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

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Biblical Horizons

The Sin of Ham and the Curse of Canaan, Part 1

The history of the sin of Ham and the curse of Canaan comes in the middle of the Generations of Noah, a section of Genesis that begins at Genesis 6:9 and extends to the closing notice, Genesis 11:9. To understand the story better, it is necessary to get in mind…

by James B. JordanJune 3, 1997
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Eucharist

You and Your Son and Daughter: Christ’s Communion with Young Children

This paper was written to persuade people who were members of the Presbyterian Church in America. It should be accessible to anyone who believes in baptizing infants–especially to those who consider themselves a part of the Reformation Tradition. References to “our Confession” or “our standards” invoke the Westmeinster Confession of…

by Mark HorneJune 3, 1997
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Baptism

The Westminster Standards & Sacramental Efficacy

Version 1.2 I write this brief essay in order to address a problem I have encountered. I keep reading explanations of doctrine of the sacraments fundamentally empty of the content which was once held by virtually all Reformed confessions and formulations. Furthermore, I read explanations and commentaries on the Westminster…

by Mark HorneJune 3, 1997
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Biblical Chronology

John Sailhamer Weighs In, Part 2

We continue our analysis of John Sailhamer’s book *Genesis Unbound: A Provocative New Look at the Creation Account* (Multnomah Books, 1996), which argues that Genesis 1:2ff. is not about the creation of the whole world, but about the preparation of the Land of Eden, which is also the Promised Land.…

by James B. JordanMay 31, 1997
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Matthew

Toward a Chiastic Understanding of the Gospel According to Matthew, Part 2

III. Death of God’s Firstborn in the real Egypt: This huge chiasm has as its center the betrayal of Peter, as the leader of the disciples himself rejects Jesus. Peter holds an oficial position as high priest among the disciples of the incarnate Lord. His rejection of Jesus is the…

by James B. JordanMay 31, 1997
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Eucharist

A Response to Rev. Bacon’s Argument that Manna was not a Sacrament

I wrote a response to Rev. Richard Bacon’s tract, What Mean Ye by This Service , a copy of which I borrowed from the library at Covenant Theological Seminary. However, I recently discovered that a new appendix was added to the version available on the Blue Banner’s web page. This…

by Mark HorneMay 29, 1997

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History

German Modernity

In the course of a review of Timothy Ryback’s recent book on Hitler’s library, Anthony Grafton comments on the connection between critique and occultism in early twentieth-century thought: “it is wrong to dismissed the esoteric strains in German thought in the early decades of the twentieth century simply because they…

December 20, 2008
Economics

Economies, Advanced and Primitive

Christopher Caldwell ends an intriguing article on William Bagehot ( Weekly Standard , 12/22) with this: “To be blunt, credit is successfully reestablished when financial elites say, ‘When.’ Credit is close to a synonym for the mood of the ruling class. To say an economy is based on credit is…

December 20, 2008

Wise Men

Mike Bull from Australia sent the following, which I reproduce with his permission: “We don’t know how many wise men travelled from the east, but perhaps we can make a guess via God’s deliberate typology. “We do know there were three gifts. With Christ as the human Ark of the…

December 18, 2008

India Islamicism

Philip Jenkins has an excellent brief introduction to the thought of the Indian Muslim thinker, Syed Abul Ala Mawdudi, in the December 24 issue of TNR . He writes: “His guiding assumption was a totalistic view of Islam: Everything in the universe was God’s creation, so Muslims could freely use…

December 17, 2008
Biblical Studies

Scapegoat

Priests used lots to select a scapegoat on the day of atonement (Leviticus 16:8-10). Joshua used lots to locate Achan the troubler of Israel; Achan was a scapegoat, whose death cleansed the people so they could defeat Ai. Haman threw lots, trying to pinpoint the time for offering the scapegoat…

December 17, 2008

Judaizing and the church calendar

Some Reformed charge that celebration of the seasons of the church calendar is Judaizing, a reversion to the slavery of the Old Covenant. More the opposite: The Reformed anti-calendar view says that we keep appointments with God only when He strictly and explicitly commands it. They do not think human…

December 14, 2008

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