Elisha and the Bears (2 Kings 2:23–24) | Jonathan Akin

Kirk E. Miller

In 2 Kings 2:23–24, a group of what many English translations render “small” or “little boys” mock Elisha saying, “Go up, bald head!” Elisha responds by invoking a curse, summoning two bears from the woods who devour forty-two of them.

Was Elijah just a crotchety old man who couldn’t take a bit of a joke, or is something more at play here?

Old Testament scholar Jonathan Akin joins me on today’s episode of What in the Word? to discuss.

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The Use of Scripture in Cases of Abuse (with Steven Stracy)

Kirk E. Miller

God’s Word is meant to be a source of life and healing. But when misused, it can become a weapon to inflict harm. This damage is all the more the case when Scripture is mishandled to justify, excuse, or shield abuse.

When done by spiritual authorities (pastors and churches), such misuse scripture is itself spiritually abusive and thus deeply harmful in its own right. As Steven Tracy helpfully put it,

While any type of abuse can be extremely damaging, we have found that spiritual abuse is often some of the most damaging due to the way it shatters the very resources we need for health and healing.1

In this episode of Logos Live, I sit down with Steven Tracy to talk about how to use Scripture to heal, not harm, especially in instances of abuse.

Check out the full episode and accompanying article.

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  1. Personal correspondence over email. February 5, 2026. ↩︎

The Early Church Held Everything in Common | Darrell Bock on Acts 2:44–45; 4:32–37

Kirk E. Miller

Luke records that the early church in Jerusalem held everything in common: Believers sold property and land and gave proceeds to the apostles who distributed the funds as any had need (Acts 2:44–45; 4:32–37).

So did the early church practice something like communism? Dr. Darrell Bock joins me on today’s episode of What in the Word? to discuss.

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What Is Political Theology? A Brief Definition

Kirk E. Miller

What exactly is political theology?

In his article, “A Guide to Political Theology: Its Key Concepts and Perspectives,” Jake Meador quotes me defining political theology as follows:

[Political theology refers to] a discipline of theology dedicated to applying the resources of Christian theology to the interests or questions of politics, i.e., how society is organized.

This includes exploring questions such as the origin, responsibility, and domain of government, the appropriate means of government (e.g., law, lethal coercion), the moral foundations of civil law, the relationship between church institutions and the state, the responsibility of Christians to the state and society, and the material and social implications of the gospel of the kingdom.