Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Flying scrolls. Red horses. Beasts coming out of the sea. Winged women. The list goes on. Apocalyptic literature in the Bible is like a cross between science fiction and Marvel comics. And the Bible has a fair bit of this sort of thing. Daniel sees visions in Babylon, Zechariah sees…
Trinity House Institute has taken a new name, the Theopolis Institute. This striking new name expresses our unique vision and mission and captures the unified purpose behind all our specific programs and activities. We still have Bible, liturgy, and culture in our tagline. We still offer the same courses on…
Adam Kotsko offers a socio-political variation on the Christus Victor atonement theory in his 2010 study, The Politics of Redemption: The Social Logic of Salvation . He does this by explaining "the devil" in terms of the Hegelian concept of "objective spirit," Geist . As Kotsko puts it, Geist "refers…
Two factors keep Nahtali Meshel from discussing the meaning of sacrifice until late in his The "Grammar" of Sacrifice . The first has to do with the texts he draws from: "P says little about the meaning of its rituals" (174). The other has to do with the grammatical theory…
Chapter 5 of Naphtali Meshel's The "Grammar" of Sacrifice focuses on "praxemics," the physical actions of sacrificial ritual. Praxemes are constituted by six elements: an "atomact," an elementary physical act or gesture; an actor; an object that is acted up; a target for the action and often for the object…
Two chapters of Naphtali Meshel’s The “Grammar” of Sacrifice cover what he calls “jugation” and “hierarchies.” The first involves the addition of other materials to an animal offering. Jugates include wine, cereal, and oil that are added to the animals (zoemes) that are offered in sacrifice. Some jugates are coordinated…
Showing page 167 of 309
Showing page 2 of 43
Jesus silences the Sadducees with his question from Exodus 3, but then the Pharisees hear about it and “gather” together to ask Him further questions. The verb is doubly significant: On the one hand, it’s the verbal form of the word for synagogue; the Pharisees form a synagogue in opposition…
STRUCTURE There is a fairly clear chiasm in verses 11-17: A. Dog returning to vomit, v 11 B. Man wise in his own eyes, v 12 C. Sluggard, vv 13-15 B’. Sluggard wise in his own eyes, v 16 A’. Taking dog by the ears, v 17 Perhaps the chiasm…
The arch of Constantine in Rome depicts a bear and boar hunt that ends with a sacrifice to Hercules. Architectural historians suggest that the hunt represents Constantine’s taming of the forces of civil disorder and chaos. One (Mark Wilson Jones) suggests that the sacrifice represents pre-Constantinian pagan religion, while Constantine’s…
A. N. Wilson has recently returned to Christianity. He’s asked in an interview, “What’s the worst thing about being faithless?” “The worst thing about being faithless? When I thought I was an atheist I would listen to the music of Bach and realize that his perception of life was deeper,…
In the Reformed tradition, election is a secret decree. Interestingly, though, the first time Yahweh calls Abraham his “chosen” He goes on to reveal secrets to him: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? . . . For I have chosen him” (Genesis 18:17, 19). God…
Abraham’s story moves from a priestly phase (setting up altars in the land) through a kingly phase (conquering the kings) to a prophetic phase (arguing with Yahweh and interceding for Abimelech). His life previews the history of Israel. At each transition, there is an exodus, a thwarted threat to the…
Showing page 1393 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
