:6). The normal word ( `olah ) that is translated as "burnt offering" and "whole burnt offering" has nothing to do with either burning or wholeness. It is the noun form of a verb meaning "to…
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Examining the contributions that the Abbey of la Trinite, Vendome, made to its local community, Penelope Johnson ( Prayer, Patronage, and Power: The Abbey of la Trinite, Vendome, 1032-1187 ,158-9) notes the abbey “was actively involved in providing sustenance to the hungry” and adds that “much of this monastic charity…
Ancient men worshiped by giving gifts to the gods. Modern humanitarians worship by giving gifts to men. It’s as if everyone thinks that true worship is the worship of man. It’s as if everyone is somehow knows that there is a man on the throne of heaven, even people who…
Gulliver doing his field work in Lilliput: “There are some laws and customs in this empire very peculiar; and if they were not so directly contrary to those of my own dear country, I should be tempted to say a little in their justification. It is only to be wished…
A thought or two on Ruth arising from student papers. The book begins with “a certain man ” (1:1) and introduces a couple of other men (1:2). In a few verses, the men are all dead, and the next time a man appears in the story it is Boaz (2:1).…
Lester K. Little ( Religious Poverty and the Profit Economy in Medieval Europe , 66-7) writes, “In Benedict’s Rule, the liturgy took up about one-fourth of a monk’s waking hours; by the late eleventh century it had expanded to fill practically the entire day. The original number of psalms to…
Some years ago, Jacques Le Goff argued in The Birth of Purgatory that the notion of Purgatory as a place distinct from heaven and hell emerged only in the late twelfth century. Notions of purgation after death appear much earlier, but Le Goff claimed that the linguistic evidence pointed to…
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