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American Religion

Protestantism's Lost Soul

D. G. Hart’s The Lost Soul of American Protestantism vividly clarifies the differences between evangelical and Confessional Protestantism. In part the book is a manifesto for historians of American religion. Hart argues that historians of American Protestantism have operated with a simplistic binary contrast of evangelical/conservative v. liberal/progressive. At best,…

by Peter LeithartAugust 18, 2015
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Books

The Idiot and the Limits of Compassion

Dostoyevsky’s novel, The Idiot , like his other major works, is a complex evaluation of the human condition—a juxtaposition of the innate goodness and innate evil that resides within every human heart. There is much one can say about The Idiot . I am no specialist of Russian literature, or…

by Gerald HiestandAugust 13, 2015
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Homosexuality

If There is “Natural Law” How Can People Believe in Same-Sex Marriage?

At risk of violating some secret handshake agreement on some important nuance to “natural law,” I will sum up what I understand in my own words. As far as I can tell natural law is supposed to be an area of knowledge that all people should be able to agree…

by Mark HorneAugust 11, 2015
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Biblical Studies

Cosmic Language, 2

The first installment of this article may be found here . The Image of Man This brings us to a substitutionary atonement which we do understand, the fulfilment of the cruciform Tabernacle in the cross of Christ. Although Jesus’ execution was Physical and Social, it was primarily Personal . Beginning…

by Mike BullAugust 6, 2015
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Genesis

Every Noise Appalls

The first two essays in this series drew attention to the structure of the first part of Macbeth and to the way Shakespeare incorporates the Garden of Eden into his story. Macbeth , we saw, is a temptation story in which, compared to the Biblical story, the temptation itself is…

by Ralph Allan SmithAugust 4, 2015
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Revelation

The Warrior and the City: A Wedding Homily

Revelation 19:6-9 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For theLord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him,…

by Peter LeithartAugust 3, 2015

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Theology

Shoes

Explaining the first article of the creed, Luther’s small catechism says taht “I believe that God made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members . . . also clothing and shoes . . . .” Is there a…

May 7, 2006
History

Promise, Justification, Sacrament

Oberman says that Luther moved toward his reformation insights by exploring what he described as the “theological grammar” of Scripture, which involved letting God define his own terms, on the assumption that nomina sunt ad pacitum Dei . Through this, he realized that the God of Scripture was the “bonding…

May 7, 2006

What Did Sennacherib Hear?

In response to Hezekiah’s query, Isaiah promises that the Lord will “put a spirit” in the Assyrian king and that Sennacherib will “hear a rumor and return to his own land” (2 Kings 19:7). The following verse tells us that Sennacherib had gone from Lachish to Libnah, perhaps upon hearing…

May 6, 2006

Hezekiah’s prayer, and ours

Because of Hezekiah’s prayer (2 Kings 19:14-19), the Lord delivers Jerusalem, kills 185,000 Assyrians, and sends Sennacherib packing back to Nineveh. That’s what one calls an effective prayer. What made it so effective? Among other things, it is firmly based on the promise and word of God. He makes explicit…

May 6, 2006

Hezekiah’s prayer, and ours

Because of Hezekiah’s prayer (2 Kings 19:14-19), the Lord delivers Jerusalem, kills 185,000 Assyrians, and sends Sennacherib packing back to Nineveh. That’s what one calls an effective prayer. What made it so effective? Among other things, it is firmly based on the promise and word of God. He makes explicit…

May 6, 2006
History

Sola scriptura

According to Oberman, Luther’s great discovery regarding Scripture was not that Scripture alone can be trusted without question and is the final judge of controversy: “the maxim of sola scriptura . . . was the fundamental principle of the entire scholastic disputation tradition.” What Luther discovered instead was that “the…

May 5, 2006

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