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History

Congregational Theocracy: That Time Theocrats Ran Puritan New England

Timon Cline wrote recently that “theonomists” didn’t run Puritan New England. 1 He is correct, in his major thesis, that the claim that “Puritanism and the natural law tradition are antithetical” is “wildly ahistorical.” Mr. Cline demonstrates that Puritans repeatedly extolled natural law. Besides the Puritan sources Mr. Cline mustered,…

by John CarpenterAugust 9, 2022
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Mark

The Land of the Walking Trees

The Church is the land of the walking trees. In Mark’s Gospel, the identity of Jesus is slowly and progressively revealed. Though St. Mark announces at the beginning of his narrative that Jesus Christ is “the Son of God” (1:1), this is a reality that must be spoon-fed to His…

by Jackson ShepardAugust 4, 2022
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Ephesians

The Significance of Ephesians (with a comparison to Romans)

All Scripture is of ultimate significance as the word of God, but it may be helpful to think about what makes a book (in this case, a letter) possibly unique within the canon. In this case, the “general” nature of Ephesians should stand out, but it often is not recognized…

by Mark HorneAugust 2, 2022
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Ecclesiastes

A Time to Kill (Ecclesiastes 3:3)

Where do we draw the lines between what is right and wrong? This question is fundamental to civilization, fundamental to a free society. To put this question in the bluntest and most offense terms: if there is a time to kill — which Solomon says there is — whom shall…

by Ralph Allan SmithJuly 28, 2022
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Biblical Horizons

Broadening Our View of the Trinity

This article was originally posted in May of 1994. We speak of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The early Church tended to speak of Him as Father, Word, and Spirit. In this short essay, I want to suggest some other ways to think of the Trinity, ways that…

by James B. JordanJuly 26, 2022
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Jonah

Journeying Prophets in Kings

Jonah’s Home The story of JONAH belongs in the book of KINGS. JONAH balances the story of the unnamed Judean prophet (1K13) in KINGS’ literary structure. Each story describes a journeying prophet that crosses land or sea to confront a wayward king. The two stories are located during the reigns…

by Scott FairbanksJuly 21, 2022

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Economy of the Kingdom

Pastor Rich Lusk points out that in the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples gather up more food than they started with. The spend resources, but their reserves increase rather than decrease. This is the economy of the kingdom: The Father rewards generous service, so that our expenditures of…

May 28, 2014

Residual Extrinicism

In my view, the new account of nature and the supernatural offered by de Lubac and others does not achieve what it aims to achieve. De Lubac’s laudable goal is to overcome the “extrinicism” of neo-scholasticism, but he himself speaks of nature and the supernatural as being in a relation…

May 28, 2014

Abrahamic Oaks

Isaiah 61:3 presents a translation challenge. Yahweh promises to grant Israel a reputation as “oaks of righteousness” (NASB; Heb. ‘ayil tzedeq ), but the word translated as “oak” is almost always translated as “ram” (156x in the KJV as opposed to three passages where the word is translated as “tree”…

May 28, 2014

Anternet

Jamie Merrill reports in the Independent about recent research on ant behavior: “research shows that ants don’t just flourish because they work hard and will slavishly sacrifice themselves for the collective. Their success is also due to their group ability to process information ‘far more efficiently than Google’ in the…

May 28, 2014

Hagar in the Wilderness

The woman of Revelation 12 starts out as queen of heaven but is quickly found not only on earth but all the way out in the wilderness. Even before the dragon is cast out, she leaves heaven . Her story follows the story of Israel. A lamb’s blood is shed…

May 27, 2014

Foolishness of God

The God revealed in the Bible is a jealous God, a God who clings to and protects what is His. His name is Jealous (Exodus 34:14), and His jealousy often breaks out in wrath (Deuteronomy 32:16). Jealousy appears to be one of God’s distasteful character traits, and modern theologians have…

May 27, 2014

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