Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
hebrew-manuscript-6
Hermeneutics

The Structure of the Joseph Narrative

(Genesis 37:2 – 50:26) A. Generations of Jacob, 37:2a B. Joseph hated by brothers, 37:2b C. Jacob’s discriminatory blessing, 37:3-4 D. Rule over family: vision, 37:5-11 E. Joseph seeks brothers, 37:12-17 F. Joseph "killed," 37:18-36 G. Judah’s sin, ch. 38 H. Imprisonment, though undeserved, ch. 39-40 I. Famine and Pharaoh,…

by James B. JordanJanuary 4, 1999
juli-kosolapova-us_dv71f1bc-unsplash
Exodus

Crisis Time: Patriarchal Prologue, Part 5

Moses and Jesus The gift of the Father is a son, but we must be ready to give our sons back to Him when it is time. The gift of the Brother is an estate, but we must be ready to give our estates back to Him when it is…

by James B. JordanJanuary 4, 1999
pawel-czerwinski-jbg6al282wq-unsplash
Ecclesiology

Of The Church

An Exposition of Chapter XXV of the Westminster Confession of Faith I. The Catholic or universal Church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the…

by Mark HorneDecember 5, 1998
trnava-university-beeyeib-am8-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

From Plato to NATO: The Idea of the West and Its Critics

From Plato to NATO: The Idea of the West and Its Critics , by David Gress (New York: Free Press, 1998). This book came into my hands after I had finished my series of essays on Western Civilization. It is so good that I was tempted to summarize it in…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998
katie-moum-o0kbc907i20-unsplash-2
American Politics

Buchanan and Free Trade

In a recent issue of the Chalcedon Report (March, 1999), R. J. Rushdoony praises Patrick Buchanan’s book The Great Betrayal (Boston: Little Brown, 1998), a defense of protectionism. Rushdoony claims that the conflict between free trade and tariffs is a religious conflict, and he is correct. Unfortunately and surprisingly, he…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998
screenshot-2023-08-08-at-11-13-28-am
Esther

Crisis Time: Patriarchal Prologue, Part 4

Joseph and Esther The third patriarch was Joseph, and the third phase of pre-gospel history is the Restoration. We have not spent time looking particularly at the Joseph narrative heretofore, because it is different in cast from the Abraham and Jacob ones. There is no explicit promise, fulfillment, and crisis…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998

Showing page 246 of 309

See all
See all
History

Fourth Century Tour

Anyone wanting to spend some time in the fourth century should check out Fourth Century Christianity at www.fourthcentury.com, which is sponsored by the History Department of Wisconsin Lutheran College and directed by Glen Thompson. The site has chronological charts, original documents or links to other web sites with original documents…

November 13, 2008
History

Plus choses changent…

Timothy Barnes, summarizing Lactantius’s objections to Diocletian, writes that “Diocletian possessed great political sagacity, for he had the enviable ability to garner for himself the credit for actions which proved popular while saddling others with responsibility for failures or mistakes.”

November 13, 2008
Politics

Culture Wars

I’ve expanded my consideration of the “culture wars” in the age of Obama on the First Things web site: http://www.firstthings.com.

November 12, 2008

Wandering

Emphasizing the necessity of starting with the fact of revelation rather than the abstract possibility, Barth charges that “consciously or unconsciously, the Neo-Protestant tradition, in which Lessing, Kant, and Schleiermacher sought access to Christ along a road that could not lead to Him.”

November 11, 2008
Biblical Studies

Synoptic problem

Scripture gives us two “synoptic problems” - the problem of harmonizing the gospels and the problem of harmonizing Kings and Chronicles. That is, the history of the kingdom and the history of Jesus are each told more than once. The parallel is intriguing. It suggests that the two histories are…

November 11, 2008
Theology

Total Depravity

Bavinck makes the interesting, Augustinian, and important point that sin can never become our essence because it is not a substance: “it does indeed inhabit and infect all of us, but it is not and cannot be the essence of our humanity. Also, after the fall, we human beings remain…

November 11, 2008

Showing page 1449 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.