Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
[This essay was originally published in 1988. Given the situation that our new national socialists are getting the world into, I thought it might be useful to reprint it here. – JBJordan] The Bible has quite a bit to say about gold, silver, and precious stones, and the Bible always…
I wrote this elsewhere and was encouraged to put it here. It is a comment on what a pastor is. Today, this is not very well understood, and God’s people suffer because of it. There are four professions: medicine, education, law, and religion. Each of these, when done at a…
James Jordan recently pointed out in private conversation how appropriate it is, in John’s Gospel, that Nicodemus is present both to ask Jesus about being born again, and to see Jesus re-enter the womb of the mother. Nicodemus rhetorically asks, “How can a man be born when he is old?…
This is a problematic and much discussed passage. I’ve been discussing it in another forum, and have decided to move it here and present some very preliminary observations about it. One large question is this: Who is the speaker here and what is his situation? Traditionally, the speaker is seen…
1. The current issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction includes a good fantasy novella by John C. Wright, who since his conversion has been writing Christianly. This is a fine fantasy with nods to C. S. Lewis and Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and probably Gene Wolfe as well.…
“It is an experience of our days that the spoken name of Jesus alone exercises an unforeseen power; and the effort which it cost to speak this name is perhaps connected to some faint apprehension of the power which is inherent within it. Wherever the name of Jesus Christ is…
Showing page 209 of 309
Showing page 34 of 43
Kimberly Hope Belcher states the thesis of her Efficacious Engagement: Sacramental Participation in the Trinitarian Mystery early on. She says that the premise of classic Catholic sacramental theology is that God is at work in them. All other definitional discussions are subordinate to this basic conviction. Citing Thomas’ insistence that…
Donatello’s innovation in depicting David, Kenneth Clark informs us ( The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form , 54), captures the spirit of Renaissance: He transforms “the king of Israel into a young Greek god.” Both adjectives are critical: young and Greek: In the middle ages “the image of David…
INTRODUCTION Yahweh promises to rescue His chosen servant Israel (Isaiah 41:8-9). But Israel isn’t just an object of Yahweh’s care. Israel is also an instrument of Yahweh’s justice. THE TEXT “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon…
Exodus 35:2: For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to Yahweh. As Pastor Sumpter pointed out, the instructions for building the tabernacle end with a Sabbath command and the narrative about building begins with…
When Yahweh created the world, His Spirit hovered over the waters to transform the empty waste into glory and beauty. When Yahweh re-created the world in the tabernacle, His Spirit hovered again, this time over the craftsmen Bezalel and Oholiab, to whom He gave wisdom to make things. The Spirit…
Did Jesus make atonement on the cross? Not exactly, says David Moffitt in Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Supplements to Novum Testamentum) . According to the reviewer in Review of Biblical Literature, Moffitt appeals to the atonement rites of the Old Testament as…
Showing page 873 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
