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

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Romans

The Politics of Justification

The doctrine of justification is precious among Protestants. And it should be. The fact that God has declared our sins forgiven and that we have a righteous standing in the sight of God united to Christ is comforting and brings great joy. Unfortunately, the biblical teaching on justification is, many…

by Bill SmithNovember 21, 2017
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Priest

What is a Priest?

The Old Testament priests were given a number of seemingly disparate duties. As everyone knows, the priests led the sacrificial worship of Israel; only the priests could sprinkle blood on the altar or within the tabernacle, and only they could approach the altar to turn sacrificial animals into smoke. But…

by Peter LeithartNovember 17, 2017
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Liturgy

Ite, Missa Est

M issional ecclesiology is all the rage these days, but for many being “missional” means downplaying or even eliminating concern for the “internal” life of the church, particularly its liturgical life. Missional and liturgical, mission and communio , are locked in zero-sum combat. That cannot be right. The liturgy is…

by Peter LeithartNovember 14, 2017
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Romans

The New Gospel

An old friend of mine, now passed into Heaven, started to say this in relationship to his sometimes troubled family, in the last quarter of his life, "I just had to take responsibility for the whole thing..." That was the seed for a new reading of the Gospel for me,…

by Richard BledsoeNovember 9, 2017
reformers
Reformation

Reformation Retrospection

She departed the port, dressed in her best ceremonial regalia, with tassels and flags fluttering from her mast and rigging. She stood tall, robed in mist, crowned in white, and backlit by the rising sun. There she sat, shimmering and spotless; with a perfect ragtop, and a full tank of…

by Jon HerrNovember 7, 2017
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Revelation

Locusts and Honey

John the Baptist is presented in the gospels as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise that God would send His messenger to prepare the way for the coming of the glory of the Lord (Is. 40), and the promise to send Elijah before Him to turn the people to…

by Peter LeithartNovember 2, 2017

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Biblical Studies

Inspiration and Incarnation

I’ve finally had a chance to take a closer look at Peter Enns’s controversial Inspiration and Incarnation and wanted to jot down a few comments. (I’ve known Pete since my seminary days, but I’ll call him “Enns” here to maintain a measure of scholarly decorum). The book has a number…

April 30, 2008
History

Machen, Narrative Theologian

From Christianity and Liberalism : “The narration of facts is history; the narration of the facts with the meaning of the facts is doctrine.” “Although the ideals of the Cynic and Stoic preachers were high, these preachers never succeeded transforming society. The strange thing about Christianity was that it adopted…

April 30, 2008
History

Machen the ecumenist

In Christianity and Liberalism , Machen acknowledged that “There are many who believe that the Bible is right at the central point, in its account of the redeeming work of Christ, and yet believe that it contains many errors.” Machen disagreed, but Machen did not believe that such views excluded…

April 30, 2008
History

A cheer for Thomas Reid

Thomas Reid’s “commonsense realism” gets beat up a lot, especially in contemporary evangelicalism. But in their history of the Bible in modern culture, Harrisville and Sundberg point (with some unnecessarily pejorative language) to some of the accomplishments of Reid’s philosophy in American church life and theology: “For three generations, commonsense…

April 30, 2008
Theology

Theology by Einstein

“God is slick, but he ain’t mean.” Albert Einstein, 1946. Solid biblical theology, that.

April 30, 2008
History

Living with uncertainty

An infallible Scripture needs an infallible interpreter. So Catholics have argued, at least since the Reformation. Luther, of course, disagreed: “They must admit that there are many among us, godly Christians, who have the truth faith, spirit, understanding, word and mind of Christ, and why then should one reject their…

April 30, 2008

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