Category: Bible
Straightening Out the Bible?: The Translator’s Text and Audience
Should a god who is neither male nor female be referred to by a masculine pronoun? Translator Jost Zetzsche raises this question in his essay, Is God Male? The Divine Chinese Pronoun. This problem, inevitable in English, was solved in...
In Defense of Premodern Exegesis
During my early training as a pastor and theologian, many of my mentors warned me that emulating the exegetical method of the Church Fathers is a dangerous game. The concerns were typically twofold. First, there is the concern that the...
The Sweeping View of the Gospel in Colossians
Paul’s letter to the Colossians rarely gets the attention it deserves. It may not offer the therapeutic comfort of Philippians or a much-needed guidance amidst mounting ethical concerns as in his Corinthian letters. However, in Colossians, Paul offers one of...
Martin Luther, the Rule of Faith, and the Bible
Luther teaches that the catechism holds the entirety of the Christian faith. Even the educated laity and clergy need simple words and short summaries; how much more the simple and uneducated? Actually that’s why Luther thinks the simple need the...
On The Baptist Faith and Message and Theistic Evolution
Note from Jake: On rare occasions we run anonymously published pieces. This is one such occasion. My reasoning is basically explained in the author’s post near the conclusion. The goal of publishing this isn’t to start a vicious online debate,...
“Are You Alone Wise?”: Luther’s Answers for Today’s Protestants
A decade after he began advocating for reform, Martin Luther had become highly attuned to the fundamental issues at stake in the debates with his adversaries. Having made Sola Scriptura his rallying cry, he was forced to face the chaos...
Jesus, Laughter, and the Bright Side of Life
I recall, 20 or so years ago, how stunned I was when I first saw the conclusion of Monty Python’s Life of Brian. A clever film which is ultimately more about people than anything else, it tells the story of...
The Seed of Woman: Mary Among the Protestants
By Matthew Y. Emerson and R. Lucas Stamps One of our favorite images that circulates on social media during Advent depicts Eve and Mary both gazing at Mary’s swollen abdomen, a belly pregnant with the Life of the World, Jesus....
The Danger of Neglecting the Old Testament
By Joshua Heavin “How I love your torah, O Lord!” (Psalm 119:97) Love for torah is always fittingly strange by the grace of God. But I am concerned that literacy of and love for the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament...
Patience and Hermeneutics: On Brian Zahnd, Marcion, and Origen
I’m pleased to publish this guest essay from Dr. Mark Randall James. Brian Zahnd’s new book, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God, has invited comparison with one of the greatest of early heretics, Marcion. In a long and...