Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
49980-nicolas_poussin_-_the_judgment_of_solomon_-_wga18330-800w-tn
Biblical Studies

Advice From a Sojourner, Part 2

In our first essay in this series ( part 1 ), we saw that Proverbs 30 opens with a puzzle, a cryptic sentence that challenges the reader to search out a matter in order to gain understanding. "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory…

by James B. JordanOctober 26, 1989
hezekiahs-prayer-2
Isaiah

Hezekiah’s Sign

The story of Hezekiah’s illness and recovery is familiar to every child who has attended Sunday School. Informed that he would die, faithful King Hezekiah pleaded in tears for a longer life. God heard his prayers and saw his tears, and promised fifteen more years. As a sign that He…

by Peter LeithartOctober 13, 1989
screen-shot-2021-08-12-at-2-57-54-pm
Proverbs

An Antidote for Yuppie Postmillennialism

1. The Blessed Hope "Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus." Titus 2:13 I was recently asked how I as a postmillennialist would preach on "The Blessed Hope." This is often a sticky question, because postmillennialists believe that…

by James B. JordanAugust 26, 1989
screen-shot-2022-01-10-at-5-52-39-pm
American Culture

Elijah’s War with Baal

1. Jeroboam and Ahab After Solomon died, the people came to his son, King Rehoboam, and asked for tax relief. Rehoboam refused to give it, and indeed told the people that he was going to tax them even more severely than his father had. At that point, with the blessing…

by James B. JordanJuly 26, 1989
screen-shot-2020-08-31-at-10-35-03-am
Biblical Horizons

The Love Feast

One aspect of truth is unity. It was Truth Incarnate who prayed for the unity of His people in John 17, which certainly makes unity a priority for them as well. In one sense, we know by faith that the Church is always invisibly unified in Christ, but there is…

by James B. JordanJune 16, 1989
screen-shot-2022-01-07-at-6-38-22-pm
Biblical Studies

The Son of Joseph, Revisited

Mr. Paul Miller of Vancouver writes that he is not persuaded by my remarks on Luke 4 on " The Son of Joseph ." He calls attention to Mark 6:1-6, where Jesus came "to His own part of the country," taught in the synagogue, and astonished many. The people said,…

by James B. JordanMay 16, 1989
See all
See all

Eucharistic meditation

1 Peter 2:12: Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. As Pastor Sumpter has reminded us today, God visits…

October 18, 2009

Baptismal meditation

John 20:21-22: So Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. In Scripture, water is often a boundary.  Israel exited the…

October 18, 2009
Science

End of materialism

A funny thing happened on the way to mapping the genome, says James Le Fanu ( Why Us?: How Science Rediscovered the Mystery of Ourselves ).  Humans have 25,000 genes.  That’s enough to get the job done, of course, but scientists were surprised to discover so few.  To transform an…

October 17, 2009

Created Son

Athanasius’ treatment of Proverbs 8 is not convincing as exegesis, but as a piece of theology it is brilliant.  When Proverbs says that God “made” and “created” His Wisdom (in the LXX), it doesn’t refer, Athanasius says, to His nature but to His incarnation.  The Son of God is created…

October 16, 2009

Lord of ages

Athansius of course thinks the Arians are wrong because the Son is eternal.  But one of his more intriguing, and satisfying, arguments is based on the biblical notion that the Son is the one through whom the “ages” came into being (Hebrews 1:2). Athanasius says, “every interval in the ages…

October 16, 2009

Church and city

Is the church a polis herself?  Or a replacement for the pagan cults at the heart of the ancient polis? There might be another way to say it.  Erik Peterson ( Das Buch von den Engeln , 1935) points to the NT language about a heavenly Jerusalem of which Christians…

October 16, 2009

Showing page 1340 of 2212

Browse by Category

In Medias Res

Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.

Donate

Theopolis is nearly 100% donor-supported. Consider joining us on our mission.