Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
paul
Romans

The Politics of Justification

The doctrine of justification is precious among Protestants. And it should be. The fact that God has declared our sins forgiven and that we have a righteous standing in the sight of God united to Christ is comforting and brings great joy. Unfortunately, the biblical teaching on justification is, many…

by Bill SmithNovember 21, 2017
moses-gives-aaron-priesthood-39465-wallpaper
Priest

What is a Priest?

The Old Testament priests were given a number of seemingly disparate duties. As everyone knows, the priests led the sacrificial worship of Israel; only the priests could sprinkle blood on the altar or within the tabernacle, and only they could approach the altar to turn sacrificial animals into smoke. But…

by Peter LeithartNovember 17, 2017
img_0166-2
Liturgy

Ite, Missa Est

M issional ecclesiology is all the rage these days, but for many being “missional” means downplaying or even eliminating concern for the “internal” life of the church, particularly its liturgical life. Missional and liturgical, mission and communio , are locked in zero-sum combat. That cannot be right. The liturgy is…

by Peter LeithartNovember 14, 2017
sixteen-miles-out-al48tflf4e8-unsplash
Romans

The New Gospel

An old friend of mine, now passed into Heaven, started to say this in relationship to his sometimes troubled family, in the last quarter of his life, "I just had to take responsibility for the whole thing..." That was the seed for a new reading of the Gospel for me,…

by Richard BledsoeNovember 9, 2017
reformers
Reformation

Reformation Retrospection

She departed the port, dressed in her best ceremonial regalia, with tassels and flags fluttering from her mast and rigging. She stood tall, robed in mist, crowned in white, and backlit by the rising sun. There she sat, shimmering and spotless; with a perfect ragtop, and a full tank of…

by Jon HerrNovember 7, 2017
screen-shot-2017-11-02-at-12-43-15-pm
Revelation

Locusts and Honey

John the Baptist is presented in the gospels as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise that God would send His messenger to prepare the way for the coming of the glory of the Lord (Is. 40), and the promise to send Elijah before Him to turn the people to…

by Peter LeithartNovember 2, 2017

Showing page 103 of 309

See all

Showing page 36 of 43

See all

Economy of the Kingdom

Pastor Rich Lusk points out that in the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples gather up more food than they started with. The spend resources, but their reserves increase rather than decrease. This is the economy of the kingdom: The Father rewards generous service, so that our expenditures of…

May 28, 2014

Residual Extrinicism

In my view, the new account of nature and the supernatural offered by de Lubac and others does not achieve what it aims to achieve. De Lubac’s laudable goal is to overcome the “extrinicism” of neo-scholasticism, but he himself speaks of nature and the supernatural as being in a relation…

May 28, 2014

Abrahamic Oaks

Isaiah 61:3 presents a translation challenge. Yahweh promises to grant Israel a reputation as “oaks of righteousness” (NASB; Heb. ‘ayil tzedeq ), but the word translated as “oak” is almost always translated as “ram” (156x in the KJV as opposed to three passages where the word is translated as “tree”…

May 28, 2014

Anternet

Jamie Merrill reports in the Independent about recent research on ant behavior: “research shows that ants don’t just flourish because they work hard and will slavishly sacrifice themselves for the collective. Their success is also due to their group ability to process information ‘far more efficiently than Google’ in the…

May 28, 2014

Hagar in the Wilderness

The woman of Revelation 12 starts out as queen of heaven but is quickly found not only on earth but all the way out in the wilderness. Even before the dragon is cast out, she leaves heaven . Her story follows the story of Israel. A lamb’s blood is shed…

May 27, 2014

Foolishness of God

The God revealed in the Bible is a jealous God, a God who clings to and protects what is His. His name is Jealous (Exodus 34:14), and His jealousy often breaks out in wrath (Deuteronomy 32:16). Jealousy appears to be one of God’s distasteful character traits, and modern theologians have…

May 27, 2014

Showing page 600 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.