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Biblical Horizons

Protestants and BMEV

For years I have read little posts by fresh new Papal converts that assert that Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, etc., believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary. So did Turretin. Setting aside the question of whether these men believed that this notion was important or not — and Calvin, at least,…

by James B. JordanNovember 27, 2009
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Biblical Horizons

More Thoughts on BMEV

The previous discussion led to several points that I’d like to take up in like to take up in more detail. For the sake of discussion, I’ll number them for ease of consideration. 1. Typological “evidences” for Mary as perpetual virgin, queen of heaven, etc. etc. I assert here that…

by James B. JordanNovember 26, 2009
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Biblical Horizons

Concerning BMEV (Blessed Mary Ever-Virgin)

BMEV, or “Blessed Mary Ever-Virgin,” should not be an issue for any Protestant today, but clamor from various quarters means that we need once again to “get real” with the Biblical data here. Herewith is a reworking of a recent essay on the subject originally published in Biblical Horizons. Early…

by James B. JordanNovember 12, 2009
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Biblical Horizons

Rome? Why Bother?

When I hear from time to time of some young evangelical Presbyterian going into Roman Catholicism, I ask myself, “Why bother? You’re already in a church pretty much like what the Reformers rejected.” In the Medieval church, the congregation did little but watch while the priest and choir did everything.…

by James B. JordanJuly 14, 2009
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Ephesians

A New Perspective on the Mystery of God

The “New Perspective” sheds light on what the New Testament means by the “mystery” of God. The mystery theme is quite pervasive in the apostolic writings, and shows up across genre lines, in the gospels, the epistles, and Revelation. One could even make a solid case that the revelation of…

by Mark HorneJune 5, 2009
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Biblical Horizons

Sanctus

THIS should be a link to the Sanctus I put together for use at the Biblical Horizons Conferences. Some churches have been using it also.

by James B. JordanMay 22, 2009

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Triune Relations

Wesley Hill argues in Paul and the Trinity that recent discussions of Pauline christology are locked into a misleading hierarchical framework in which the main question is whether the Christology is high or low. Hill wonders whether the category of “relationality,” especially “mutual relationality,” so prominent in recent Trinitarian theology…

October 7, 2015

Frogs

The trinity of dragon, beast, and false prophet “breath” out three demon spirits that look like frogs (Revelation 16:13). Why frogs? Frogs are an Egyptian plague (Exodus 7-8; Psalm 78:45; 105:30). So a plague of frogs keeps us in the exodus-Egypt framework. Frogs are unclean creatures. This is somewhat tricky…

October 7, 2015

The Ecumenism of the Anti-Ecumenical

Neil Young's forthcoming We Gather Together is a pre-history of the Religious Right. It is also a history of the contested ecumenism of the anti-ecumenical churches. The two histories go together. How did the Religious Right so rapidly put together a coalition for family and traditional values? Young shows that…

October 6, 2015

The Self-Contradictions of Sam Harris

In his TLS review of Sam Harris's Waking Up , John Cottingham summarizes Harris's worldview: “a reality where there are no true substances and there is ultimately nothing but an impersonal flux of conditions that arise and pass away.” Harris is opposed to religion but in favor of spirituality, and…

October 6, 2015

Structure and Meaning in Revelation 16

Revelation 16:12-16 is a chiasm, and recognizing that fact will illuminate the contents of the passage. A. Sixth bowl poured on Euphrates. B. River dried up for kings from the sunrising. C. Three frogs from mouths of dragon, beast, false prophet. D. Frog are demons performing signs. C’. Kings of…

October 6, 2015

Strangers and Aliens

There were Gentiles living in the land that were not part of Israel. They did not necessarily share the faith of Israel; they were not circumcised; they were not ethnically related to Israel. Yahweh insisted that they were not to be grudgingly tolerated, but were to be treated with respect…

October 5, 2015

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