Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
markus-winkler-aid-xyrtlec-unsplash
John

Engaging John, Engaging One Another

The Paradosis Center at John Brown University in Siloam Spring, Arkansas, put on its first conference last week, it was a remarkable event. It was an ecumenical conference including Orthodox (John Behr, Edith Humphrey, others), Catholic (Rusty Reno, Michael Root, others), and Evangelical (Timothy George, David Lyle Jeffrey). Unusually for…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 30, 2014
trnava-university-beeyeib-am8-unsplash
Leviticus

Zoemics

Naphtali Meshel observes in his new The "Grammar" of Sacrifice that scholars have been talking for decades about the "grammatical" character of ritual and sacrifice in general, but have never actually analyzed a specific ritual or sacrificial system grammatically. Some even talk about a "universal grammar" of sacrifice "even though…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 29, 2014
screen-shot-2022-08-04-at-9-36-57-am
Isaiah

God in the Dock

Some Christians are rather breezy about the problem of evil. We shouldn't be. Do I need to remind you of the grisly beheadings that have taken place over the past few weeks? Do I need to remind you of the blood of innocents that’s been spilled in our own country?…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 24, 2014
ryan-loughlin-a8cewc-qgq-unsplash
Baptism

Recreated in Four Dimensions

Have you ever been to a wedding where the heavens opened and a voice declared the couple “husband and wife”? Few of us have. Beautiful as they are, most marriages are quite mundane. Yet when Jesus talks about marriage, He describes it as something that God does: “What God has…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 22, 2014
sixteen-miles-out-al48tflf4e8-unsplash
Matthew

The Least Of These

Jesus is the last and greatest of the Prophets. He is the Prophet that Moses predicted (Deuteronomy 18). That means He gives the final word, brings the blueprints for the final temple, speaks the final world into existence, and has complete and permanent access to the divine court, where He…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 17, 2014
screen-shot-2023-04-04-at-5-01-54-pm
Galatians

Paul and the Troublers of Galatia

Paul stands against those who are “troubling” or “disturbing” the Galatians churches ( tarasso ; 1:7; also in 5:10). The reference seems to be two great troublers from the Old Testament. First, Achan is described as a “troubler” for the problems he causes in the aftermath of the battle at…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 15, 2014

Showing page 168 of 309

See all
See all
History

English Gesellschaft

In an 1817 letter, Wordsworth complained to Daniel Stuart, “I see clearly that the principal ties which kept the different classes of society in a vital and harmonious dependence upon each other have, within these thirty years, either been greatly impaired or wholly dissolved. Everything has been put up to…

August 27, 2007
History

Gilpin and the Lakes

If Repton created the scenery that resonated with Romantics, William Gilpin was the one who put the Lake Country on the map. Travel writer and theorist of the picturesque, Gilpin was the writer most responsible for the 18th-century enthusiasm for scenic tourism. He was also the most influential of those…

August 27, 2007
History

Repton and Romanticism

A mania for “improvements” gripped the upwardly mobile land-owning classes of the 18th century. By the end of the century, the landscape styles of Lancelot “Capability” Brown were in decline. Richard Payne Knight put the objections to Brownian style in poetic form in his 1794 The Landscape , launching the…

August 27, 2007

Sermon outline

INTRODUCTION Most of the Beatitudes are in the third person, but in verses 11-12 Jesus addresses the people directly: “Blessed are you.” That third-person address continues into verses 13-16. Jesus is addressing the same group. The people who fulfill Israel’s calling to be salt and light are the persecuted. THE…

August 27, 2007

Eucharistic meditation

1 Corinthians 10:16: Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? We drink here the cup of blessing. What blessings are contained in that cup? All the blessings that Jesus promises to his disciples are here. This is the feast of the…

August 26, 2007

Blessed are the poor

In a 1927 article in JBL , one C. C. McCown examines the Beatitudes in the light of ancient Assyrian, Babylonian, and Hebrew ideals of kingship. There is a consensus that a just king will bring benefits to the poor. The rich benefit in any case, especially with a corrupt…

August 26, 2007

Showing page 1640 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.