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Writing

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

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Apostasy

Regeneration and Lettuce

My good friend, Jason Ewert, recently posted a review of Pastor Douglas Wilson’s book, Against the Church . Jason correctly notes that Pastor Wilson’s main pastoral motivation in writing this book is to combat dead orthodoxy. Dead orthodoxy is a real problem in Reformed churches that celebrate the primacy of…

by Garry VanderveenJuly 31, 2014
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Eucharist

Jesus Eats First

At the church I pastor, we have four servers who distribute the communion elements to the congregation, and I distribute the elements to those in the foyer and nursery. The servers and I do not partake of the bread and wine until the congregation is served first. As this has…

by Burke ShadeJuly 28, 2014
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Theopolis News

Church of the Present, Pastors of the Future

We at Trinity House believe that the church ought to raise and train her future pastors. Part of that training may be carried out by specialized institutions like Trinity House, but the church and her leaders are ultimately responsible for that training. To encourage churches to assume that responsibility, Trinity…

by Peter LeithartJuly 23, 2014
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Exodus

Mutilated Bodies

Sandra Jacobs's ​The Body as Property examines the role of physical disfigurement in the Hebrew Bible, with focus on the Torah, and more specifically on the (fictitious) Priestly document, P. After an introduction laying out a rationale for the comparative method that guides her research, she explores circumcision, the use…

by Peter LeithartJuly 23, 2014
Isaiah

Saving Judah

Yahweh saves. That’s what Isaiah’s name means, and that’s what Isaiah’s prophecy is about. Yah saves Judah when Aram and Israel pressure her. He saves Jerusalem from the Assyrian siege. He brings Judah back from the grave of Babylonian exile. But this triumphant message of Isaiah fizzles. The last few…

by Peter LeithartJuly 21, 2014
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Apostasy

Apostasy and Assurance

Are apostasy and assurance mutually exclusive? Some seem to think so. But let’s consider this a bit: No Reformed man would ever say that a man who is “saved” today will be safe forever no matter what . Rather we say, “your sins are forgiven, now, walk faithfully, glorify the…

by Steve WilkinsJuly 16, 2014

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Theology

Cusa

Ernst Cassirer ( The Individual and Cosmos in Renaissance Philosophy ) characterizes Nicholas of Cusa as the first modern man in that he focused the concern of philosophy not on God but on “knowledge about God.” In this emphasis, Cusa was making a decisive break with medieval scholastic thought, though…

January 16, 2004
Theology

Almost Too Effective

The gospel has done its work almost too effectively. OC institutions and forms ?Esacrifice, laws of uncleanness, central sanctuaries, gradations of priestly privilege, distinctive dress ?Ewere the very stuff of life of ancient Israel. When it is said that the gospel changed all that, we have a tendency to say,…

January 15, 2004
Literature

Connecticut Yankee

Who is being satirized in Twain’s Connecticut Yankee ? The Yankee or the court? Overtly, the court, for its superstition, ignorance, filthiness, and so on. But Hank Morgan comes off as equally insular and parochial, and far more of a snob. I wonder if Twain noticed, and if it’s deliberate?

January 15, 2004

Sermon Outline, January 18

Sermon outline for Sunday, January 18: Lost and Found, Luke 15:1-35 INTRODUCTION In Luke 15, we again see Jesus engaged in “table talk.” Tax collectors and sinners come to hear Him (v. 1), but the complaint from the Pharisees and scribes is that Jesus eats with them (v. 2). In…

January 15, 2004

Luke 15 and Israel’s Wilderness Wanderings

There appears to be some allusion to Israel’s wilderness wanderings in Luke 15. When Jesus eats with publicans and sinners, the scribes and Pharisees “grumble” about it, as Israel did in the wilderness. The complaint in both cases, moreover, centers on food ?Ethe lack of food in the wilderness and…

January 15, 2004

Luke 15 and Israel’s Wilderness Wanderings

There appears to be some allusion to Israel’s wilderness wanderings in Luke 15. When Jesus eats with publicans and sinners, the scribes and Pharisees “grumble” about it, as Israel did in the wilderness. The complaint in both cases, moreover, centers on food ?Ethe lack of food in the wilderness and…

January 15, 2004

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