Believe it

Thanks to my son Christian, I believe the impossible. I believe in upsalite, the super-absorbent material recently discovered accidentally by researchers at the University of Uppsala. According to the Guardian report : “Unless you work in Uppsala University, Sweden, where accidentally leaving . . . . Continue Reading »

Grave in Moab

Moses died in Moab, on the east side of the Jordan, and was buried there in an unmarked and unknown grave (Deuteronomy 34:5-6). This, Yahweh says, is Moses being “gathered to your people” (Deuteronomy 32:50). Several things are remarkable here: First, that an ancient man should be . . . . Continue Reading »

Brothers

Aaron was the older brother of Moses, and so Moses’ primacy in the relationship between the two continues the regular theme of Genesis: The older shall serve the younger. At the same time, in several specific ways Aaron sets the pattern for the life of Moses. Aaron leads Israel in idolatry at . . . . Continue Reading »

God glorifying God

Does God do all He does to glorify Himself, or for the sake of His creatures? Neither alternative satisfies. If the former, He seems a cosmic narcissist; if the latter, a cosmic therapist. According to Jenson ( America’s Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards , 39), Jonathan Edwards . . . . Continue Reading »

Biblical Euhemerism

Over many centuries, one of the standard ways for Christians to integrate ancient into biblical history was a twist on the ancient Euhemerist theory that the gods were originally kings and heroes who were granted divine status at death. In biblical Euhemerism, the heroes are biblical heroes, whose . . . . Continue Reading »

Union and Substitution

In a sermon on the acceptable sacrifice of Christ ( Sermons and Discourses, 1723-1729 ), Edwards emphasizes that union of Christ with His people is the foundation for Christ’s substitution for His people: “Christ, that gave himself in sacrifice, is so united to them he died for, that it . . . . Continue Reading »

Gays in the church

Molly Ball reports at the Atlantic on the “quiet revolution” in Christian views of gays and gay marriage over the past decade. “Congregations across the country increasingly accept, nurture, and even marry their gay brethren,” she writes. “Polls show majorities of . . . . Continue Reading »

Edwards against Substance

“There is no such thing as mechanism,” Edwards argues (quoted in Jenson, America’s Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards , 25). He means that there is no such thing as “mechanics” if that means “that whereby bodies act each upon other, purely and . . . . Continue Reading »