Jesus and the Parables

By happy serendipity two books of related interest caught my attention today. The first is David Cowan’s Economic Parables: The Monetary Teachings of Jesus Christ (Paternoster, 2007). Michael Kruse recommends the book in a brief review. Continue Reading...

Bible Across America

To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the New International Version (NIV), “the best-selling translation with more than 300 million copies in print,” Grand Rapids-based publisher Zondervan is launching a nationwide RV tour, “Bible Across America.” Continue Reading...

Can the Pope save the art of reading in Italy?

In the July 24 edition of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano , a couple of articles related how Italians are reading less than their European counterparts, with 62 percent of the population failing to read even a single book during the year. Continue Reading...

The faith of the centurion

“When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.'” Continue Reading...

The Truth about Tithing

In this week’s Acton Commentary I examine “The Truth about Tithing.” “Whatever benefits we claim to receive from tithing, whether spiritual, emotional, or financial, these are not to be the reason that we give. Continue Reading...

Food, Animals, and the Flood

The relation of the creation account and the narrative of the flood in Genesis is a complex one. One of these linkages comes in the similarities of the mandates set forth by God in both accounts. Continue Reading...

Prophecy and the supremacy of consensus

German theologian and philosopher Michael Welker describes in his book God the Spirit (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1994) the biblical relationship between the prophet and majority opinion: The prophet does not confuse truth with consensus. Continue Reading...