Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
kelly-sikkema-ggs0_g6wi-i-unsplash
Apologetics

Do I Have to go to Church?

Imagine driving up to Canada and stopping at a restaurant to get a bite to eat. While you’re sitting at the table, an enthusiastic young man comes over to you and says in an excited voice, "Are you an American?" You reply, "Yes, I am." "Wonderful! I have so little…

by Mark HorneNovember 15, 1999
aaron-burden-1ebsmyrau-s-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

The Prayer of Manasseh

1 O Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous posterity; 2 You who have made heaven and earth with all their order; 3 who have shackled the sea by Your word ofcommand, who have confined the deep and sealed it with…

by James B. JordanOctober 4, 1999
kessler_daniel_und_konig_cyrus_im_tempel
Biblical Horizons

The Apocrypha: Bel and the Dragon

Part 1: 1When King Astyages was laid with his fathers, Cyrus the Persian received his kingdom. 2 And Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of his friends. 3Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they spent on it twelve bushels…

by James B. JordanOctober 4, 1999
kiwihug-l4gw27xzn1i-unsplash
Church Government

Ministers and Ruling Elders Do Not Occupy the Same Office

This debate has been going on for some time. But with few exceptions, almost all explanations of Presbyterian church polity claim that a “church” (meaning a single local congregation) must be ruled by “a plurality of elders” of whom one may happen to teach and work full-time doing so. This…

by Mark HorneSeptember 2, 1999
5c05205f42e49e739f0d955e_143482
Biblical Horizons

The Apocrypha

I hope that those who are advocating reading more of the ancient, "classical" literature of the ancient, "classical" world, are also promoting the Apocrypha. I’m afraid that many Christians don’t realize what great literature much of the Apocrypha is. It is not, of course, inspired by God, and perhaps because…

by James B. JordanAugust 4, 1999
carlo-alberto-burato-smdx3gleu_m-unsplash
Church Government

What is Presbyterianism?

PRESBYTERIANISM is a term referring to a system of government in the Church. It is commonly contrasted with Congregationalism and Episcopalianism. Presbyter is a Greek word that is translated as “elder” in our English New Testaments. Thus, Presbyterianism is commonly defined as “rule by elders.” This is a misleading definition.…

by Mark HorneJune 5, 1999

Showing page 243 of 309

See all

Showing page 33 of 43

See all

Tribal Trump

Kim R. Holmes argues in an essay at Public Discourse that “The Donald is very much a child of contemporary American culture, including its multicultural offshoot, identity politics. Although he rejects the leftist ideology of multiculturalism, especially the hypersensitivity of political correctness, he is operating well within its value system.…

December 21, 2015

Sociopaths, Fantasy and Real

Adam Kotsko observes ( Why We Love Sociopaths ) that contemporary TV is awash with sociopathic character, “ruthless individuals who make their own rules.” These he calls “fantasy sociopaths,” who are capable of maintaining two incompatible positions simultaneously. They are “somehow outside social norms—largely bereft of human sympathy, for instance,…

December 21, 2015
Language

What Immigrants Do To Language

The history of language is the a history of “extinction,” writes John McWhorter at The Atlantic . But there's a contrary trend: “new dialects have been emerging in cities worldwide, and it’s young people—specifically, the children of immigrants—who are driving the trend. One of the surprising consequences of the current…

December 18, 2015

Cautions on Ressourcement

In an essay on Congar's Tradition and Traditions in the first volume of God Without Measure , John Webster asks what a “Protestant admirer” might say about Congar's, and Catholicism's, project of ressourcement . He objects to the characterization of Protestantism that is embedded in the project: “It ‘explains' Protestantism…

December 18, 2015

Come!

Ryan Leif Hansen ( Silence and Praise ) observes that the command to “Come” frames the book of Revelation. As the Lamb opens the first four seals, each of the four living creatures calls for a horseman to “Come” (6:1-8), and the book ends with three more commands. The Spirit…

December 18, 2015

Teacher of Greece

The Iliad was the virtual Bible of the Greek world. As Plato says in the Republic, some Greeks (not Plato!) believed that Homer “educated Hellas and that he deserves to be taken up as an instructor in the management and culture of human affairs, and that a man ought to…

December 17, 2015

Showing page 339 of 2212

Browse by Category

In Medias Res

Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.

Donate

Theopolis is nearly 100% donor-supported. Consider joining us on our mission.