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Writing

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

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John

And the Holy of Holies Became Flesh

And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory...(John 1:14) Commentaries on John, discussing the Word or Logos in John 1, routinely turn to Greek philosophy and say that John is using a term and at least part of an idea familiar in the ancient…

by James B. JordanMarch 8, 2016
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Contentment

Defining Contentment

Jeremiah Burroughs defines contentment as “that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition” Contentment is one Christian virtue that Americans have an incredibly hard time understanding and applying. We have such comfortable lives that we…

by Lindsey TollefsonMarch 3, 2016
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Course Recap

Out of Exodus

"The goal I have for myself, my family, and my church is total bible saturation. I expected the Exodus Intensive class to help me with that, but I am shocked just how much it did," said Mark Balthrop, a pastor in Oklahoma City who attended Theopolis' recent course on the…

by Brian MoatsMarch 2, 2016
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Atonement

Gospel as Atonement Theory

In a characteristically pithy essay, Robert Jenson has decried the “two paired errors” of traditional atonement theory. On the one hand, the cross is separated “from its future, in the resurrection” and, on the other, from “its past in the canonical history of Israel.” For the apostles, crucifixion is “anything…

by Peter LeithartMarch 1, 2016
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Biblical Theology

What is Systematic Typology? - Part One

The Historical-Grammatical Nanny State Typological interpretation is either abused or frowned upon, a domain relegated to mystics and charlatans, where the angels of modern academia fear to tread. But what if the Bible itself contained safeguards against irresponsible flights of fancy? And if it did, what would they look like?…

by Mike BullFebruary 25, 2016
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Contentment

Beginning Contentment

It is harsh advice for a suffering soul to be told to be content, to be happy, to be delighting in the rough circumstances. Is Christian contentment something we should automatically have as a result of being in Christ? Is it something we do? Is it an action or is…

by Lindsey TollefsonFebruary 23, 2016

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Product not sum

Saussure argues that syntagmatic relations are more like multiplication than addition. Adding - eux to desir is not putting together “independent units”; rather the two “form a product, a combination of interdependent elements, their value deriving solely from their mutual contributions within a higher unit.” At another level, we can…

March 27, 2008

Meaning and value

Would Saussure have agreed with Barr’s challenge to the notion that there is a difference between Greek and Hebraic mentalities evident in the differences between the languages? Barr appeals to Saussure at one or two points in his book ( Semantics ), and his project as a whole is reliant…

March 27, 2008
History

“Religion” in England

The English civil war, that is. Peter Harrison ( ‘Religion’ and the Religions in the English Enlightenment ) traces the notion of comparative religious study to the confessional disputes in England, and the “diachronic pluralism” of the English monarchy: “As Locke put it, the kings and queens of post-Reformation England…

March 27, 2008

Segmenting sounds

At a couple of points in his Course , Saussure suggests that the “primary characteristic of the spoken sequence is its linearity.” It is a “chain,” a “line.” I find this questionable, but he makes interesting use of the image: “In itself, it is merely a line, a continuous ribbon…

March 26, 2008

Chemical reaction

A “sign” in Saussure’s terminology consists of a signification (a concept or idea) and a signal (the “sound pattern” associated with the idea). He suggests some analogies: “This unified duality has often been compared with that of the human being, comprising body and soul. But the parallel is unsatisfactory. A…

March 26, 2008

Linguistic system

Saussure associates langue with collective social realities; it is the system created by society and existing, almost identically, in every member of a linguisitic community. He associates parole , in turn, with individual expressions within the system. The system is impervious to change: “changes are never made to the system…

March 26, 2008

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