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Writing

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

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Food

Gluttony In The Bible (As Opposed To Gluttony In The American Church)

In the Bible, fatness is such a blessing, that it is especially hard to understand why wicked men are permitted to enjoy such a state. It requires a theodicy and faith in God. Thus: “For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek . They are…

by Mark HorneAugust 12, 2013
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How to Worship

Biblical Worship (Video with James B. Jordan)

[fve]http://vimeo.com/71901553[/fve]

by Peter LeithartAugust 8, 2013
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Deuteronomy

Holy Things for Holy People

The allusion to the Exodus story is contained in the first words of Deuteronomy 14:1 — “ye are the sons of Yahweh your God” — as well as in 14:2 in the use of the technical term translated “treasured possession,” “His own possession,” “peculiar people,” “precious people,” and so forth.…

by Ralph Allan SmithAugust 5, 2013
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Deuteronomy

Forbidden Foods

I have argued that Deuteronomy 14:1-21 is an independent literary unit that applies the Third Word to the lives of Israelites from the time of Moses and Joshua. In this short pericope, Moses suggests broad and deep meaning by means of literary allusion to the stories of the creation and…

by Ralph Allan SmithJuly 31, 2013
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How to Worship

Pro-Sacramental Reformation

In his recently republished The New Creation , the late, delightful Herbert McCabe defends the priesthood of the plebs as roundly as anyone could want. Citing Hebrews, he claims that "there is an essential difference between the Christian community and the community of the Old Law, or any other religious…

by Peter LeithartJuly 29, 2013
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Augustine

Sexual Idolatry

Augustine famously prayed, “Our hearts our restless until they rest in You.” True indeed. Being creatures, we inherently sense our ontological poverty—our innate condition of dependence—and are compelled to find a sense of security. And it is also true—as Augustine’s own narrative painfully illustrates—that one of the things we most…

by Gerald HiestandJuly 24, 2013

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History

From performance to text

Marsden again: “The rise and fall of the adaptations . . . represents a pivotal moment in literary and cultural history, testifying to the new focus on language which would soon infiltrate all aspects of eighteenth-century thought. When concern for Shakespeare as text replaces emphasis on Shakespeare as performance, even…

October 13, 2006
Literature

Individualization of the author

Foucault argued in his essay on the development of the “author-function” that the modern conception of authorship evolved as authors came to be figured as sacred figures, holders of legal ownership of texts and words, which in turn conveyed “privilege or sanctity” to the text itself. Jean Marsden says that…

October 13, 2006
History

Sacred culture

In a study of adaptations of Shakespeare in the 17th and 18th century, Jean Marsden argues that there was an inversion in the approach to Shakespeare sometime in the 18th century. Prior to that time, Shakespeare’s words were changed and modified, while the contexts of his plays remained the same;…

October 13, 2006
History

Shakespeare and Civilizing Process

Notes for my lecture at the upcoming Moscow Ministerial Conference. INTRODUCTION I was assigned a lecture on Shakespeare and pop culture, and I’m almost going to do that. Not that Shakespeare and pop culture is an irrelevancy. There are a variety of ways to handle this question, all valuable. We…

October 13, 2006

Sociological notes on 1 John 2:15-17

1) The relationship between the world (KOSMOS) and desire is complex. Verse 16 indicates that desires and boastfulness make up the contents of the world – the desire of flesh, eyes, and boastfulness of life constitute the “all that is in the world” (PAN TO EN TO KOSMO). More on…

October 13, 2006

Knowing the “From the Begining”

1 John 2:13-14 twice says that groups within the church “know the one from the beginning.” That is a perfectly fine way to translate it, but the Greek has TON AP’ ARXES, “the from the beginning.” To whom is this phrase referring? The more awkward translation suggests the possibility that…

October 12, 2006

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