We should be alert to both the importance of fresh theological work and its danger. There is no doubt that new insights through history have taken the church into a deeper understanding of the Scriptures, often in the context of defending the truth against error. And yet much novelty has itself been error, and even […]
How to Spot New Ideas in Theology—And Why it Matters Read Post »
As Clement looked around his cosmopolitan city, the open displays of transgenderism broke his heart. Grown men wore bleach-blonde feminine hairstyles, donned see-through women’s clothing, smelled of perfume, and had their bodies shaved in public salons where passersby could observe the spectacle. Though males biologically, these men “detest[ed] the bloom of manliness,” as Clement put
Transgenderism in the Ancient World Read Post »
The last few years have seen a fair share of books arguing that religion is the cause behind all that is wrong with the world. Although the Christian Church has undoubtedly had its hand in a number of morally dubious activities over the years, a more historical perspective suggests that this is only one side
The Compassion of Early Christians Read Post »
In 1816, Harvard University published a circular letter in response to enquiries about admissions standards for ministry students. Candidates for admission, it said, “must be thoroughly acquainted with the grammar of the Latin and Greek languages” and “be able properly to construe and parse any portion” of the Greek New Testament.1 Fast forward to the
The Decline of Biblical Languages Read Post »
We hear the Bible’s accounts of Jesus birth from Matthew and Luke a lot this time of year. Those accounts are so familiar that sometimes we assume there is nothing new to be gleaned from them. But here are 10 things you may not have known about the Bible’s Christmas stories. Around the year AD
10 Things You May Not Know About the Christmas Story Read Post »
Historical narrative sections of the Bible can be some of the easiest to understand but the most difficult to interpret. We know what’s happening in the story of Jesus’ miraculously feeding 5,000 people and the account of David slaying Goliath. But why did the biblical authors write down those stories in the first place? Contrary
How Should We Interpret Biblical Narratives? Read Post »
