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Writing

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

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Apologetics

Do I Have to go to Church?

Imagine driving up to Canada and stopping at a restaurant to get a bite to eat. While you’re sitting at the table, an enthusiastic young man comes over to you and says in an excited voice, "Are you an American?" You reply, "Yes, I am." "Wonderful! I have so little…

by Mark HorneNovember 15, 1999
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Biblical Horizons

The Prayer of Manasseh

1 O Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous posterity; 2 You who have made heaven and earth with all their order; 3 who have shackled the sea by Your word ofcommand, who have confined the deep and sealed it with…

by James B. JordanOctober 4, 1999
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Biblical Horizons

The Apocrypha: Bel and the Dragon

Part 1: 1When King Astyages was laid with his fathers, Cyrus the Persian received his kingdom. 2 And Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of his friends. 3Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they spent on it twelve bushels…

by James B. JordanOctober 4, 1999
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Church Government

Ministers and Ruling Elders Do Not Occupy the Same Office

This debate has been going on for some time. But with few exceptions, almost all explanations of Presbyterian church polity claim that a “church” (meaning a single local congregation) must be ruled by “a plurality of elders” of whom one may happen to teach and work full-time doing so. This…

by Mark HorneSeptember 2, 1999
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Biblical Horizons

The Apocrypha

I hope that those who are advocating reading more of the ancient, "classical" literature of the ancient, "classical" world, are also promoting the Apocrypha. I’m afraid that many Christians don’t realize what great literature much of the Apocrypha is. It is not, of course, inspired by God, and perhaps because…

by James B. JordanAugust 4, 1999
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Church Government

What is Presbyterianism?

PRESBYTERIANISM is a term referring to a system of government in the Church. It is commonly contrasted with Congregationalism and Episcopalianism. Presbyter is a Greek word that is translated as “elder” in our English New Testaments. Thus, Presbyterianism is commonly defined as “rule by elders.” This is a misleading definition.…

by Mark HorneJune 5, 1999

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Joab’s Wilderness House

Why is the location of Joab?s house mentioned (1 Ki 2:34)? The wilderness is the place of Israel?s 40-year sojourn, prior to the entry into and conquest of the land of Israel. Thus, the reference to the wilderness connects with the Joshua typology that is evident elsewhere in the chapter…

August 20, 2004

Joab’s Execution

Solomon clearly considers his execution of Joab to be an act of justice: Yahweh is bringing the blood that Joab shed back on his own head. And Solomon also indicates that the execution of Joab is necessary to clear David’s house of blood-guilt. This is suggested in two ways. First,…

August 20, 2004

Joab’s Execution

Solomon clearly considers his execution of Joab to be an act of justice: Yahweh is bringing the blood that Joab shed back on his own head. And Solomon also indicates that the execution of Joab is necessary to clear David’s house of blood-guilt. This is suggested in two ways. First,…

August 20, 2004

Translation, 1 Kings 2

A rough and wooden translation of 1 Kings 2. And drew near the days of David to die. And he commanded Shlomoh his son, saying, ?I myself walking in the way of all the earth. You be strong. And you be as a man. Do the guard duty of Yahweh…

August 20, 2004
Philosophy

Bloom on Republic

The late Allan Bloom points out in his interpretive essay on Plato’s Republic that Socrates’ attack on poets is qualified by the fact that he ends the Republic with a myth, the reincarnational myth of Er. Socrates banishes the poets, but offers a return if the poets will submit themselves…

August 19, 2004
Philosophy

Romanticism

According to Robert Solomon’s account, Romanticism did not LEAD to nationalism; it was nationalism. In particular, it was a German nationalist reaction to the perceived threat of French and English Enlightenment thought: “Cosmopolitan philosophers in London or Paris might pretend that they could speak for all humanity, but equally serious…

August 19, 2004

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