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Writing

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

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Leviticus

Clean, Unclean & Up

“The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man,” wrote Chesterton. Leviticus 11 stands as a lovely example of his sentiment. Designations of “clean” and “unclean” first appear in Genesis 7 with no explanation other than “clean” animals being later utilized as acceptable sacrifices to Yahweh (Gen…

by Ben LoveladyAugust 26, 2025
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Biblical Theology

Adam's Dominion from Atoms to Angels

TIME magazine announced this summer that scientists at Colossal Biosciences in Dallas, Texas had resurrected the long extinct dire wolf through gene editing of gray wolves and modern canines. The dire wolf is a relative of modern wolves, though it’s unclear exactly what their relationship with them is, whether they…

by Jackson WatersAugust 21, 2025
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Baptism

Sprinkling for Everyone: Practicing Biblical Baptisms 

Through my years of pastoring in a Presbyterian context, I’ve had many conversations about the propriety of paedo-baptism versus credo-baptism. From time to time, a congregant will become convinced that paedo-baptism is the biblical practice. But baptism by sprinkling? Never! “That’s not in the Bible,” they’ll say. “The Bible clearly…

by Lyndon JostAugust 19, 2025
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The Problem of the All-Controlling Heart

I have written a book on this and related issues, especially as addressed in Proverbs. If you want to see these thoughts further developed (which is new material based on my reflections on Proverbs), check out Solomon Says . Is asking God for a new heart always right or sometimes…

by Mark HorneAugust 13, 2025
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A Plea for Biblical Scholars

In the Abolition of Man C.S. Lewis utilized a common English textbook to explain the unacknowledged and self-contradictory philosophy undergirding much of the humanities departments in his day. I am no Jack Lewis. But perhaps this essay might prod one of my intellectual betters to take on a similar task…

by Zach MccartneyAugust 5, 2025
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Christian Nationalism

Notes on Christian Nationalism: Origins and Fault Lines

This primer on Christian nationalism grew mainly out of discussions on X. The term “Christian nationalism,” as I use it here, has become something of an umbrella term for conservative/traditional Protestants who want to see Christian influence on national life and culture. Obviously, some see problems with the label –…

by Rich LuskAugust 4, 2025

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Sources of Moral Confusion

I listened to a torturous discussion last week in which Terry Gross and Northwestern's Laura Kipnis discussed Kipnis's Chronicle of Higher Education article challenging university prohibitions of romance between faculty members and students. What's the big deal? Kipnis wanted to know. In her day, sex with professors was a normal…

June 22, 2015

Confessional Cover

In his contribution to Denominatonalism , editor Russell Richey argues that mid-19th century disputes over slavery and other political questions (a series of “ultraisms,” as he puts it) did not so much create as expose “the fault line in purposive association, namely, that . . . denominations and voluntary societies…

June 22, 2015

Why Literature Matters

G lenn C. Arbery is a literature professor, and he knows his limits. Literature professors can't bestow importance on great literature, writes Arbery ( Why Literature Matters ). What they are qualified to do, he says, is to bestow honor, “because meaningful praise has to come from those who know…

June 22, 2015

Ecclesiology of Union, Ecclesiology of Mission

“Modern civilization, aghast at the results of a conflict between societies which had acknowledged no higher ideal than the pride of an ignorant nationalism, looks forward fearfully and almost helplessly to a yet mightier conflagration of the hates and passions it has nurtured. Remembering the holocaust which ethical stupidity has…

June 19, 2015

From Cold War to War on Terror

When the Cold War ended with the Berlin Wall being dismantled and the Soviet Union breaking up, the West breathed a sigh of relief. Prematurely, as it turns out. Islamicism rose hard on the heels of Communism's fall. And, according to George Friedman , the fall and the rise are…

June 19, 2015

Proverbial Abomination

In Torah, “abomination” ( to'evah ) fits into the lexicon of holiness, purity, defilement. It often describes an act that transgresses created boundaries and confuses created categories (homosexual sex, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13; a man wearing woman's clothing, Deuteronomy 22:15). Specifically, sexual sin (Leviticus 18:26-30), idolatry (Deuteronomy 7:25-26; 12:31) and…

June 19, 2015

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