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Writing

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

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Biblical Studies

Gold, Silver, & Precious Stones

[This essay was originally published in 1988. Given the situation that our new national socialists are getting the world into, I thought it might be useful to reprint it here. – JBJordan] The Bible has quite a bit to say about gold, silver, and precious stones, and the Bible always…

by James B. JordanMay 19, 2009
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Biblical Horizons

The Pastoral Function

I wrote this elsewhere and was encouraged to put it here. It is a comment on what a pastor is. Today, this is not very well understood, and God’s people suffer because of it. There are four professions: medicine, education, law, and religion. Each of these, when done at a…

by James B. JordanMay 17, 2009
Biblical Horizons

The Virgin Tomb: The Womb of the New Birth

James Jordan recently pointed out in private conversation how appropriate it is, in John’s Gospel, that Nicodemus is present both to ask Jesus about being born again, and to see Jesus re-enter the womb of the mother. Nicodemus rhetorically asks, “How can a man be born when he is old?…

by Mark HorneMay 8, 2009
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Romans

Romans 7

This is a problematic and much discussed passage. I’ve been discussing it in another forum, and have decided to move it here and present some very preliminary observations about it. One large question is this: Who is the speaker here and what is his situation? Traditionally, the speaker is seen…

by James B. JordanApril 19, 2009
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Biblical Horizons

Good New Sci-Fi

1. The current issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction includes a good fantasy novella by John C. Wright, who since his conversion has been writing Christianly. This is a fine fantasy with nods to C. S. Lewis and Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and probably Gene Wolfe as well.…

by James B. JordanApril 15, 2009
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American Culture

The Name of Jesus

“It is an experience of our days that the spoken name of Jesus alone exercises an unforeseen power; and the effort which it cost to speak this name is perhaps connected to some faint apprehension of the power which is inherent within it. Wherever the name of Jesus Christ is…

by Richard BledsoeMarch 20, 2009

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Seal of righteousness

Paul calls circumcision a “seal of righteousness” in Romans 4:11, and that same phrase has historically been applied to baptism. But what does it mean to be a “seal of righteousness”? A seal (Greek sphragis ) is an identifying mark. The word is used to describe brands on animals, identifying…

January 15, 2014

Light of the Nations

An Epiphany meditation on Isaiah 60 at the Trinity House site.

January 15, 2014
Science

Be the bee

Bacon compared different sorts of scientists to varieties of insect: “those who have handled sciencehave either been men of experiment or of theory. The men of experiment are like the ant; they only collect and use. Thetheorists are like the spiders who make cobwebs out of their own substance. But…

January 15, 2014

Both royal and pious

For Sedulius Scottus ( On Christian Rulers ), royal piety was both royal and pious. He urged rulers to practice Christian virtues in their political lives. He encourages kings to a life of prayer, giving several examples of how the Lord “shielded [men] from the dangers of death by holy…

January 15, 2014
Science

Mice Memory

Virginian Hughes reports at National Geographic that researchers at Emory have discovered that mice inherit the memory of certain smells from parents: They recognize smells “even when the offspring have never experienced that smell before,andeven when theyve never met their father. Whats more, their childrenare born with the same specific…

January 15, 2014
Politics

Peaceable prince

Sedulius Scottus ( On Christian Rulers , 66-7) offers this lyrical description of the beauty of good rule: “There are seven things more beautiful than God’s other creations, as wise men say: the cloudless sky, when it marvelously resembles the color of silver; the sun in its brilliance, when in…

January 14, 2014

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