Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
trnava-university-beeyeib-am8-unsplash
Biblical Chronology

Meredith G. Kline Strikes Back, Part 2

In our first essay we looked at Kline’s flawed exegesis of Genesis 2:5 as it relates to Day 3 of creation. Now we turn to Kline’s new argument against a chronological reading of Genesis 1, as found, again, in "Space and Time in the Genesis Cosmogony," Perspectives on Science and…

by James B. JordanMarch 29, 1997
30211-bathsheba-800w-tn
Hermeneutics

Bathsheba: The Real Story

One of the advantages of paying very close attention to the details in the Bible, especially chronological and genealogical details, is that they can shed light on situations that don’t seem to make much sense apart from them. One such situation is that of Bathsheba. It appears that Bathsheba willingly…

by James B. JordanMarch 28, 1997
jonathan-cooper-ygxq7hfdjzq-unsplash
Church Calendar

Is the Church Year Biblical? | A Parking Lot Parable

Once upon a time, Jeff Meyers and Tony Rollins–old friends who had not seen each other for a few years–met in the parking lot of a neighborhood church. They were dropping off their pre-school children at the church for Mother’s Day Out. They were such conscientious and helpful fathers. As…

by Jeff MeyersMarch 20, 1997
annie-spratt-upxf6to3fea-unsplash
Daniel

The Allegory of Susanna

Years ago, when I was at the briefly-existing Geneva Divinity School, I taught a course in the Apocrypha. One thing that struck me at that time is that two of the stories are almost certainly religious allegories (as well as moral tales): Judith and Susanna. Since "Susanna" means "Lily," this…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997
serafima-lazarenko-_ivuwprfczi-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

A Blossom of Yahweh’s Field

Peter’s essay inspires me to write up some similar thoughts about the flower of the field. Rightly does Peter associate the almond with Yahweh’s garden, because the Garden of Eden is symbolically positioned as parallel to the Holy Place of the Tabernacle and Temple. To wit: Since Aaron’s rod blossomed…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997
trnava-university-beeyeib-am8-unsplash
Biblical Chronology

Meredith G. Kline Strikes Back, Part 1

We have had occasion to discuss the views of Meredith G. Kline previously in these newsletters, and now it is time to do so again. Kline teaches at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and also at the Westminster Theological Seminaries (Philadelphia and San Diego). He is the author of some interesting insights…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997

Showing page 259 of 309

See all

Showing page 35 of 43

See all

Pilgrimage of nations

Kelly Kapic ( God So Loved, He Gave: Entering the Movement of Divine Generosity , 206-8) explains the various motivations of Pal’s Collection for the saints in Jerusalem: to relieve poverty, to unify the churchto share God’s grace together. There was also an eschatological motivation: “While it is nowhere stated…

August 2, 2012

Apostolic priests

In a brief discussion of tithing, Kapic ( God So Loved, He Gave: Entering the Movement of Divine Generosity , 153) notes that the Levites received tithes from the people and then tithed the tithe to the priests “who had no other means of income.” That is somewhat overstated, since…

August 1, 2012

True King

In his excellent study of God’s generosity ( God So Loved, He Gave: Entering the Movement of Divine Generosity , 134-5), Kelly Kapic summarizes the “righteousness” of Job: “In Job 29:1-25 this man describes, in his own words, what his righteousness actually looked like. Above all, we find that Job’s…

August 1, 2012
Uncategorized

Reciprocity

In his introduction to Reciprocity in Ancient Greece (p. 5), Richard Seaford argues that the “debate about the extent to which virtues in Homer are cooperative (such as justice and generosity) or competitive (such as individual prowess in war)” is wrong-headed. Seaford claims that “this distinction may obstruct our understanding…

August 1, 2012

Symbolic Violence

John Thompson explains Pierre Bourdieu’s notion of symbolic violence in his introduction to Language and Symbolic Power : “Instead of analyzing the exchange of gifts in terms of a formal structure of reciprocity, in the manner of Lévi–Strauss, Bourdieu views it as a mechanism through which power is exercised and…

August 1, 2012

Nazilympics

In his Megaevents and Modernity: Olympics and Expos in the Growth of Global Culture , Maurice Roche has a scathing review of the International Olympic Committee’s interactions with the Nazis at the Berlin Olympics in 1936: “The IOC collaborated with the Nazi government in allowing what was predictably a major…

July 31, 2012

Showing page 886 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.