Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
One reason readers assume Paul is trying to prove that all human beings are sinful is that they understand him to be arguing that no one can keep the law. That means, they think, his opponents must believe that human nature is potentially sinless. Taking Paul’s statement that, if you…
[Note: This post was written prior to our name changing to Theopolis Institute.] What is Trinity House for? Three things: We aim to advance the reformation of the church and, through the church, to promote the renewal of culture; in furthering reformation, we aspire to be a site of fraternal,…
This is the third in a series of studies of the Third Word, and especially of Deuteronomy 14. In 1979 Stephen Kaufman penned a groundbreaking essay on Deuteronomy, arguing that it was a meticulously structured and carefully composed book. In his view, chapters 12 to 26 in particular follow the…
A large mistake is made in understanding Romans if one assumes that Paul is concerned with proving the fact that no one can ever live without sin—or that all attempts at obeying God’s commands are at least tainted with human sinfulness. The first problem with such an assumption is that…
This is the second in a series of studies on the Third Word, and especially on the food laws of Deuteronomy 14. In the second part of this series, I argue that Moses’ reworking of the Ten Words in Deuteronomy 5 includes adding nuance to the Third Word. This prepares…
Recent months have brought a lively discussion of Christian participation in the culture war. On the one hand, the pro-life movement appears to be making some slow progress on the abortion issue. The trial of abortionist and serial murderer Kermit Gosnell has the potential to awaken those who are nominally…
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Citing a still-unknown Greek writer, Kant shrewdly said, “War . . . creates more evil men than it takes away.”
Citing a still-unknown Greek writer, Kant shrewdly said, “War . . . creates more evil men than it takes away.”
In a reduction worthy of Nietzsche (or Augustine), Kant explores the motives behind honor: “the perpetual war between the Arathapescaw Indians and the Dog Rib Indians has no other aim than mere slaughter. In the savages’ opinion, bravery in war is the highest virtue. In the civilized state too, bravery…
Kant’s theory of radical evil, which he develops in the first part of Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone , rests on a number of basic assumptions. 1) Man is free, and his moral actions are undetermined by anything outside himself or even by anything within himself other than…
Robert Solomon offers a helpful fairly traditional summary of Kant’s philosophy in his little book on Continental Philosophy. Kant’s overall agenda, Solomon says, was (in Kant’s own words) to “deny knowledge, in order to make room for faith.” Much as he admired the advances of post-Newtonian science, he worried that…
One of Kant’s central contributions to philosophy was the invention of the notion of “critical philosophy,” which means epistemology, which means philosophy as a critique of knowledge. Philosophy is the queen of the sciences that polices the borders between sciences and keeps everyone safely in his or her own department.…
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