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

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Biblical Horizons

Pansexual to Mature Marriage

There is a young man (under 35) who sometimes stops and speaks to me at my “office” (the coffee bar at the Wild Oats Grocery Store). He is very articulate and highly intelligent, and I always enjoy my conversations with him. In our last few conversations it has become apparent…

by Richard BledsoeJanuary 14, 2009
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Biblical Horizons

Jesus and Confusion

What began at the Tower of Babel has increasingly become a global affair. All of world history is a project to become a “tower to the heavens” as a self contained and self sufficient world, but this is increasingly judged everywhere, and more and more, crisis is introduced and interjected…

by Richard BledsoeJanuary 13, 2009
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Biblical Horizons

Outside the Box

At the always marvellous Auburn Avenue Pastor’s Conference this past week the inimitable Douglas Wilson complained that he is tired of hearing of the need to get out of the box. He said that some people need to stay in the box. Indeed. Who can disagree? The so-called “Federal Vision”…

by James B. JordanJanuary 9, 2009
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Advent

Virgin-Born Son of God | Pagan Myth or New Creation?

It is popular in some circles to claim that the story of the virgin birth was a pagan insertion into the teaching of the early Church. In various books one can easily find by scanning the shelves of the “religion” section in any decent bookstore this claim functions as a…

by Mark HorneDecember 15, 2008
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Biblical Horizons

Ritual Versus Christianity

This article was originally published at the Biblical Horizons blog. Some of the comments and responses on the original article have been shared at the end. Peter Leithart in Against Christianity points out that “Christianity” tends to be an ideology, and that Jesus did not come to set up an…

by James B. JordanOctober 29, 2008
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Ecclesiology

10 Things a Church can do to Change the World

The principle to keep in mind is that we have to change ourselves first. 1. Participate In The Lord’s Supper Every Sunday In Worship The Kingdom is again and again a feast. The Church is the beachhead of the Kingdom. Does Jesus ever tell a parable comparing the Kingdom to…

by Mark HorneJune 5, 2008

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Global Housing

Vancouver, BC, is the most expensive housing market in North America, but, as James Surowiecki reports in the New Yorker , this has little to do with the local economy and everything to do with the globalization of real estate: “A torrent of capital from wealthy people in emerging markets…

May 27, 2014
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Lipstick on the Host

The title story in Aidan Carl Mathews 1993 collection, Lipstick on the Host , is a tour de force of character development. The story is told by the protagonist, a saucy 41-year-old Irish schoolteacher named Meggie who has a brief, sad affair with a gynecologist, Antony (without an “h”). Mathews…

May 27, 2014

Authorized Mission

In each of the synoptics, Jesus sends out the twelve on a mission, and in each He is said to transform them from mere disciples (followers) to apostles (emissaries) by a grant of authority ( exousia ) over the spirits (Matthew 10: 1; Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1). Not power (…

May 27, 2014

Losing One’s Head

In a recent sermon on Mark 6, Pastor Rich Lusk pointed out that John the Baptist’s martyrdom fulfills his life as a Nazirite. According to Numbers 6, the Nazirite offers his “head” (often translated “head of hair”) when his vow is completed. John was a Nazirite from the womb, dedicated…

May 27, 2014

Prima Scriptura

In his recent book on Vincent of Lerins , Thomas Guarino observes that Vincent taught that Scripture is “perfect and sufficient for all matters - indeed, more than sufficient” (93). Vincent is, of course, more famous for his “canon” that provides a touchstone for distinguishing orthodoxy and heresy, and Guarino’s…

May 26, 2014

Shepherding by Faith

Pastoral ministry - in leading liturgy, in counseling, in preaching and teaching, in day-to-day encouragements and exhortations, in discipline - can only be accomplished by faith. That is true in several ways. You have to believe God’s word to dare to do the things ministers are required to do. By…

May 26, 2014

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