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Writing

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

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Ascension

The Son of Man in the Clouds | Part 1

References to the Son of Man coming on the clouds occur five times in the Synoptic Gospels. Three times such expressions appear in the parallel accounts of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:36; Luke 21:27). Then, in parallel accounts of Jesus’ trial before the leaders of Israel, such expressions…

by Ralph Allan SmithMarch 3, 2020
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Biblical Studies

The New Torahs

Just what the difference is in the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and the New Testament is a question not so easily answered. The distinction is often said to be that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit is on the believer, but in the New…

by Richard BledsoeFebruary 25, 2020
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Movies

1917: A Visible Word

1. Introduction You should think of 1917 at church on Sunday. Why? Let me explain. There's one film every Oscar season which everyone seems to have watched—your parents, your colleagues, even your pastor. This year, it's 1917— Sam Mendes' WW1 epic following two British Tommies on a seemingly impossible quest…

by Rhys LavertyFebruary 18, 2020
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Immigration

Greater Israel

This piece was originally part of the Bowyer response to the Theopolis series surrounding Professor McDermott’s essay, “Rethinking Israel.” For the sake of brevity, it was removed from the initial response, to be published as a standalone piece. As we’ve argued previously , we are strongly supportive of the right…

by Jerry and Charles BowyerFebruary 11, 2020
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Matthew

Matthew the Tax Collector

Richard Bauckham’s groundbreaking work, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony , is profoundly insightful, but the message of the book is hampered by the presupposition of Marcan priority. Ironically the place where this assumption perhaps does its most damage is in Bauckham’s discussion of the apostle Matthew…

by Ralph Allan SmithFebruary 4, 2020
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Good Works

Faith as the Highest Work

The Protestant Reformation was defined by certain clarifying disagreements between the medieval Church and those who came to be known as Protestant Reformers. Chief among these was the nature of justification: whether one was justified by works, or by faith and works, or—as Martin Luther contended—by faith alone. Now over…

by Alexander WhitakerJanuary 28, 2020

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Esau and Jacob Redux

When Bathsheba gets word that David’s son Adonijah is making himself king, she gets worried (1 Kings 1). She expects her own son Solomon to be king, and knows that she and Solomon are going to be “offenders” if Adonijah gets away with it. So she and the prophet Nathan…

December 4, 2014

Of Mules and Kings

Solomon rides to his coronation on a mule (1 Kings 1:38). It’s not just any mule, but David’s mule (v. 44). Even before Solomon is on David’s throne, he is sitting in David’s seat, in David’s saddle-throne on the back of David’s mule. Why a mule? Mules are double, part…

December 4, 2014

At Gihon

Solomon’s coronation takes place at Gihon (1 Kings 1:38), a water source near Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 32:30). The name itself means “a gushing, a bursting forth.” It’s an appropriate place to make a king, because the king himself is a source of living water to his people. A king rules…

December 4, 2014

Theopolis Institute Accreditation

A press release from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accounability: BIRMINGHAM, AL – The ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) announced today the accreditation of Theopolis Institute of Birmingham, AL. ECFA accreditation is based on the ECFA Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship™ , including financial accountability, transparency, sound board governance…

December 4, 2014

Silent Voices

Robert Okin’s Silent Voices is a beautiful, disturbing, sad book. A practicing psychiatrist, Okin spent time on the streets of San Francisco getting to know the homeless of that city. The book includes some general analysis of the nexus between homelessness and mental illness. Tens of thousands of mentally ill…

December 3, 2014

Being With, Being Towards

The appendix to Stanslas Breton’s The Word and the Cross is an interview of Breton with Richard Kearney. Breton reveals that his earliest intellectual formation came through his interest in the Latin language, enhanced by his exposure in seminary to the scholastic logic of relations, the “scholastic emphasis on professional…

December 3, 2014

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