In the past ten years, a number of bestselling books have promoted what people call "the new atheism." The belief that God doesn't exist isn't especially new. But the newness of "the new atheism" has more to do with certain arguments for atheism (largely based on scientism) and a new aggressiveness among atheist evangelists. I have read several of the...

Ironically, Ezra himself does not appear in the book bearing his name until chapter 7. This learned man, a priest and teacher of the law, came to Jerusalem with the blessing of the Persian king Artaxerxes over fifty years after the rebuilding of the temple. His assignment was to present offerings in the temple on behalf of the king and to establish the...

Workplace Christians today trust that God is active through the decisions and actions of non-Christian people and institutions. Ezra trusted God in this way too. His narrative reveals that Cyrus, the King of Persia, was God’s chosen instrument, whether or not Cyrus himself recognized that. Similarly, the actions of our boss, coworkers, customers and...

Most Christians don’t find their workplaces very supportive of their faith. Generally, there is limited scope for explicitly Christian witness and action. Moreover, workers may feel pressure to violate the ethical requirements of biblical standards, either explicitly or implicitly. In a pluralistic society, some such limits may be appropriate, but they...