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

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Hermeneutics

The Structure of the Joseph Narrative

(Genesis 37:2 – 50:26) A. Generations of Jacob, 37:2a B. Joseph hated by brothers, 37:2b C. Jacob’s discriminatory blessing, 37:3-4 D. Rule over family: vision, 37:5-11 E. Joseph seeks brothers, 37:12-17 F. Joseph "killed," 37:18-36 G. Judah’s sin, ch. 38 H. Imprisonment, though undeserved, ch. 39-40 I. Famine and Pharaoh,…

by James B. JordanJanuary 4, 1999
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Exodus

Crisis Time: Patriarchal Prologue, Part 5

Moses and Jesus The gift of the Father is a son, but we must be ready to give our sons back to Him when it is time. The gift of the Brother is an estate, but we must be ready to give our estates back to Him when it is…

by James B. JordanJanuary 4, 1999
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Ecclesiology

Of The Church

An Exposition of Chapter XXV of the Westminster Confession of Faith I. The Catholic or universal Church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the…

by Mark HorneDecember 5, 1998
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Biblical Horizons

From Plato to NATO: The Idea of the West and Its Critics

From Plato to NATO: The Idea of the West and Its Critics , by David Gress (New York: Free Press, 1998). This book came into my hands after I had finished my series of essays on Western Civilization. It is so good that I was tempted to summarize it in…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998
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American Politics

Buchanan and Free Trade

In a recent issue of the Chalcedon Report (March, 1999), R. J. Rushdoony praises Patrick Buchanan’s book The Great Betrayal (Boston: Little Brown, 1998), a defense of protectionism. Rushdoony claims that the conflict between free trade and tariffs is a religious conflict, and he is correct. Unfortunately and surprisingly, he…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998
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Esther

Crisis Time: Patriarchal Prologue, Part 4

Joseph and Esther The third patriarch was Joseph, and the third phase of pre-gospel history is the Restoration. We have not spent time looking particularly at the Joseph narrative heretofore, because it is different in cast from the Abraham and Jacob ones. There is no explicit promise, fulfillment, and crisis…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998

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Politics

Chartered pluralism

Newbigin ( Faith and Power: Christianity and Islam in ‘Secular’ Britain ) endorses Os Guinness’s idea of “chartered pluralism,” but argues vigorously that the gospel provides the only framework within which it can be realized. “What is unique about the Christian gospel,” he says, “is that those who are called…

November 3, 2012
Politics

Acted Prayers

In his contribution to Faith and Power: Christianity and Islam in ‘Secular’ Britain , the late Leslie Newbigin gives an eschatological perspective on the notion of a Christian society: “The focus of the biblical vision is on the final vindication of God in the gift of his perfect reign, symbolized…

November 3, 2012

Womb Worship

The Greek koilia can mean belly (Matthew 15:17) or womb (Mathew 19:12). What happens when we try out the second translation on passages that normally use the first? John 7:38 now reads, “He that believes on me . . . out of his womb shall flow rivers of living water.”…

November 3, 2012

Bitterness

In the “jealousy rite” of Numbers 5, a woman suspected of adultery has to drink a concoction of holy water and holy dust and a written curse. If she is an adulteress, the water will go into her and cause bitterness, swelling in the thigh, and a wasting in her…

November 3, 2012

Sacramental power

Do sacraments have power “in themselves”? The question is often posed in a confusing fashion. One confusion is the assumption that non -sacramental things do have power to accomplish things “in themselves.” Created things have powers only because of God’s continuous gift, so in an absolute sense nothing created has…

November 3, 2012

Trinity Institute: A Pastor’s Perspective

Peter Leithart and James B. Jordan have been highly influential in my life and ministry. Leithart’s book The Kingdom and the Power was an important book in my journey, giving me a solid foundation to see a biblical churchly vision, at a time when I was majoring on minors. Couple…

November 2, 2012

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