Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls (James 1:21). James hooks the different sections of his epistle together by using the same or a similar word at the close of one section and…
Deuteronomy 8 is organized as a new chiasm: A. Remember and do commandments, 8:1-2 B. Manna and clothing in the wilderness, 8:3-4 C. Know in your heart that Yahweh disciplined you, 8:5-6 D. The good land, 8:7-10 C'. Do not be proud in heart, 8:11-14 B'. Manna and water, 8:15-17…
Should we use the category of "nature" in our theology? Start, as ever, with some Bible-thumpin': If someone were to construct a "metaphysics" or view of reality from the Bible alone, the category of nature would not be a prominent one. Here and there, the Bible uses this word and…
The doctrine of the Trinity is woven into our worship every week. We are called to worship in the Name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. We confess the Trinity in the Nicene Creed. We are blessed in the Name of the Trinity. Pervasive as it is, the…
Eight students from five states and seven different churches attended the Trinity Term course, our first intensive course for the 2014-15 year. Two pastors were in the class, along with five pastoral students and one layman. James Jordan lectured through the book of Genesis, and Peter Leithart added several lectures…
The world seems to be coming apart at the seams. A jihadist uploads a video showing an American journalist being beheaded. Ferguson, Missouri, endures night after night of demonstrations that turn into vandalism. Russia is meddling with Ukraine, ISIS is on the move in the Middle East, illegal immigrants (we're…
Showing page 169 of 309
Showing page 2 of 43
Roy Gane’s detailed, technical Cult and Character is a sustained response to Jacob Milgrom’s claim that the purification offers of the Torah did not cleanse the worshiper who offered them but the sanctuary. Gane’s overall argument is convincing, and he makes a lot of intriguing exegetical points along the way.…
Ben Meyer ( The Aims of Jesus , 132) summarizes Jesus message as consisting of two themes: The kingdom of God is a free gift; and it has come in Jesus’ own ministry. Jesus preaches a kingdom that is free and now . It is a demanding kingdom. The free…
In a 2006 article in Past & Present , Jonathan Sheehan traces the origins of the modern contrast of sacred and profane to seventeenth-century dispute about idolatry. It’s a story of keen interest, but this particularly caught my eye. He’s talking about the role of the golden calf incident in…
Like another, better-known Jesuit, Robert Daly has a disarming way about him. What do you do with a Catholic who is as critical of private Masses as most Protestants? A Jesuit who says things like: “It is common to describe lack of contact with tradition as one of the characteristic…
Nancy Jay’s analysis of the patriarchal narratives in Throughout Your Generations Forever is vitiated (to use a solid old Calvinian term) by her reliance on the documentary hypothesis. P says this, J and E that. P traces smooth sacrificial descent from fathers to sons; J and E reveal a more…
Anointing the sick, including the dying, is one of the traditional seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. The Reformers denied that the rite qualified as a sacrament. Formally, this was because anointing did not have a direct authorization from Jesus; more theologically, it was not one of the marks that…
Showing page 484 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
