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Writing

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

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Esther

Genesis 1 and Genesis 8

I mentioned last month ( BH 82) in my essay "Like a Dove" that Genesis 8 is a recapitulation of Genesis 1. Let me explicate that assertion here. Of course, the world after the Flood is a new creation, so we may expect a recapitulation of the first creation. It…

by James B. JordanMarch 28, 1996
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Daniel

Esther: Historical & Chronological Comments (I)

The book of Esther is one of the most neglected of the books of the Bible. To be sure, sermons are preached on it, and commentaries have occasionally been written on it, but almost without exception Esther has been interpreted in isolation from the rest of Biblical history, chronology, and…

by James B. JordanMarch 28, 1996
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Biblical Horizons

A Letter on Geocentricity

Dear Mr. ______, . . . Here is how I look at the geocentricity question. Since I don’t recall what I wrote you before, I may be repeating some things. 1. The Bible does not teach it. Biblical passages used to support the idea are being misinterpreted. My original paper…

by James B. JordanMarch 28, 1996
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Biblical Horizons

What is God?

Answer 4 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is often taken as a magnificent answer to the question, "What is God?" It reads: "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." Presbyterians are fond of praising this statement, preaching on it,…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1996
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Baptism

Like a Dove

The gospels tell us that at Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him "in bodily form like a dove" (Luke 3:22 & parallels). Biblically sensitive commentators have associated this event with three Old Testament parallels: (1) the hovering of the Spirit over the creation in Genesis 1:2; (2) the…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1996
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John

Jesus at Belshazzar’s Feast: Being an Explanatory Disquisition on an Aspect of the Story of the Woman Taken in Adultery

This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. (John 8:6) The story of the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53-8:11) has been part of the canonical Christian Bible from its earliest…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1996

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Literature

Austen and Prejudice

Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is often interpreted by linking the principal characters with the two flaws of the title. Darcy is “pride” and Elizabeth “prejudice.” This way of reading the book gets at some important themes, but it doesn’t quite get at the crux of the issues raised by the…

March 28, 2007
Literature

Keeping us reading

An old essay by Edd Winfield Parks explores the question of how Austen gets us to move on to the next chapter. She doesn’t, he points out, use cliff-hanger chapter endings, like a John Grisham novel. What keeps us reading? The question becomes more pointed when we notice that Austen…

March 27, 2007
Literature

Jane Austen, Detective

PD James, who knows whereof she speaks, once remarked, “I think if Jane Austen were writing today, she might very well be our greatest mystery novelists.”

March 27, 2007

Sermon notes, Palm Sunday

INTRODUCTION On Palm Sunday, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem as the King, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9-10 (Matthew 21:5; John 12:15). But the gospel writers mention Psalm 118 in this connection as well (Matthew 21:9, 42; Mark 11:9; 12:10; Luke 19:38; 20:17; John 12:13). On Palm Sunday, Jesus is the…

March 26, 2007

Eucharistic exhortation, Fifth Sunday of Lent

Matthew 25:35: I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in. The gospel is a story of hospitality. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God brings us from the outside…

March 25, 2007
Theology

Exhortation, Fifth Sunday of Lent

The family is not a redemptive institution. It is a fallen institution in need of redemption. Through the power of the Word and Spirit, God does redeem families. Through the Spirit, marriages can begin to reflect the marriage of Christ and His church; through the Spirit, the entire life of…

March 25, 2007

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