Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
skyler-gerald-oygna91tfis-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

Hymn Bark #5: Healing Bad Eschatology

1. Come, Ye Thankful People, Come. This hymn by Henry Alford is found in many hymnals, including Cantus Christi . Yet, the last stanza radically contradicts the theological perspective of the historic faith and of the editors of this hymnal. It is a witness to how we tend to bounce…

by James B. JordanSeptember 20, 2011
dariusz-sankowski-abamxzlot8e-unsplash
Biblical Studies

Biblical Theology Basics: Part 7

This series of post were originally published at the Biblical Horizons blog. The entire paper can be downloaded HERE . 7. The Literary Shape of the Covenant As we have seen, there is a succession of covenants in the Bible, each more glorious than the previous, each absorbing and transfiguring…

by James B. JordanSeptember 16, 2011
dariusz-sankowski-abamxzlot8e-unsplash
Biblical Studies

Biblical Theology Basics: Part 6

This series of post were originally published at the Biblical Horizons blog. The entire paper can be downloaded HERE . 6. Covenant Phases in the Bible Thus far we have spoken of only three phases in the history of the one covenant. We must now divide the third phase into…

by James B. JordanSeptember 8, 2011
dariusz-sankowski-abamxzlot8e-unsplash
Biblical Studies

Biblical Theology Basics: Part 5

This series of post were originally published at the Biblical Horizons blog. The entire paper can be downloaded HERE . 5. Priest, King, and Prophet We can begin with the phrase “prophet, priest, and king.” This is the order normally heard from preachers and theologians. But it is not really…

by James B. JordanSeptember 3, 2011
kyler-nixon-urkdeazlvtq-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

Hymn Bark #4: "Christian, Dost Thou See Them' & "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say"

This is a fine hymn by John Mason Neale, based on an ancient Greek church hymn. The opening question is particularly powerful: “Christian, dost thou see them on the holy ground, how the powers of darkness compass thee around?” Yes, the devil strikes in the very church and her worship…

by James B. JordanSeptember 1, 2011
skyler-gerald-oygna91tfis-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

Hymn Bark #3: It Is Well With My Soul

This syrupy piece of marijuana-haze hymnody is found in the hymnals of churches that have substituted sentiment for orthodoxy and worship. Hence you don’t find it in older Presbyterian hymnals, but in the Trinity Hymnal. Nor do you find it in Episcopal and Lutheran hymnals until very recently in some…

by James B. JordanAugust 31, 2011

Showing page 202 of 309

See all
See all

Hugeness

Jason Zengerle has an interesting piece in the TNR on evangelical conversions to Orthodoxy. At the end of the article, he quotes Jordan DeRenzo, who converted to Orthodoxy when her Baptist pastor, Wilbur Ellsworth, converted. She says: “Coming to the Orthodox Church means that I am in communion with that…

August 30, 2007
Theology

Faith and Reason

For centuries, Christians have posed the dilemma of Christian theology as a problem of faith v. reason. That’s a non-starter, a concession of defeat, for it assumes that there can be such a thing as a faith-free rationality. But there cannot be. What we have is not a conflict of…

August 30, 2007

Homoousios

We fondly look back at the Council of Nicea as a solution to the problem of Arianism, and see the homoousios as the key to this solution. Things are not nearly so tidy. Robert Letham neatly summarizes the problems associated with the term in his recent book on Orthodoxy: “As…

August 28, 2007

Liturgical footwear

Henry Chadwick notes, “Some Christians late in the fourth century, especially round Brescia, walked barefoot after the example of Moses at the burning bush or the prophet Isaiah who went barefoot for three years. Successive bishops deplored this, evidently in vain. Much ancient evidence records the axiom that for cultic…

August 28, 2007
History

Wordsworth and the Picturesque

According to a 1964 article in Modern Philology by John Nabholtz, Wordsworth intended his Guide to the Lakes (first published in 1810; fifth edition in 1835) as a corrective to picturesque writers like Gilpin. He intended his book to model how landscape writing should be done, and most critics have…

August 27, 2007
Literature

Pauline Wordsworth

In a 1993 article in the Review of English Studies , Colin Pedley points out the similarities between the cadences of this passage from “Tintern Abbey” and Paul’s triumphant conclusion to Romans 8: My dear, dear Sister! and this prayer I make, Knowing that Nature never did betray The heart…

August 27, 2007

Showing page 1639 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.