Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
screenshot-2024-10-15-at-10-54-38-am
Romans

Robbing Temples

Paul writes to Jews, “You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” (Romans 2:22b) The English translation “rob temples” makes readers think of pagan temples. There was only one Temple for Israel, so robbing more than one would indicate other temples are in view. And if the Jews wanted to…

by Mark HorneOctober 15, 2024
screenshot-2024-10-03-at-12-59-20-pm
Genesis

Regarding Abel’s Offering

Two offerings Humanity’s first vocation involves guarding and serving the trees that emerge from the ground (Genesis 2:15). God provides these trees to humanity for food. A serpent appears and tempts the couple to eat from a special forbidden tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Humanity…

by Scott FairbanksOctober 3, 2024
jeremy-thomas-e0ahdsenmdg-unsplash
Hermeneutics

The Trinity and Cross in Creation

At the outset of the Torah (as Christians understand it), a triune God creates the heavens and earth over the course of a seven-day week. Why? What’s the connection between the three and the seven? Could a triune God have created the world over any period of time he chose?…

by James BejonOctober 1, 2024
dan-edwards-sid-lmfxsdu-unsplash
Deuteronomy

Axe Heads and Parapets: Legal Edge Cases?

How relevant to the modern reader are the flying axe head of Deuteronomy 19:5 and the roof parapet of Deuteronomy 22:8? Indeed, how relevant were they to the daily lives of Israelites thirty-five hundred years ago? Suppose that accidental falls from rooftops were exceedingly uncommon in ancient Israel, or that…

by Josh JensenSeptember 24, 2024
matt-cramblett-fbg4owazcd8-unsplash
Political Theology

The Church Builds the World

1 For most of my life, the standing of the American church as a source of national social and political order was measured by reports from the front of the so-called “culture wars.” 2 Memory brings to mind battles over feminism and the ERA, so-called gay rights, the breakdown of…

by Gary YoungSeptember 17, 2024
sixteen-miles-out-al48tflf4e8-unsplash
Matthew

That He would be called a Nazarene

But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel…’ And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the…

by Lyndon JostSeptember 10, 2024

Showing page 17 of 309

See all

Showing page 38 of 43

See all
Philosophy

Cinematic perception and Zeno’s arrow

Henri Bergson attempted to solve the paradox of Zeno’s arrow (which can never cover the infinite points between the bow and the target, and yet does) by calling attention to the implicit spatialization of time within the paradox. The space in which movement takes place is divisible, but the duration…

May 5, 2005
Philosophy

Cinematic perception and Zeno’s arrow

Henri Bergson attempted to solve the paradox of Zeno’s arrow (which can never cover the infinite points between the bow and the target, and yet does) by calling attention to the implicit spatialization of time within the paradox. The space in which movement takes place is divisible, but the duration…

May 5, 2005

Romans 8, continued

INTRODUCTION Paul is talking about the liberation of creation from bondage to decay and corruption into freedom. This raises the question of the time frame for the fulfillment of this prophecy. It is normally taken as a reference to the end of the world. The ?redemption of the body?E(v. 23)…

May 5, 2005

Osiander and the Reformed Tradition

Julie Canlis has a helpful article on Calvin’s response to Osiander in the International Journal of Systematic Theology (6:2 [2004]). A few points are worth highlighting: 1) She sees the response to Osiander as part of the reason why Reformed theologians tend to be skittish about talk of “participation.” Calvin,…

May 5, 2005

Justification and Reformation

In two older articles, Alister McGrath examines the sources for the Reformation doctrine of justification, covering ground also covered in his 2-volume Iustitia Dei. The first article, published in the Harvard Theological Review in 1982 (75:2, pp. 219-242) examines the evidence for claiming that the Reformation doctrine of justification was…

May 4, 2005
Theology

More on Hart, The Beauty of the Infinite

Covenant of Light. This section concludes Part I of The Beauty of the Infinite , entitled ?Dionysus Against the Crucified.?E With this section, Hart concludes his critique of classical, modern and postmodern thought, and the outlines of the Christian ontology that interrupted the history of metaphysics and that he develops…

May 4, 2005

Showing page 1984 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.