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Writing

Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Ascension

The Son of Man in the Clouds | Part 1

References to the Son of Man coming on the clouds occur five times in the Synoptic Gospels. Three times such expressions appear in the parallel accounts of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:36; Luke 21:27). Then, in parallel accounts of Jesus’ trial before the leaders of Israel, such expressions…

by Ralph Allan SmithMarch 3, 2020
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Biblical Studies

The New Torahs

Just what the difference is in the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and the New Testament is a question not so easily answered. The distinction is often said to be that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit is on the believer, but in the New…

by Richard BledsoeFebruary 25, 2020
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Movies

1917: A Visible Word

1. Introduction You should think of 1917 at church on Sunday. Why? Let me explain. There's one film every Oscar season which everyone seems to have watched—your parents, your colleagues, even your pastor. This year, it's 1917— Sam Mendes' WW1 epic following two British Tommies on a seemingly impossible quest…

by Rhys LavertyFebruary 18, 2020
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Immigration

Greater Israel

This piece was originally part of the Bowyer response to the Theopolis series surrounding Professor McDermott’s essay, “Rethinking Israel.” For the sake of brevity, it was removed from the initial response, to be published as a standalone piece. As we’ve argued previously , we are strongly supportive of the right…

by Jerry and Charles BowyerFebruary 11, 2020
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Matthew

Matthew the Tax Collector

Richard Bauckham’s groundbreaking work, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony , is profoundly insightful, but the message of the book is hampered by the presupposition of Marcan priority. Ironically the place where this assumption perhaps does its most damage is in Bauckham’s discussion of the apostle Matthew…

by Ralph Allan SmithFebruary 4, 2020
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Good Works

Faith as the Highest Work

The Protestant Reformation was defined by certain clarifying disagreements between the medieval Church and those who came to be known as Protestant Reformers. Chief among these was the nature of justification: whether one was justified by works, or by faith and works, or—as Martin Luther contended—by faith alone. Now over…

by Alexander WhitakerJanuary 28, 2020

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Madrid

This from the lead editorial in the March 29 edition of The New Republic : “The new [Spanish] government of the Socialists, led by Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, represents the more commonplace EU view of the world: the suspicion of force, the religion of diplomacy, the horror of American power,…

March 29, 2004

Church as Culture

Robert Louis Wilken has a brief article in the April issue of First Things on the church as culture. He illustrates the internal culture of the church by examining early Christian art, the development of the Christian calendar, and the formation of a distinctive Christian language. Nothing spectacularly new here,…

March 29, 2004
Philosophy

Pierre Bouretz

George Steiner has a lengthy review of Bouretz’s Temoins du Futur in the February 27 issue of the London Times Literary Supplement . Bouretz’s book traces the history of Jewish social thought, and particularly the connection between philosophy and messianism, from Herman Cohen through Emmanuel Levinas, taking the story, as…

March 29, 2004

Eucharistic Meditation, March 28

Luke 23:13-25 Six times in this passage, Luke uses the word ?release.?E Most of the uses describe Pilate?s desire to release Jesus. He plans to scourge Jesus and ?release?EHim; he is obliged to ?release?Esomeone at the festival, but the Jews demand that Pilate ?release?EBarabbas rather than Jesus, which is what…

March 28, 2004

Exhortation, March 28

The NT teaches that Jesus was a man of faith. Jesus trusted in God throughout His passion, His trials, torture, and death. Among other passages, Peter wrote in his first epistle: ?Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin,…

March 28, 2004

Circumcision and Flesh

In Rom 4 and elsewhere, Paul indicates that the Jews had been radically misusing circumcision. According to Paul, circumcision pointed to the covenant righteousness that Yahweh had reckoned to Abraham on account of his faith. Paul says that circumcision was the “seal of righteousness” but Genesis 17 talks about circumcision…

March 28, 2004

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