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Writing

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

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Baptism

And He Gave Some To Be Parents

Standing in the narthex at the font, parents joyfully approach with their newborn child. The pastor asks the parents a series of questions that may include their renunciation of the devil and all his works, their faith in God the Father, Son, and Spirit as explained in the Apostles’ Creed,…

by Bill SmithFebruary 17, 2015
christ-presentation-in-temple
Luke

Anna of Asher

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, with…

by Dave ShawFebruary 12, 2015
emmanuel-phaeton-1bwmfmvybi8-unsplash
Psalms

Psalm 30

Get the Psalm 30 Translation here Psalm 30 is a song for the dedication of "the house." Since it is by David, the house would seem to be his palace in Jerusalem. The psalm has an ABA structure, with the B structure being an exhortation to the saints, and the…

by James B. JordanFebruary 11, 2015
boat-rough-water
Same-Sex Marriage

Love Makes the World Go Round

I once asked a ferryboat captain if steering a ferry was any different than driving, say, a big semi truck. He looked at me like I had just asked whether a bowling ball fell when you dropped it. “It’s completely different,” he said. “On the river, you never stay pointing…

by Christian LeithartFebruary 10, 2015
romeo-juliet
Literature

Where A Man Belongs: Courtship Advice from Shakespeare

The key scene in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing comes just after the first wedding scene when Claudio tosses Hero aside as a "rotten orange." He has been tricked into thinking that Hero is unfaithful, and that is an affront to his honor. He won't put her away quietly. He…

by Peter LeithartFebruary 7, 2015
cloister
History

What You Learned About the Middle Ages Was Wrong

Medieval Christianity is in the news. That’s exciting for me as I have a PhD in medieval theology and I teach Ancient and Medieval Church History at Covenant Seminary. Thus I have a little “skin in the game,” as the saying goes. Earlier this week our President made some comments…

by Timothy LeCroyFebruary 6, 2015

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Tales of the Christ

P eter Suderman doesn't much like the Ben Hur remake , which he describes as purposeless, a lesser film in every way than its 1959 model. According to Suderman, “The new version bungles the story’s religious aspects. . . . The 1880 Lew Wallace novel was subtitled A Tale of…

August 26, 2016

Founding ISIS

D avid Goldman thinks Trump has a point when he accuses Bush, Clinton, and Obama of creating ISIS. Bush ended a millennium of Sunni rule in Iraq when he appointed “Nouri al-Maliki to head Iraq’s first Shia-dominated government.” The result, Goldman argues, was predictable: “the Sunnis—disarmed and marginalized by the…

August 26, 2016

The Prince to the Rescue

C hris Deliso reports in the current issue of The National Interest on the “ global network of aristocrats, oligarchs, NGOs and leaders comprising a shadow network of influencers with access to senior religious and political leaders. This network function is becoming increasingly significant now that symbolic religious events are…

August 26, 2016

Patterns in the Psalter

O n his web site , CJ Labuschagne analyzes the five books of the Psalter and each of the first 41 Psalms (Book 1). His analyses require a knowledge of Hebrew and get complicated and technical. The payoff is worth the effort. Where else can you find anything like the…

August 26, 2016

The Private Public

I n a 2008 essay in The Princeton Seminary Bulletin (since reprinted elsewhere), Oliver O’Donovan observes that understanding “difference as plurality” reflects an anxiety about difference. Not all difference creates anxiety, but only those differences of “practical principle” that form subcultures that “act on contrary assumptions and pursue divergent courses…

August 25, 2016

Ark Among Gentiles

D avid's first effort to bring the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem was a failure. The set-up was wrong from the beginning; instead of appointing Levites to transport the ark on their shoulders, David placed the ark on a cart pulled by oxen. When the ark became unsteady, Uzza…

August 24, 2016

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