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Writing

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

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Apologetics

Christianity: Who Needs It?

Evangelistic Message to the Uninformed: 1 Timothy 3.14-16 Even though this is written as a sermon for delivery, and even though it was preached in a homiletics class, I decided I can’t post it as a sermon because it was not truly preached at a place where nonchristians wanted to…

by Mark HorneMay 7, 2024
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Acts

Jesus’ Post-Resurrection Appearances

If we only read the Gospels of Mark and Luke, we might get the impression that Jesus’ ascension was on resurrection Sunday. Matthew speaks of going to Galilee but he does not put things into a clear time frame. John shows us that Jesus appeared to the disciples eight days…

by Ralph Allan SmithMay 1, 2024
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Biblical Studies

The Bible and Western Literature

The most cursory glance at the history of Western literature reveals that it has been deeply influenced by the Bible. Some of the greatest classics of Western literature draw their plots, characters, and ideas largely from Scripture; Dante’s Divine Comedy and Milton’s Paradise Lost are two of the most notable…

by Peter LeithartApril 24, 2024
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Biblical Theology

Inglorious Bastards

Few themes emerge as profoundly and persistently in the streams of biblical narrative as the conflict between light and darkness, and the juxtaposition of humanity with monstrosity. These themes not only weave through the fabric of Scripture, emerging in stories from Genesis to Revelation, but also stitch together the human…

by Kyle LammottApril 17, 2024
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Luke

Mary Magdalene: Sister, Sinner, Saint

In John Wenham’s work, Easter Enigma , he devotes an entire chapter to Mary Magdalene, which is rephrased and summarized here. 1 One of the interesting things that Wenham said was that Mary Magdalene was the second “most favored woman in the Bible.” 2 He adds, “Yet apart from a…

by Ralph Allan SmithApril 9, 2024
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Daily Mutual Encouragement

God made man to live in a larger relational context, and even in high rebellion, man cannot escape his created nature. Instead, that nature takes revenge on rebellious man. Autonomous and alone, the self craves absolution but recognizes no authority that might give it; it thirsts for glory but rejects…

by Tim NicholsApril 4, 2024

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Philosophy

From Myth to Reason

Many have summarized the intellectual history of Greece as an evolution from the mythos to logos . William Nestle’s Vom Mythos zum Logos (1940) is the classical statement of this reading. On the opening page, Nestle claims mythos and logos are “the two poles between which man’s mental life oscillates.…

April 12, 2022
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SexualityTrinity

Spousal Body

John Paul II ( Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology Of The Body , 181-5) argues from Genesis that “‘alone,’ the man does not completely realize [his] essence.” Without the woman, Adam does not possess the “basic conditions that make it possible to exist in a relation of…

April 4, 2022
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BaptismMission

Baptizing Nations

Wes Baker of Peru Mission began his Theopolis Easter Term lectures with a discussion of the connection between the two baptisms in Matthew’s gospel. In Matthew 3, John baptizes Jesus, as the Father speaks from heaven and the Spirit descends in the form of a dove. Through His baptism, Jesus’…

March 28, 2022
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Ukraine

Borderland

I wrote this essay for FirstThings.com shortly after my first trip to Ukraine in 2013 . Rousing Soviet songs surround us as we pass through a gloomy gauntlet of titanic statues on our way to Kyiv’s Museum of the Great Patriotic War. My friends, a Polish and a Ukrainian pastor,…

March 14, 2022
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CrossLent

The Cross and the Powers

Paul taught Christians to expect a lot from the gospel, politically as well as personally. He taught that the crucifixion of Jesus had a direct impact on the powers-that-be. He told the Colossians that Jesus went to the cross as the firstborn¯the only-begotten of the Father, the new Israel, the…

March 7, 2022
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Masculinity

Patriarchy or Trinitocracy?

The following is a revised version of a portion of an essay that originally appeared as a part of a Theopolis Conversation on masculinity . On many specifics, I agree with Christians who today advocate for patriarchy. Scripture teaches that men are shepherds in churches and husbands are heads of…

February 28, 2022

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