Hans Denck (c.1500-1527) was an early figure in the German Anabaptist movement who combined medieval mysticism with the radical sacramental theologies of Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt and Thomas Müntzer. He found that many converts were seeking to broaden the principle established by Paul in 1 Cor 7:18-20 allowing new Christians to maintain their marital status….

In elucidating Paul’s command to overcome evil with good, John Donne (1572-1631) notes two lessons in his sermon “On Candlemas”. First, that despite the disposition of the wicked, due to our shared humanity, all people deserve to be loved. Second, we must be circumspect in labeling people enemies and turning our love away from them,…

With regard to God’s promise in Ezekiel 36:25 to purify the Israelites of idolatry by sprinkling them with water as they are brought out of captivity, Reformation exegetes debate whether the water refers to the waters of baptism, the blood of Christ, or both. In his commentary, Puritan William Greenhill (1591-1671) gives his argument for…

Different views on creation in the church today are often summarized in terms of whether one takes the biblical creation story “literally.” Similarly, Augustine’s crowning achievement on the doctrine of creation was, as we have noted, the production of a “literal” commentary on Genesis 1-3. Yet what Augustine means by “literal” is quite different from…

As Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) steered the course of the English Reformation until he was burned at the stake for supporting a coup that would have prevented the accession of Mary. Reflecting on Hebrews 11, Cranmer recounts the blessings that faith brought to the saints of the Old Testament, expanding the catalogue given…

From conversion to death, Augustine was captivated by Genesis 1–3. He kept writing and re-writing commentaries on these chapters, and they pop up his other works as well (many have noticed, often with puzzlement, that even the Confessions climax into an exegesis of Genesis 1). Then, for 15 years, he labored on a kind of…

Classical Christian creeds begin with a confession about the doctrine of creation, declaring that God is “Creator of heaven and earth.” Yet, within many evangelical and Protestant contexts, the doctrine has received scant theological and pastoral attention, having been subsumed under the more important (and supposedly separable) matters of redemption and sanctification. The reemergence of…

John Trapp (1601-1669) was an Anglican pastor and exegete. In reading 1 Cor 9:19, Trapp argues that as Paul made himself all things to all people, so should ministers do whatever is within their power to win the hearts of unbelievers and the joy that that accompanies their gain. 1 Corinthians 9:19 Though I am…

Sometimes Christians treat Genesis 1-3 as a kind of prolegomenon to the biblical narrative. These chapters are important, it is thought, primarily to set the stage for the real business of Christian theology—those issues involved in the doctrine of redemption. Moreover, when we do engage the theology of creation more directly, our interest tends to…

Drawing on the example of Saul’s murderous rage against the priests at Nob, Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) elucidates a qualification to what many argue is the plain teaching of Romans 13:1-7. Thus, while obedience to rulers is the general expectation of believers, when the rulers disobey the word of God, then their commands to act against…

Imagine a young man in his late teen years. He has recently moved to the city to go to school. In the course of his study, he becomes convinced that Genesis 1 is no longer consistent with the most sophisticated intellectual trends of the day. He rejects the Christian faith in which he was raised,…

In African countries like Ghana where people take delight in inscribing cryptic religious statements on their properties visitors find this signwriting culture very revealing. These writing are part of the popular religious culture. A lot of them insinuate the fact that enemies may either be working against people or plotting their downfall. Thus inscriptions like:…