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Writing

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

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Food

Gluttony In The Bible (As Opposed To Gluttony In The American Church)

In the Bible, fatness is such a blessing, that it is especially hard to understand why wicked men are permitted to enjoy such a state. It requires a theodicy and faith in God. Thus: “For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek . They are…

by Mark HorneAugust 12, 2013
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How to Worship

Biblical Worship (Video with James B. Jordan)

[fve]http://vimeo.com/71901553[/fve]

by Peter LeithartAugust 8, 2013
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Deuteronomy

Holy Things for Holy People

The allusion to the Exodus story is contained in the first words of Deuteronomy 14:1 — “ye are the sons of Yahweh your God” — as well as in 14:2 in the use of the technical term translated “treasured possession,” “His own possession,” “peculiar people,” “precious people,” and so forth.…

by Ralph Allan SmithAugust 5, 2013
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Deuteronomy

Forbidden Foods

I have argued that Deuteronomy 14:1-21 is an independent literary unit that applies the Third Word to the lives of Israelites from the time of Moses and Joshua. In this short pericope, Moses suggests broad and deep meaning by means of literary allusion to the stories of the creation and…

by Ralph Allan SmithJuly 31, 2013
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How to Worship

Pro-Sacramental Reformation

In his recently republished The New Creation , the late, delightful Herbert McCabe defends the priesthood of the plebs as roundly as anyone could want. Citing Hebrews, he claims that "there is an essential difference between the Christian community and the community of the Old Law, or any other religious…

by Peter LeithartJuly 29, 2013
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Augustine

Sexual Idolatry

Augustine famously prayed, “Our hearts our restless until they rest in You.” True indeed. Being creatures, we inherently sense our ontological poverty—our innate condition of dependence—and are compelled to find a sense of security. And it is also true—as Augustine’s own narrative painfully illustrates—that one of the things we most…

by Gerald HiestandJuly 24, 2013

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History

A Christian Vice?

In a 1917 article, Joseph William Hewitt notes that the Greeks did not view ingratitude with the same horror as modern writers (among modern writers, he lists Thomas Elyot, Shakespeare, and the Spectator ). From the sixteenth century to the early twentieth, “we find a deep, indeed an extreme, horror…

December 20, 2006
History

Rejoinders

Kenneth Burke wisely remarks that “Every document bequeathed us by history must be treated as a strategy for encompassing a situation,” an “answer or rejoinder to assertions current in the situation in which it arose.” He goes on to compare our entry into history to a late arrival to a…

December 20, 2006
Philosophy

Anti-Linguistic Turn

Philosophers claim that European/American thought has gone through a linguistic turn in the last several decades. The truth is the opposite. Rorty says, “The world does not speak. Only we do. The world can, once we have programmed ourselves with a language, cause us to hold beliefs. But it cannot…

December 19, 2006

Sermon notes, Fourth Sunday of Advent

INTRODUCTION While Herod and Jerusalem fear the news of the birth of Jesus, the Magi worship Him and rejoice (2:10). Here is another inversion of the original exodus story, and a preview of the gospel story: Jews reject their deliverer, but the Gentiles embrace Him. THE TEXT “Now after Jesus…

December 18, 2006

Eucharistic meditation, Third Sunday of Advent

1 Corinthians 10: Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of…

December 17, 2006

Exhortation, Third Sunday of Advent

For most Americans, Christmas means warm feelings, forgiveness, kindness, generosity. It means putting our differences aside and getting along. Celebrating Christmas means celebrating liberalism and toleration. As in so many ways, our celebration of Christmas borrows scraps from the table of Christian faith. We like “peace on earth, good will…

December 17, 2006

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