2020 was a year defined by disaster and unrest, from impeachment to war to wildfires to a global pandemic to protest movements arising in the United States in response to police violence. This brief article reflects on Robert Bellah’s concept of American Civil Religion, particularly his focus on three times of trial. I argue that the nation’s…[Read more]

This brief review explores Randall Balmer’s recent work, Solemn Reverence: The Separation of Church and State in American Life. In this capsule history of church/state separation, Balmer deftly and succinctly illustrates the centrality of religious freedom to the story of America. Seeking to respond to American evangelical trends toward Christian…[Read more]

This review explores the arguments of Joshua Mauldin in his new volume Barth, Bonhoeffer, & Modern Politics. In this work, Mauldin turns to history, and the writings of Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in search of helpful examples to which society can turn in an era when the modern democratic project appears perpetually to be teetering upon a…[Read more]

In June 2019, in the case of American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the United States Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that a World War I memorial cross could remain on public land without violating the Establishment Clause. The Court sought to produce a ruling focusing specifically on the historical context and motivations for construction of…[Read more]

This conference paper presents a new analysis of Martin Luther’s treatise “The Judgment of Martin Luther on Monastic Vows”. This treatise has long been interpreted as Luther’s utter rejection of monasticism. However, upon closer inspection we find that Luther’s treatise is not simply a reactionary writing dealing solely with his utter conte…[Read more]

Slides for a Q&A session about the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM) with staff at the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM).

The economic system is the cornerstone of social development. Its economic system has remained at the root of the progressive development of human civilization. A country, society or caste; Social, political and cultural upliftment is mainly based on the progress of its economic resources and facilities. In a country without these facilities,…[Read more]

In the first few centuries of Islam, Middle Eastern Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike all faced the challenges of preserving their holy texts in the midst of a changing religious landscape. This situation led Syriac, Arabic, and Hebrew scholars to develop new fields of linguistic science in order to better analyse the languages of the Bible and…[Read more]

The dual curriculum model ubiquitous to Orthodox Jewish day schools in North America typically bifurcates into religious (Judaic) studies and general studies. While most classes generally fit into one of those two halves of the curriculum, some classes are not intuitively categorized as wholly belonging to one part over the other. One of those…[Read more]

This essay explores Maimonides’ explanation of the Bible’s rationale behind the ritual sacrifices, namely to help wean the Jews away from idolatrous rites. After clearly elucidating Maimonides’ stance on the topic, this essay examines his view from different angles with various possible precedents in earlier rabbinic literature for such an under…[Read more]

In this paper I employ social scientific theories that conceptualize space as existing in physical, mental and symbolic fields simultaneously, and combine them with memory studies, in order to offer a new reading of how the authors of Leviticus construed Israel’s cultic origins and what aims they were pursuing with this composition.

How could the ideal of a universal brotherhood of mankind be realized in an age of nationalism, colonialism and culture wars? “With God, for fatherland and humanity?” is the first comprehensive study of masonic internationalism. It explores, with a focus on England, France, Germany, and Italy, how European masonic associations promoted or opposed…[Read more]

In this article, I hitch the ever-present awareness of disease in my personal life and our shared world today to a pointed and academic reflection on the ways we consume and re-present information about disease from premodern South Asia that’s contained in texts.

Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters, 2018. While many scholars consider that Corinthian slogans are present in 1 Cor 6:12–20, this article argues that the attribution of slogans there is an unnecessary exegetical move based on unconvincing arguments. A reading of the pericope will be presented to demonstrate that slogans are u…[Read more]

[NB. PDF is accepted copy, not published version – to cite, please use published version, JSNT 43:3, 2021, 370-388)] A number of scholars have recognized a verbal allusion to Jon. 4.9 in Mk 14.34. However, the Gethsemane account (Mk 14.32-42) may allude to the narrative of Jon. 4 in other ways not previously observed. Some modern interpreters have…[Read more]

[NB. PDF is accepted copy, not published version – to cite, please use published version, JSNT 43:3, 2021, 370-388)] A number of scholars have recognized a verbal allusion to Jon. 4.9 in Mk 14.34. However, the Gethsemane account (Mk 14.32-42) may allude to the narrative of Jon. 4 in other ways not previously observed. Some modern interpreters have…[Read more]

The Father of Modern India, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Nationalism

Ambedkarite Culture and Cultural Symbols after Accepting Dhamma

Changes and continuity in the religious life of Dhammadikshit Buddhists