Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
2001_a_space_odyssey_1-970x545
Biblical Horizons

2001: A Space Odyssey

In the November 1993 issue of Open Book Peter Leithart commented briefly on gnosticism. The film 2001 is a great specimen of gnosticism, and is worth viewing as a Sunday School project for an adult class. The author of the basic story was Arthur C. Clarke, an old-school science fiction…

by James B. JordanJanuary 6, 1994
alfred-hitchcock
Biblical Horizons

Two Films by Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock’s earlier movies display a strongly moral, even Christian, point of view, and certainly can be enjoyed by Christian viewers. His later works, such as Psycho , The Birds , and his television series, are not as clearly moral in tone. In these later efforts, Hitchcock brought humorous or…

by James B. JordanJanuary 6, 1994
david-weber-fwuo_zluhnw-unsplash
Leviticus

Cult and Communication

“What art thou, thou idol ceremony?” asked Henry V during his midnight rounds of the English camp near Agincourt. His answer was that ceremony was both nothing and everything. It was nothing in the sense that it offered no guarantee that the king would be fit for office. Contrary to…

by Peter LeithartDecember 20, 1993
screenshot-2023-07-27-at-10-25-35-am
Biblical Studies

Which Sacred Writings?

You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them; and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All…

by Peter LeithartDecember 20, 1993
daniel-day-media-bzkf1nk-vpq-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

The Production of the New Testament Canon: A Revisionist Suggestion

My research has led me to the conviction that there are three major periods of Biblical history, which lead to a fourth. These are the Ages of the Father, the Word, and the Spirit. The First Age, that of the Father, is recorded in the book of Genesis. It focuses…

by James B. JordanDecember 6, 1993
Exodus

Egypt in Biblical History

Both Bible history and the current consensus chronology of the ancient world are tied up intimately with Egyptian history and chronology. Thus, as we broaden Biblical Chronology beyond the matter of adding up numbers and try to integrate Biblical chronology with the ancient world, the place to start would seem…

by James B. JordanDecember 6, 1993

Showing page 282 of 309

See all

Showing page 34 of 43

See all

Allegorical Epic

Christopher Warner argues in The Augustinian Epic that Renaissance epic and medieval exegesis share two crucial features. First, both share an interest in history, but one that aims to peer behind the veil of fact into the allegorical meaning of facts. Petrarch’s epic of the Second Punic War and Tasso’s…

February 14, 2014

One Voice

At the beginning of Revelation, the Spirit speaks to the seven churches. At the end, the voice of the bride and the voice of the Spirit become one, speaking a single wish: Come, Lord Jesus. By suffering with the Bridegroom, the bride learns His dialect. She becomes attuned to His…

February 14, 2014

Bloody Bible revisited

Dennis Pardee’s Ritual and Cult at Ugarit collects texts that are relevant to Ugaritic cult, especially sacrificial cult. He ends the book with a helpful survey of the similarities and differences between Ugarit and the Bible. One of the differences has to do with the use of blood. “The blood…

February 13, 2014

Occupy Legoland

The Lego movie has a cutting-edge social message, writes Ben Walters in The Guardian : “The film’s exuberant, kid-friendly larks – Wild West! Robot pirates! Unicorn kittens! Batman! – are laced with satirical digs at surveillance culture, built-in obsolescence and police brutality, as well as inane positive thinking. Its opening…

February 13, 2014

Russians, Jews, and Russian Jews

Gary Shteyngart writes in The Russian Debutante’s Handbook (2007): “A knowledgeable Russian lazing around in the grass, sniffing clover and munching on boysenberries, expects that at any minute the forces of history will drop by and discretely kick him in the ass. “A knowledgeable Jew in a similar position expects…

February 13, 2014

One Who Comes

Sean McDonough’s YHWH at Patmos (1999) is a 250+ page book about a single verse, Revelation 1:4. Really, only one phrase of that verse: “He who is and who was and who is coming.” McDonough traces the pre-history of the phrase to the name Yahweh. More surprisingly, he finds precedent…

February 13, 2014

Showing page 683 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.