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Writing

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

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Romans

Hymn of the Justified

Romans 8:31-39 is better sung than commented upon. It’s a thrilling, ecstatic hymn of boisterous assurance that God’s purposes will be accomplished. Yet, I will attempt to comment on them. If we sing Paul’s hymn, let’s make sure we sing with understanding. Given the character of these verses, it’s easy…

by Peter LeithartJuly 20, 2017
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Culture

Growing up Nostalgic: Perpetual Adolescence and the Kingdom Come

"An ethic unshaped by eschatology is neither Jesus’ nor Christian.” - Tremper Longman How does an immature culture grow up? Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is about the dangers of being lost in adolescence. By the end of the movie, the viewer is pointed to a road we infer leads to…

by Dustin MesserJuly 18, 2017
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Theopolis News

The Theopolitan Society

We are in the middle of our campaign for the end of the fiscal year. We've raised $30,000 from some major donors, and need to raise another $70,000 to meet our budget. Please consider becoming a regular donor , and keep reading to learn about a great opportunity. This brief…

by Brian MoatsJuly 17, 2017
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Baptism

Strong Magic Takes Blood

Prolegomena 1. “You’re a pastor,” my new friend says as we sit down, “and you’re a massage therapist. How does that work?” To her, Christianity implies stuffy ideology, a disregard of the physical. A Christian massage therapist is an oddity; a pastor massage therapist is nearly a contradiction in terms.…

by Tim NicholsJuly 13, 2017
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Politics

Why Poles Love Trump

54% of Poles think favorably of Americans, only 13% unfavorably, according to Centrum Badania Opinii Spolecznej . Ten years ago, the numbers were 44% and 21% respectively. Twenty years ago, they were 64% and 6%. Back in the 1990s, Americans were the most liked nation among Poles. Now they are…

by Bogumil JarmulakJuly 11, 2017
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Biblical Theology

Stones and Fruit: Divination and Procreation – (Part Two)

Stones of Life and Death Of course, the sex of a child is not a choice between light and darkness or life and death. Sex, like circumcision, is a horizontal demarcation, a delegation of roles within humanity. In contrast, the white stone and the black stone within the “liturgical scrotum”…

by Mike BullJuly 7, 2017

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Art

The following thoughts are largely inspired by Rowan Williams's Grace and Necessity . 1. Art is about making, not primarily about making a point. It is not fundamentally self-expression, or copying something that’s already there. It’s about constructing a new thing, an object. 2. If this is true, then the…

September 28, 2017

Against Sacraments

The following is an extract from chapter 3 of my Against Christianity (Canon Press, 2003). You can get a 30% discount on the book by entering LEITREADER during checkout at www.canonpress.com/AgainstChristianity Modernity is a revolt against ritual, and the modern city is an unprecedented attempt to form a civic community…

September 27, 2017

Apocalyptic Wisdom

Sheba comes to Jerusalem to test Solomon. He passes the test. He can answer everything she asks. 2 Chronicles 9:2 describes the encounter with a neat chiasm: A. Reported ( nagad ) to her B. Solomon C. all her words. D. Not-hidden C'. a word B'. from Solomon A'. which…

September 26, 2017

Materializing De Lubac?

Like most contemporary theologians writing on the Eucharist, David Grumett ( Material Eucharist ) works off of the work of Henri de Lubac. But he identifies two "principal shortcomings" in de Lubac's eucharistic theology (8). The first was an "excessively narrow ecclesial lens." Eucharistic and ecclesial realism support each other,…

September 26, 2017

The Ark and the Tent

When Moses ascends Sinai with the priests and elders, they see the God of Israel resting his feet on a sapphire pavement above them as they eat and drink (Exodus 24). The scene has a triadic structure: mountain, pavement, and Yahweh above. That structure is replicated in the ark of…

September 25, 2017

Scientific Miracles

Bill Gates is looking for an energy miracle. Fossil fuels pollute, but they are far and away the cheapest and most efficient fuels. Nothing else has come close and, argues Mark Mills in The New Atlantis , we cannot imagine anything coming close, given the current state of physics. To…

September 22, 2017

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