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

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Romans

Hymn of the Justified

Romans 8:31-39 is better sung than commented upon. It’s a thrilling, ecstatic hymn of boisterous assurance that God’s purposes will be accomplished. Yet, I will attempt to comment on them. If we sing Paul’s hymn, let’s make sure we sing with understanding. Given the character of these verses, it’s easy…

by Peter LeithartJuly 20, 2017
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Culture

Growing up Nostalgic: Perpetual Adolescence and the Kingdom Come

"An ethic unshaped by eschatology is neither Jesus’ nor Christian.” - Tremper Longman How does an immature culture grow up? Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is about the dangers of being lost in adolescence. By the end of the movie, the viewer is pointed to a road we infer leads to…

by Dustin MesserJuly 18, 2017
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Theopolis News

The Theopolitan Society

We are in the middle of our campaign for the end of the fiscal year. We've raised $30,000 from some major donors, and need to raise another $70,000 to meet our budget. Please consider becoming a regular donor , and keep reading to learn about a great opportunity. This brief…

by Brian MoatsJuly 17, 2017
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Baptism

Strong Magic Takes Blood

Prolegomena 1. “You’re a pastor,” my new friend says as we sit down, “and you’re a massage therapist. How does that work?” To her, Christianity implies stuffy ideology, a disregard of the physical. A Christian massage therapist is an oddity; a pastor massage therapist is nearly a contradiction in terms.…

by Tim NicholsJuly 13, 2017
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Politics

Why Poles Love Trump

54% of Poles think favorably of Americans, only 13% unfavorably, according to Centrum Badania Opinii Spolecznej . Ten years ago, the numbers were 44% and 21% respectively. Twenty years ago, they were 64% and 6%. Back in the 1990s, Americans were the most liked nation among Poles. Now they are…

by Bogumil JarmulakJuly 11, 2017
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Biblical Theology

Stones and Fruit: Divination and Procreation – (Part Two)

Stones of Life and Death Of course, the sex of a child is not a choice between light and darkness or life and death. Sex, like circumcision, is a horizontal demarcation, a delegation of roles within humanity. In contrast, the white stone and the black stone within the “liturgical scrotum”…

by Mike BullJuly 7, 2017

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Stranger Things

G racy Olmstead has joined the chorus of praise for Netflix’s Stranger Things . She has many insightful things to say about the program, but I have to register a dissent from this: My husband and I joined the legions of hooked fans, as we followed the journey of Will’s…

September 16, 2016
American Politics

Whither Social Conservativism?

P ete Spiliakos doesn’t see Trumpism as the fulfillment of Buchananism. Trump is rather evidence of “the erosion of the Buchanan coalition.” Buchanan's appeal didn't depend on his views on trade or foreign policy. He appealed because of his social conservatism. In recent cycles, Spiliakos notes, social conservatism gets no…

September 16, 2016

Intimate Violence

Since her recent canonization, Mother Teresa's letter on abortion , addressed to the US Supreme Court, has been making the rounds. It's a call to America to live up to our own stated values, and includes this penetrating analysis of the wider effects of legalized abortion: “The so-called right to…

September 16, 2016

Science at the DOD

D aniel Sarewitz argues in New Atlantis that science is sick, and that the disease is systemic and terminal. When science is detached from technology, it is loosened from real-world effects. Research exists only for the sake of further research, and science loses the ability to judge whether or not…

September 16, 2016

Beowulfian Chiasms

I n a 1979 article in PMLA , John D. Niles examined the “ring composition” of Beowulf. He argued that each of the major battles (Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, the dragon) are arranged chiastically, and that the poem as a whole also has a chiastic shape. He outlines the initial fight…

September 16, 2016

Poetry, Nimble and Droopy

O K, so you want poetry? Try this. Macbeth, 1.6.1-3, Duncan speaking: “This castle hath a pleasant air. The air / Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / Unto our gentle senses.” Put aside the fact that Duncan is at the gate of hell, and that he’s wholly deceived about the…

September 16, 2016

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