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Deuteronomy

Torah as Testimony (Part 2)

Cornelius Van Til offered a revolutionary exposition of the Christian worldview through the lens of Reformed theology. He argued and, I believe demonstrated, that Biblical metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics mutually presuppose and include one another. Every ethical statement of the Bible — commands about righteousness — presuppose the existence and…

by Ralph Allan SmithJune 21, 2022
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Deuteronomy

Torah as Testimony (Part 1)

In the introductory portion of Deuteronomy, Moses’ last sermons to the people of Israel — people that he regarded as his own beloved children — there is a statement that may seem paradoxical to a modern reader. It invites questions and maybe even creates problems in our understanding. Here are…

by Ralph Allan SmithJune 14, 2022
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Biblical Studies

The View from Gerar: Looking Back to Moriah (and Forward to Sinai)

In his discussion of the biblical type scene, Robert Alter speaks of the “patterns of repetition, symmetry, [and] contrast” which characterize the narratives of Scripture, patterns that give pleasure to the reader while also building up a web of meaningful connections between texts. 1 But if readers are to notice…

by Josh JensenJune 7, 2022
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Genesis

Did Eve Ruin Female Ordination?

In 1 Timothy 2, Paul writes: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Timothy 2:12-14). This…

by Adam McIntoshMay 31, 2022
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Matthew

Warhorse Meek

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5 When the above verse is read during a Lord’s Day service, no doubt, every extrovert in the room thinks to himself, “Well, that rules out me.” After all, the meek folks in the room are the ones you…

by Garrett SoucyMay 24, 2022
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Biblical Studies

Earth and Fire

The flames of the altar tell a mysterious story beyond mere atonement. The altar was a place of union, glory, worship, love and forgiveness, laughter and tears, renewal and hope. The altar is where Israel would feast with God, sacrifice to God, worship God, confess, and receive forgiveness from God.…

by Kyle LammottMay 23, 2022

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Roman Death

Andrew Feldherr writes in the TLS that Romans were known by the way they died, as well as how they killed. Not only individual Romans either: “The Romans as a people ‘decline and fall’; and their collective role as the West’s memento mori continues in the stream of recent books…

December 17, 2007
Philosophy

Old Hat

John Joseph writes in the TLS that Saussure’s insight that language is “purely differential and negative in nature” was a commonplace of late nineteenth-century philosophy and “was a defining feature of British psychology.” And Saussure’s claim that meaning is arbitrary and conventional also has a long pedigree. Saussure’s “novel contribution…

December 17, 2007

Impassibility

In a recent book on the “suffering of the impassible God,” Paul Gavrilyuk defends the patristic consensus that God is impassible, focusing on the ways that the church struggled to maintain the tension of the incarnation between the God who is impassible and the suffering Jesus who is God. In…

December 17, 2007

Christological soteriology

DH Williams has a helpful article on justification by faith in Hilary, in a recent issue of Pro Ecclesia . He concludes, in part, “the basis of justification by faith was not at heart a matter of soteriology, but of Christology, especially when it came to interpreting the divine intent…

December 17, 2007

Starbucked

P.J. O’Rourke has a typically entertaining and sharp review of Taylor Clark’s recent Starbucked in the NYT book review. O’Rourke especially appreciates Clark’s honest in answering whether Starbucks is a “monster of capitalist rapine.” Some excerpts: “Clark is frank about his bias: ‘Starbucks diminishes the world’s diversity every time it…

December 17, 2007

Sermon Outline, Fourth Advent

INTRODUCTION Micah addresses an Israel filled with injustice, ruled by cannibal kings. And he prophesies that Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins (3:12). Yet, the heart of his prophecy is a message of hope – hope for the restoration of Jerusalem, hope for a king who will be peace (5:5).…

December 17, 2007

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