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Writing

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

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Apostasy

Regeneration and Lettuce

My good friend, Jason Ewert, recently posted a review of Pastor Douglas Wilson’s book, Against the Church . Jason correctly notes that Pastor Wilson’s main pastoral motivation in writing this book is to combat dead orthodoxy. Dead orthodoxy is a real problem in Reformed churches that celebrate the primacy of…

by Garry VanderveenJuly 31, 2014
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Eucharist

Jesus Eats First

At the church I pastor, we have four servers who distribute the communion elements to the congregation, and I distribute the elements to those in the foyer and nursery. The servers and I do not partake of the bread and wine until the congregation is served first. As this has…

by Burke ShadeJuly 28, 2014
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Theopolis News

Church of the Present, Pastors of the Future

We at Trinity House believe that the church ought to raise and train her future pastors. Part of that training may be carried out by specialized institutions like Trinity House, but the church and her leaders are ultimately responsible for that training. To encourage churches to assume that responsibility, Trinity…

by Peter LeithartJuly 23, 2014
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Exodus

Mutilated Bodies

Sandra Jacobs's ​The Body as Property examines the role of physical disfigurement in the Hebrew Bible, with focus on the Torah, and more specifically on the (fictitious) Priestly document, P. After an introduction laying out a rationale for the comparative method that guides her research, she explores circumcision, the use…

by Peter LeithartJuly 23, 2014
Isaiah

Saving Judah

Yahweh saves. That’s what Isaiah’s name means, and that’s what Isaiah’s prophecy is about. Yah saves Judah when Aram and Israel pressure her. He saves Jerusalem from the Assyrian siege. He brings Judah back from the grave of Babylonian exile. But this triumphant message of Isaiah fizzles. The last few…

by Peter LeithartJuly 21, 2014
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Apostasy

Apostasy and Assurance

Are apostasy and assurance mutually exclusive? Some seem to think so. But let’s consider this a bit: No Reformed man would ever say that a man who is “saved” today will be safe forever no matter what . Rather we say, “your sins are forgiven, now, walk faithfully, glorify the…

by Steve WilkinsJuly 16, 2014

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Ecclesiastes v. Proverbs?

Ecclesiastes is for many Christians the strangest book in the Bible. It seems especially strange in comparison with Proverbs. Proverbs is encouraging and comforting. It tells us that those who pursue wisdom will attain it, and that with wisdom will come wealth and power and all sorts of other blessings.…

June 10, 2019
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PentecostPneumatology

Why Celebrate Pentecost?

An old Pentecostal riff, in shadowy imitation of Christopher Smartt . Why celebrate Pentecost? Because the Spirit is the hovering wind that forms the formlessness, fills the void, brightens the darkness. Because the Spirit is the breath that gives Adam life. Because the Lord comes into the garden in the…

June 7, 2019
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American Politics

The Alternatives to David-Frenchism

Last week at First Things , Sohrab Ahmari launched a blistering barrage against the views, public posture, and political theology of National Review's David French. In place of French's "earnest and insistently polite" demeanor, his insistence on civility and his appeals to pluralism, his struggle to carve out a safe…

June 3, 2019
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Economics

Politics of Price

What determines prices? Supply and demand, says anyone with a modicum of training in economics. Right, says Barry C. Lynn ( Cornered ): "In any open market that is populated by many small buyers and many small sellers, if the producers try to raise their prices high enough to make…

May 27, 2019
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Male, Female, Circumcision

Well, here’s something interesting. At least it interested me. “Male” (Heb. zakar ) first appears in Genesis 1:27, paired with female (Heb. neqevah ). God creates ‘adam male and female, in His image and likeness. For the next several chapters of Genesis, zakar is always paired with neqevah . Genesis…

May 22, 2019
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Literary and Structural notes on Romans 1:18-2:11

Romans 1:18-32 is is part of a section that goes at least to the end of chapter 3. More nearly, the subsection beginning at 1:18 goes to about 2:11. It's hard to find where the seams in the text are, but there are reasons to think that this section doesn’t…

May 20, 2019

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