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

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Ascension

On the Ascension of the Lord

Leo the Great's second sermon on the Ascension, Sermon 74 . I. The mystery of our salvation, dearly-beloved, which the Creator of the universe valued at the price of His blood, has now been carried out under conditions of humiliation from the day of His bodily birth to the end…

by TheopolisMay 25, 2017
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Ecclesiology

Church on the Cross

Life, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy says, is suffering, battle, pain, shock, failure, elation. Human beings are always torn, always riven. Much of human life, individually and col­lectively, is an effort to deal with suffering and death. By being the first Man, Jesus establishes the possibility of a different stance toward suffering and…

by Peter LeithartMay 23, 2017
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Baptism

Baptism Impasse: Baptists vs. Presbyterians (Part 1)

Is Christian baptism given to believers only or to believers and their children? That’s the question that must be answered—but only if you’re Baptist or Presbyterian. That’s how the question is framed between these two denominations in this dispute, and it’s along these lines the debate unfolds as each side…

by Mani MarprelateMay 18, 2017
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Political Theology

Philanthropic God

Again and again the liturgy of St Chrysostom calls God a lover of mankind. He is Philanthropolos Theos (man-loving God), Kurios Philanthropolos (man-loving Lord), Philopsychos (lover of the soul). Philanthropy wasn’t a Christian invention. Roman benefactors gave benefits to subordinates. What was new was the shape of philanthropy, for the…

by Peter LeithartMay 16, 2017
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Marriage

Marriage and Betrayal

Perhaps the most fearful of all possibilities in the world is the possibility of betrayal on the part of someone who is in a “position of trust.” This, unfortunately, is the first block in what ought to be the foundation of every marriage in the world. Every woman has a…

by Richard BledsoeMay 11, 2017
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City

Church in the Metropolis

It seems that denominationalism has had its day. A 2009 Barna survey found that denominational commitments have gone squishy in mainline Protestant churches, and Evangelicals don’t fare much better than the rest. After a similar survey, Ron Sellers of Ellison Research said that Protestants are as “loyal to their denominations…

by Peter LeithartMay 9, 2017

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Sermon notes, Isaiah 50

INTRODUCTION Isaiah prophesies the Babylonian exile, but also promises that Yahweh’s Servant will deliver Israel not only from Babylon but from the numbing effects of her own idolatry. THE TEXT “Where is the certificate of your mother’s divorce, whom I have put away? Or which of My creditors is it…

February 25, 2013

Eucharistic meditation

Colossians 2:16-17: Let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day – things which are a shadow of what is to come, but the body of Christ. When Paul talks about regulations…

February 24, 2013

Exhortation

Food fads come and go, especially in America. Not so long ago, white bread was the miracle food that would perfect and purify. For many today, organic is savior. Food was an issue in the early church, and Paul gives us coordinates for navigating through. First, do not let yourself…

February 24, 2013

Dragon Wine

Peter Green writes to offer this further reflection on venomous wine: “The word for ‘serpent’ or ‘dragon’ in Deut 32 is also in Is 27:1—the Song of the Vineyard, Redux. YHWH slays the dragon who produces dragon wine, and then his vineyard is able to ‘fill the whole world with…

February 23, 2013
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Pure Theology

In Against Christianity , I made the bold, unsupported, impressionistic claim that theologians are persnickety types who avoid talking about things the Bible talks about: hair, blood, sweat, entrails, menstruation and genital emissions. Matt Jepsen was looking for something a bit more factual, and checked several theologians to see if…

February 23, 2013

Supreme Myth

In an article recently published in the Phoenix Law Review , my oldest son, Woelke, explores how the Supreme Court has deployed what William Cavanaugh has called The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict . The Court first mentioned the “myth” in Everson v.…

February 23, 2013

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