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

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The Lady and Her Jewels: An Epiphany Meditation

And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery (Revelation 12:1-2). Then Joshua spoke…

by Richard BledsoeJanuary 6, 2015
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Anointing

Fattening Our Suffering

In his post asking Ought we Anoint the Dying? Peter Leithart makes an excellent and important point about our suffering as members of Christ. However, he only parenthetically mentions that the verb in question in James 5 is not chrio but aleipho . By assuming that these words are interchangeable,…

by Robert MaddoxDecember 30, 2014
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James

Death as Frenemy

We spend a lot of time in the church talking about what it means to live like a Christian. But what does it mean to die like a Christian? If we are to follow Christ in life, what does it mean for us to follow him in death as well?…

by Rich LuskDecember 23, 2014
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Literature

Was Shakespeare A Christian?

How would one go about answering the question posed by my title? That depends on what the question means. Obviously, different definitions of the question would require different approaches to an answer. Right off hand, I can think of at least three possible — though not necessarily mutually exclusive —…

by Ralph Allan SmithDecember 23, 2014
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American Culture

Phobophobia

In recent weeks and months, we have seen events that are not the event. The drama around these events is not the events themselves, but the anxiety about the events, and then even the anxiety about the anxiety about the events. That is the real event. The events in Ferguson,…

by Richard BledsoeDecember 22, 2014
anointing-david
Anointing

Ought We Anoint the Dying?

Anointing the sick, including the dying, is one of the traditional seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. The Reformers denied that the rite qualified as a sacrament. Formally, this was because anointing did not have a direct authorization from Jesus; more theologically, it was not one of the marks that…

by Peter LeithartDecember 18, 2014

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Additional Thoughts on Romans 2

A few additional thoughts on Romans 2: 1) As Dunn points out, Paul is clearly lining out a series of oppositions in the latter part of this chapter, much as he does in Galatians: manifest ?Enot Jew ?Emanifest circumcision ?Eflesh ?E gramma /letter ?Epraise from man hidden ?EJew ?Ecircumcision ?Eheart…

December 5, 2003

Romans 2:24

In Romans 2:24, Paul cites Isaiah 52:5 and/or Ezekiel 36:20-23 to describe Israel’s effect on the nations. Israel was called to be a light to the world, to be a priest to the nations, and to cause Yahweh’s name to be honored among the Gentiles. Torah, and all the privileges…

December 5, 2003

Sermon Outline, December 7

Sermon outline for Second Sunday in Advent: God For Us INTRODUCTION Last week, we meditated on the fact that God became flesh. This week, we will make that more specific. The incarnation is an event in human history, but more specifically in the history of Israel. When the Son of…

December 5, 2003
Theology

Presuppositionalism?

Based on a student’s questioning, I’m wondering whether “presuppositionalism” is the best term to describe what Vantillians are after. We don’t, after all, come up with some kind of set of axioms or theological idea “prior” to receiving revelation. We can talk about making the Triune God our “starting point”…

December 4, 2003

Girard on Christ’s Death

There’s an intriguing interview with Rene Girard in Touchstone as well. His most provocative comments come in response to a question about his “non-sacrificial” understanding of the death of Christ: “It is not quite true that I take what you have called a ‘non-sacrificial reading of the death of Christ.’…

December 4, 2003

Girard on Christ’s Death

There’s an intriguing interview with Rene Girard in Touchstone as well. His most provocative comments come in response to a question about his “non-sacrificial” understanding of the death of Christ: “It is not quite true that I take what you have called a ‘non-sacrificial reading of the death of Christ.’…

December 4, 2003

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