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

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Tyranny of the Agreeable

Inspired by the “Moscow Mood” Debate In a shocking 1961 study, Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram would don an official-looking white lab coat and tell a volunteer to administer increasing shocks to another “volunteer” in an adjacent room strapped into an “electric chair” just out of sight. The shocks were incrementally…

by John CarpenterJuly 22, 2024
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Apostle Paul

Why Doesn’t Paul Quote Jesus?

My title and the substance of the article are borrowed from a section of David Wenham’s excellent book, Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity? I am appropriating ideas from the pages in his book which address the question, “Why Does Paul refer to Jesus’ Life and Ministry so…

by Ralph Allan SmithJuly 9, 2024
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James

The Epistle of James: Shotgun or Sniper

Some of us may be familiar with the notion that the epistle of James is like a New Testament version of Proverbs or other wisdom literature. According to this line of thinking, the epistle of James (together with the other wisdom literature) is basically a collection of timeless sayings without…

by Chris JohnsonJuly 4, 2024
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Virtue

Doing What You Don’t Want to Do

This summer I started walking a long trail that ran north from our home. On my best days, I would walk a total of five miles at a brisk pace. This trail follows the power lines that serve a significant portion of North Dallas and stretches far past the two…

by Mandi GerthJune 25, 2024
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American Culture

Is Queer Theology Christian?

I am an Australian. I went to the American Academy of Religion mega-fest last year to meet up with some friends, to present a paper at a ‘science and religion’ panel, and to marvel at the sheer scale of how Americans do things. It was quite a ride. Looking at…

by Paul TysonJune 18, 2024
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Ecclesiology

Consumerism, Oikos, and the Role of Women in the Church (Part 4)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 We evangelicals do not often understand the roles of men and women in ministry. Because our consumerist culture has gutted the notion of family as it was historically understood, all Biblical passages about women in church ministry (a familial organism) are almost incomprehensible to…

by John CarpenterJune 11, 2024

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Aramaic in Daniel 2-7

Jim Jordan suggests that Daniel 2-7, written in Aramaic, is a fulfillment of the promise/threat of tongues (from Isaiah), and that this passage authorizes translation of Scripture into various languages. Which leads to several thoughts: 1) As Jordan points out, translation was not done until the intertestamental period, and is…

November 12, 2003
Biblical Studies

Obedience and Sacrifice

Obedience, Scripture says, is better than sacrifice. By analogy, moral purity is better than ritual purity. This analogy plays a big role in the gospels.

November 11, 2003

Under His Wings (Luke 13:34)

Jesus offers to bring the children of Jerusalem under His “wings” (Luke 13:34). The “wing” image is used commonly in the Psalms with reference to Yahweh’s protective covering, and it is connected also to Yahweh’s role as husband of Israel, the one who has spread the “wing of His garment”…

November 10, 2003

On Romans 2:1

On Romans 2:1: In an earlier post, I pointed to the “exchange” that Paul describes in Rom 2:1, namely, that the one who judges another seeks to place the other under the judgment of God and thereby to escape God’s judgment on himself. Paul says that this in fact has…

November 10, 2003

Eucharistic Meditation, November 9

Communion meditation for November 9: Luke 12:24 Our first acts as a constituted membership are an offertory and celebration of the Eucharist. Having taken our membership oaths, we offer a portion of our goods and our income to the Lord, and then we sit down at His table. These are…

November 9, 2003

Exhortation, November 9

Exhortation for November 9: Later this morning, many of you will be taking membership vows to constitute the membership of Trinity Reformed Church. You will acknowledge your sins and confess Your trust in Jesus for salvation, and you will be asked whether you have been baptized. And you will take…

November 9, 2003

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