Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
screen-shot-2023-01-26-at-3-44-00-pm
Colossians

Tychicus and Onesimus

In Colossians 4:7-9, Paul tells the Colossian church that he is sending Tychicus and Onesimus to them. It is clear that they are to deliver the letter Paul has written to the church and that they are also to report to the church the details of Paul’s ministry in chains…

by Ralph Allan SmithJanuary 26, 2023
operacion3
Mission

Sustainable Development

On the 11 th of April, 1985, the communist dictator Enver Hoxha breathed his last. It was the beginning of the end of communist Albania. After 40 years of being isolated from almost the entire world, the Albanian people started to see what life really looked like outside their borders.…

by James LeithartJanuary 24, 2023
ian-schneider-iqbc4vu4ypq-unsplash
Biblical Studies

Sex Drives Building

Karl Ove Knausgaard once reminisced about an author he referred to as “the man with his sweater tucked into his trousers” who, upon entering the room, would declare as if it was his creed, “I write because I am dying.” Knausgaard acknowledges this to be one reason among many why…

by Garrett SoucyJanuary 19, 2023
dominik-schroder-fikd9t5_5zq-unsplash
Biblical Studies

The World is Charged with the Threeness of God

The Missing “It Was Good” The patterns and repetitions of Genesis 1 are well known: God speaks, it happens, and God sees that it’s good; names are given, and there’s evening and there’s morning: a day. But the patterns of creation, like the patterns throughout Scripture, are marked by variation…

by Josh JensenJanuary 17, 2023
francesco_hayez_017
Biblical Studies

The Day of Christ: Philippians 1:10

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the…

by Ralph Allan SmithJanuary 12, 2023
ian-keefe-mdteilh1czy-unsplash
Biblical Studies

Arboreal theology: Trees in Colossians

The Bible is a book about trees. We start in Eden with two trees, we end in the New Jerusalem with a single double-trunked tree, and the story hinges around the tree they nailed our Lord to. Seeing the Forest We find trees singled out on day three of creation.…

by Tim SuffieldJanuary 10, 2023

Showing page 35 of 309

See all

Showing page 35 of 43

See all

Spouse and Kingdom

The rhetorical and metaphorical shift between Westminster Confession 25.1 and 25.2 is dramatic. The invisible church is described in terms of their intimacy with Christ and with one another: They are gathered “into one” under “Christ the Head; the invisible church is the beloved “spouse” of Jesus, and His “body”;…

January 24, 2007
Literature

Moby Dick and America

The following summarizes the argument of David W. Noble in The Eternal Adam and the New World Garden . In Redburn , Melville wrote, “We are the heirs of all time, and with all nations we divide our inheritance. On this Western Hemisphere all tribes and peoples are forming into…

January 23, 2007
Literature

Billy Budd

Some notes from a lecture on Melville’s Billy Budd. Billy Budd was written in the last few years of Melville’s life, and was not published until three decades after his death. It has been common to interpret the novel as a final testament that indicates a shift in Melville’s outlook.…

January 23, 2007

Sermon Outline, Fourth Sunday After Epiphany

INTRODUCTION John’s entire message depends on Jesus being the Son of God, the child “begotten” from the eternal Father. Those who believe, love; and those who love and believe overcome the world (v. 5). THE TEXT “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who…

January 22, 2007

Eucharistic meditation, Third Sunday after Epiphany

1 John 4:18: Perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. One of the earliest Trinitarian heresies is called “modalism.” It taught that the “persons” of the Trinity are not distinct persons, but only masks or roles that the…

January 21, 2007

Exhortation, Third Sunday After Epiphany

Love is a necessary expression of new life and knowledge of God. If we are born of God and know God, we will love one another, and this love must be expressed in our actual behavior. John is blunt about the alternative: Whoever does not love does not know God.…

January 21, 2007

Showing page 1731 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.