Eucharistic meditation

John 1: The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Moses ascended Mount Sinai and entered Yahweh’s cloud, and when he came out his face radiated the glory of the cloud. As Pastor Sumpter has . . . . Continue Reading »

Exhortation

The ark of the covenant is made of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, a cubit and a half high. It’s covered inside and out with pure gold, and has four gold rings at its four feet. The cover is also pure gold, two and a half cubits by one and a half cubits . . . . . . . Continue Reading »

Guilty paralysis

The gospel is the engine of cultural creativity. But how? “A certain sense of guilt is a corollary of any privilege even when the privilege is deserved,” observes Paul Tournier in Guilt & Grace a Psychological Study (37). He illustrates: “An employee of quality feels it . . . . Continue Reading »

Enviable?

Kant ( Kant: The Metaphysics of Morals (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) ) defines envy penetratingly as “a tendency to perceive with displeasure the good of others, although it detracts in no way from one’s own, and which, when it leads to action (in order to diminish that . . . . Continue Reading »

Cast out

John is told to measure the temple but not the court (Revelation 11:2). The verb can mean “except” but regularly connotes more than simple exclusion (cf. John 2:15; 9:34-35; 12:31). John is told to “cast out” ( ekbale exothen ) the court to be trampled by the nations. The . . . . Continue Reading »

Bombing Christians

An addition to my article at firstthings.com: I say there that the “first question” Christians should ask about American deployments is whether there are fellow Christians in harm’s way. My point was to emphasize that American Christians need to learn to see past national interest . . . . Continue Reading »

Religious Right After Reagan

An addendum to my post at firstthings.com today: There’s a generational issue that the aging leaders of the religious right needs to be addressed in a serious way. Most of my students and younger colleagues do not identify in any way with the old religious right. They are anti-abortion and . . . . Continue Reading »

David & Goliath Redux

According to the Chronicler, Hezekiah is a new David. He “did right in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that his father David had done” (2 Chronicles 29:2). Like David in 1 Chronicles, Hezekiah organizes the priesthood and Levitical choir to reconsecrate the temple (2 Chronicles . . . . Continue Reading »