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abortion
Abortion

Letters on Abortion, (Part 1)

What is below is fairly self-explanatory. This is an exchange I had with a local liberal clergyman on the subject of abortion. The circumstances of the debate are included in the text itself. I initially e-mailed this out to a list of clergy in our city after a local (and…

by Richard BledsoeNovember 17, 2015
wall-2
Ezra

The Perfumed Butler and the Wisdom of Civil Obedience

The seemingly humdrum parts of the Bible often hide overlooked wisdom. Take, for example, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Their stories aren't exactly the most gripping or memorable. They are far less concrete than, say, the story of the Exodus. No one in Ezra is stricken blind or devoured…

by Christian LeithartNovember 10, 2015
sparkler
Happiness

"Happy! Happy! Happy!" Authentic Happiness and Its Knock-Offs

For most of the past century, philosophical perspectives on life in the western world have been overtly grim and pessimistic. The optimism of the Enlightenment, generated by confidence in the scientific method and the potential of an increasingly civilized humanity to redress the evils of the world, was shattered by…

by Bill DeJongNovember 5, 2015
aaron-burden-1ebsmyrau-s-unsplash
Hermeneutics

How Does a Chiasm Mean?

Chiastic structures are found all over the Bible, and in recent decades commentators have become more adept at spotting them. But identifying these literary structures is only part of the challenge. There remains the challenge of understanding what they mean. Part of the answer is found in the recognition that…

by Steve JefferyNovember 3, 2015
last-supper
Eucharist

How To Change the World, (Part 2)

Part 1 can be found HERE . Clearly, more than just getting worship right is important in changing the world, but since worship is the central act of God’s people, performed on the first day of the week at the center of the world before the very face of God,…

by James B. JordanOctober 29, 2015
solomonsidolatry
Biblical Theology

Big Love: A History of Stolen Fruit

“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed.” ( Luke 11:27 ) Arguing for Christian morality in a secular society is difficult. A culture which accepts evolutionary dogma has no intellectual place — or inherent desire — for absolute morality, since it believes morality…

by Mike BullOctober 27, 2015

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Seventh Heaven

In Spirit, John ascends to the sky and steps through an open door into the throne room of God (Revelation 4). Like the hovering Spirit of Genesis 1:2, the Spirit that carries John unveils a sevenfold scene: 1) A throne and one sitting on it, Revelation 4:2b-3a. 2) An emerald…

August 20, 2015

What Would Augustine Say?

Donald Trump's position paper makes the case for strong borders: “A nation without borders is not a nation. A nation without laws is not a nation. A nation that does not serve its own citizens is not a nation.” Pat Buchanan calls it an “invasion” and says that the issue…

August 20, 2015
Denominationalism

Denominations and Sects

In a classic 1962 paper, “The Denomination,” David Martin challenged the prevailing idea that a denomination is an “advanced stage in the development of a sect.” As a sect becomes wealthy and well-established, it softens its rigor, becomes more tolerant and less perfectionist, and eventually settles in comfortably as a…

August 20, 2015

Seeing Glory

“This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded that you do, that the glory of Yahweh may appear to you,” Moses tells the assembled Israelites (Leviticus 9:6). What is that thing we must do to see glory? The following verses answer that question. Aaron comes near to the altar, offers…

August 20, 2015

Hearts Ascending

My colleague James Jordan likes to say that the tabernacle is made out of hearts. He cites Exodus 25:2: “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; every man whose heart moves him shall raise my contribution.” And Exodus 35:21: “Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone…

August 19, 2015

Tool Kits

In their study of evangelicals and race, Divided by Faith , Michael Emerson and Christian Smith found that white evangelicals attribute American race problems to three causes: “prejudiced individuals,” “other groups - usually African Americans - trying to make race problems a group issue when there is nothing more than…

August 19, 2015

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