Author Archives: Alastair Roberts

About Alastair Roberts

Alastair Roberts (PhD, Durham University) writes in the areas of biblical theology and ethics, but frequently trespasses beyond these bounds. He participates in the weekly Mere Fidelity podcast, blogs at Alastair’s Adversaria, and tweets at @zugzwanged.

The Sabbath as a Key to Biblical Law

Posted on January 25, 2023 by Alastair Roberts

A two part piece of mine was recently published over on The Biblical Mind. Within it, I explore what it means to read the Law with wisdom, focusing upon the fourth commandment, concerning the Sabbath. I show that the import … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Deuteronomy, Exodus, Genesis, Leviticus, OT, Theological | Leave a comment

You Shall Call His Name Joshua

Posted on December 25, 2022 by Alastair Roberts

I have an article on the Theopolis website, exploring some of the reasons for the naming of Jesus. That ‘Jesus’ would be the name chosen for the Son in his incarnation might seem underwhelming. As a Greek form of the name … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Genesis, Joshua, Matthew, NT, OT, Revelation, Theological, Theology, Theopolis | Leave a comment

Upcoming Course on Reading Biblical Narrative

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Alastair Roberts

For a while, I’ve wanted to teach a course that more directly focuses on teaching skills of biblical reading. As I will be teaching an intensive residential course on the subject of Exodus for the Theopolis Institute later next year … Continue reading →

Posted in Davenant Institute, Public Service Announcement | 2 Comments

The Anchored Argosy

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Alastair Roberts

Back at the end of September, Susannah and I decided that, as a content-producing married couple, we needed our own Substack newsletter, so we created The Anchored Argosy, which we introduced in this post. Posts are somewhat irregular, but generally … Continue reading →

Posted in Public Service Announcement | 1 Comment

On Thomas Achord

Posted on November 27, 2022 by Alastair Roberts

Thomas Achord is the headmaster of a private classical Christian school, the co-author of the 2021 book Who is My Neighbor? An Anthology in Natural Relations, and is co-host of the Ars Politica podcast with Stephen Wolfe, the author of … Continue reading →

Posted in Controversies, In the News, Theological | Tagged , , | 64 Comments

God’s Wrath

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Alastair Roberts

In an article for the latest issue of First Things, I review Paul Copan’s recent book, Is God a Vindictive Bully? Reconciling Portrayals of God in the Old and New Testaments, and discuss responsible handling of narratives of divine violence … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Controversies, Guest Post, Hermeneutics, NT Theology, OT, OT Theology, Theological | Leave a comment

The Death of the Queen and a Christian Understanding of Sovereignty

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Alastair Roberts

I wrote a piece for Theopolis on the subject of a Christian understanding of sovereignty, occasioned by the death of HM the Queen. For a woman in nominal possession of such vast powers, perhaps few things left strangers to the British … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Culture, Politics, Society, Theological, Theopolis | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Our Patient and Peaceable Work

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Alastair Roberts

The latest Theopolis Conversation was opened with Jeff Meyers’ essay, ‘Ancient Wisdom for Christian Dissidents’. Jeff’s commentary on the epistle of James, Wisdom for Dissidents: The Epistle of James Through New Eyes, was recently released by Athanasius Press and he … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Controversies, Culture, Guest Post, James, NT, NT Theology, Politics, The Church, Theological | 4 Comments

The Church’s Book—A Theopolis Conversation with Brad East

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Alastair Roberts

In the latest Theopolis Conversation, I discuss Brad East’s recently published work, The Church’s Book: Theologies of Scripture in Ecclesial Context, which explores the relationship between bibliology (the doctrine of Scripture) and ecclesiology in the work of Karl Barth and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Church History, Controversies, Hermeneutics, My Reading, Reviews, Scripture, Technology, The Church, Theological, Theopolis | Leave a comment

Two Stories of Manhood

Posted on June 13, 2022 by Alastair Roberts

I review two books for The Gospel Coalition website: It’s Good To Be A Man by Michael Foster and Dominic Bnonn Tennant and The Men That We Need by Brant Hansen. Whether we’re believers reading the Scriptures for our personal … Continue reading →

Posted in Controversies, Culture, Ethics, Guest Post, My Reading, Reviews, Sex and Sexuality, Society, Theological | 1 Comment