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

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Biblical Studies

A Daughter of Abraham

Some of the key ways Biblical writers draw attention to important details in their stories are by the use of key words, repetition, and structural devices like chiasms and parallel constructions. The Bible sounds different, even odd, to us sometimes because of the use of these and similar literary conventions.…

by Ralph Allan SmithApril 16, 2019
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Autonomy

Rehabilitating Autonomy

It is pretty standard in conservative Christian circles to condemn unbelief for pretensions of “autonomy.” Cornelius Van Til famously (at least among those of us who knows who he is) said that “There is no alternative but that of theonomy and autonomy.” Greg Bahnsen appealed to this quotation by labeling…

by Mark HorneApril 9, 2019
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John

Jesus: Preacher of Paradox

Jesus was the greatest teacher who ever taught — the Light of the World, whose pure Truth brought sight to the blind (John 9). Almost no one — even those who speak openly against Him — disputes His reputation as a wise and good teacher of the way of love.…

by Ralph Allan SmithApril 2, 2019
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Esther

The Book of Esther in Covenant History

It is clear that the events in Esther are an integral part of the history of the formation of the Restoration Covenant Era. Amalek attacks. Amalek is spoiled. The spoils are used to build the Temple, in the sense that the crude Temple of Zerubbabel can now be glorified with…

by James B. JordanMarch 28, 2019
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How to Worship

A Positive View of Music

It is not coincidental that John Calvin speaks most strongly in defense of vernacular language just after his defense of singing in church. "From this also it plainly appears that public prayers must be couched not in Greek among the Latins, nor in Latin among the French or English, as…

by John AhernMarch 26, 2019
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Biblical Theology

The Reopened Wounds of Jacob

In A Voyage Around the World , George Anson recounts the effects of scurvy upon an unfortunate man: But a most extraordinary circumstance, and what would be scarcely credible upon any single evidence, is, that the scars of wounds which had been for many years healed, were forced open again…

by Alastair RobertsMarch 19, 2019

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Formation of Christian Theology

One of the best and most comprehensive of the new works on the development of Nicene theology is John Behr’s Formation of Christian Theology . The second volume covers the “Nicene Faith,” examining the theological background of the Arian debate, the development of the controversy, and the theologies of Athanasius…

February 10, 2016
Lent

Why Observe Lent?

To observe Lent rightly, we have to be persuaded that we already stand in God’s favor. Ash Wednesday reminds us to number our days. It helps us gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). We keep Easter to manifest and deepen our prior share in resurrection. We observe Lent to…

February 9, 2016

Seven Angels

Revelation 14 is filled with “another angel” characters. It's odd, because “another angel” appears before there's an angel to be anothered to. How can there be another angel when they ain't been an angel in the first place? The phrase allos aggelos is sued six time (14:6, 8, 9, 15,…

February 9, 2016

Cinematic Density

Analyses of two scenes from The Thin Red Line in Steven Rybin's Terrence Malick and the Thought of Film , Michel Chion's The Thin Red Line , and Lloyd Michaels's Terrence Malick illustrate the almost unfathomable density of Malick's films. In the first scene, Dale, one of the soldiers of…

February 9, 2016

Tabernacle of Witness

After the harvest of Revelation 14, John sees another great sign in heaven, angels with bowls full of the passion of God (Revelation 15:1). As he watches, the “temple of the tabernacle of the testimony ( ho naos tes skenes tou marturiou ) in heaven” is opened (15:5) and angels…

February 8, 2016

Humean Cinema

Mark Cousins once clipped a weed from the grave of David Hume, taped it to a piece of paper, and sent it to Terrence Malick's agent. Not long after, Malick himself called, wanting to talk philosophy. Cousins recounts this in his contribution to The Cinema of Terrence Malick , and…

February 8, 2016

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