Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Misunderstanding “Galatianism” has caused several problems in the Reformed church. Because circumcision is at issue in the Galatian epistle, some have fallen into thinking that ritual per se, rather than anything uniquely Mosaic or Jewish, is the object of Paul’s critique. Likewise, his polemic against “works of the law” is…
Many texts in the NT become more perspicuous if we keep in mind the possibility — and indeed ubiquity — of Gentile God-fearers in the Old Covenant. After the special covenant with Israel is set up, Gentiles are not altogether excluded from the hope of salvation. Israel’s special status in…
I was once trying to get a sermon out of Ephesians 1.12-14 and it seemed obvious that I should look for two parallel statements both ending with the phrase, “to the praise of his glory.” Paul here begins talking about two groups of people (“you” and “we”), and he later…
WHY A DENOMINATION WITH SOUTHERN PRESBYTERIAN ROOTS SHOULD CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE “NEW PERSPECTIVE ON PAUL” In my denomination, the PCA, we are continually haunted by the sins of our racist Southern past. It has become an annual rite at General Assembly for the issue to be addressed one way or…
Recent debates over whether or not, “justification is central” to Paul’s theology have reminded me of a sermon I once heard by a Presbyterian seminary student. This African American student challenged his audience on the sin of racism and the ways it might manifest itself among us. Like any good…
In Charles Hodge’s 1853 article, “Idea of the Church,” his stated aim is to analyze the idea of the Church proposed in the Apostles’ Creed, in which, “the Church is declared to be “the Communion of the Saints.” He writes: The conception of the Church as the communion of saints…
Showing page 231 of 309
Showing page 2 of 43
I explore some of the astral symbolism of the book of Revelation at the Trinity House site .
Tom Phillips reports in the Telegraph that China is “poised to become not just the world’s number one economy but also its most numerous Christian nation.” According to Purdue’s Fenggang Yang, it will happen in “less than a generation.” Phillips adds, “China’s Protestant community, which had just one million members…
Anthony Gottlieb uses his review of Rebecca Goldstein’s Plato at the Googleplex to speculate on how ancient philosophers might have employed social media and information technology: “The epigrammatic Heraclitus would surely have appreciated the enforced brevity of Twitter. Diogenes the Cynic, who made a spectacle of himself in order to…
One of the burdens of William Easterly’s The Tyranny of Experts is that the state is one of the great obstacles to development. As Howard French summarizes the argument in the NYTBR , “Easterly’s stories unfailingly reinforce a select number of crucial themes, the boldest being that the people of…
The scene in heaven in Revelation 4 is a temple scene. It’s also the beginning of John’s sky journey among the stars and constellations. But the combination of a throne and throne s indicates another setting: This is a courtroom. That’s what thrones indicate elsewhere in Scripture (Psalm 122:5; Daniel…
Jesus has to keys to open and close doors (Revelation 3:7-8). That could be a door of mission, but the next chapter of the book shows an open door. It doesn’t stand between church and world but between heaven and earth (4:1). The door Jesus opens to the church in…
Showing page 630 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
