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Writing

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

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Catholicism

Outgrowing Protestant Adolescence

The Protestant-Catholic relationship has hardly been an untroubled one. And yet, the possibilities for various layers of reconciliation are better then at any time since the original schism 500 years ago. One of the symbols for the church that is used in Scripture is the church as a household (Ephesians…

by Richard BledsoeMay 5, 2014
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Leviticus

Two Shall Become One Flesh, (Part 3): Realizing Recovering

Despite the layers of wiping, covering, and ransoming during the Day of Recoverings, true unity still has not been achieved. Divorce is still possible; God still might leave his people. Thus the Day of Recoverings must be repeated every year. The perpetual expression of unity between God and man in…

by Ryan HandermannApril 30, 2014
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Leviticus

Two Shall Become One Flesh, (Part 2): The Day of Recoverings

The events of Leviticus 16 are commonly known as “The Day of Atonement,” from the Hebrew phrase yom hakippurim, in Leviticus 23:27. However, it would be more accurate to say, “The Day of Atonements,” [i] since the word is plural. The plurality primarily relates to 16:33, which states five different…

by Ryan HandermannApril 29, 2014
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Leviticus

Two Shall Become One Flesh, I: Atonement and Eschatology

Mary Douglas, against the common notion that primitive religious rituals were illogical and random asserts, “The analysis of ritual symbolism cannot begin until we recognize ritual as an attempt to create and maintain a particular culture … Any culture is a series of structures which comprise social forms, values, cosmology,…

by Ryan HandermannApril 23, 2014
Revelation

Seven Spirits, Seven Sisters

​Jesus holds seven stars. They are the angels of the seven churches (Revelation 1:20). For ancient readers and hearers, "seven stars" would evoke a number of associations - the seven planets, the seven stars of Ursa Major, and the seven stars that make up the Pleiades. The last makes a…

by Peter LeithartApril 21, 2014
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Biblical Theology

Jacob and the Stone

When he first arrives in Harran, at Paddan-Aram, the home of Laban his uncle, Jacob sees a well. Wells are mentioned frequently in Genesis. Twice Hagar finds a well in the wilderness (Genesis 16:14; 21:19). Philistines seize Abraham’s well (21:22-34), and Abraham’s chief servant finds a wife for Isaac at…

by Peter LeithartApril 16, 2014

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History

Roman Patronage

In a famous passage in de officiis (2.26-8), Cicero traces the collapse of the Roman “protectorate” into an oppressive conqueror. The passage is as interesting for his characterization of early Roman expansion as it is for his analysis of the collapse of earlier political standards. “Let me add, however, that…

January 6, 2009
Science

Genetic Platonism

In a recent interview on his Mars Hill Audio magazine, Ken Myers interviews Craig Holdrege, co-author of Beyond Biotechnology . One of Holdrege’s key points is that scientists have moved well beyond the early idea that the gene is the “unmoved mover” that determines everything about an organism and now…

January 5, 2009

Sermon notes, Sunday after Epiphany

INTRODUCTION After a long sojourn in Galilee , Jesus returns to Judea (cf. 4:12 ), and immediately the Pharisees put Him on trial (19:3) by posing a legal question. As they do later in Jerusalem , the Jewish leaders want to trap Jesus to accuse Him ( 22:15 -46). THE…

January 5, 2009

Eucharistic Meditation, Second Sunday After Christmas

Hebrews 10:11-14: And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His…

January 4, 2009

Exhortation, Second Sunday After Christmas

Because the church is God’s own civilization, His city and kingdom, she marks time by her own calendar. The church lives by rhythms different from the rhythms of the world, including temporal rhythms. Yet, during the past week, many of us stayed up late to welcome the New Year and…

January 4, 2009

Transsiberian

Virtually the first English words you hear in the recent film Transsiberian come from a pastor leading a mission trip to minister to children in China. “Ours is not a gray world,” he says. “Under the bright light of truth,” he says, “it’s a world of clear contrasts: black and…

December 31, 2008

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