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Writing

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

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Christendom

The Fundamentals of the Faith

Reflecting on the centennial of the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy, Theopolis contributor Tim Nichols asked Dr. Leithart and me what the five fundamentals of the faith were today . His thoughts went something like this: Back in the early 20th century, in response to a ruinous drift away from the historic Christian…

by Jackson WatersNovember 26, 2025
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Matthew

Testimonium Negativum: Josephus, Matthew’s Gospel, and New Evidence for the Coming Christ

1. Introduction In this article, I delve into some parallels found in the scholarly analysis of two important literary works: the Testimonium Flavianum by Josephus ( Antiquities 18.63–64) and the Olivet Discourse in the gospel of Matthew (Matthew 24–25). These texts have been at the center of countless academic discussions,…

by Jonathan SedlakNovember 18, 2025
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Genesis

Trauma and Glory: Overcoming Suffering with Joseph

Over the last twenty years, our American culture has created a culture of obsession over trauma. This could be a result of publications such as The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, which explores the lasting effect on health that traumatic experiences can have. Or it could…

by Lindsey TollefsonNovember 11, 2025
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Uncategorized

Lips like a Thread of Crimson: Midrash on a Theme from the Song of Solomon

The Beloved celebrates the beauty of his Shulamite’s lips, describing them as “a thread of crimson” upon a mouth that is altogether lovely (Song 4:3). It were easy perhaps to pass by this all too quickly, passing it off, if we attend to it at all, as a kind of…

by Mark BriansNovember 4, 2025
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Culture

The Rule of the Incarnate

This article originally appeared at American Reformer on October 29, 2025. Reproduced with permission. Why the West Was Never Meant to Be Governed by Law Alone Back in the early nineties, I was in the candidate process for Undergraduate Pilot Training with the Texas Air National Guard, hoping to fly…

by Ronald DodsonOctober 31, 2025
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Deuteronomy

A Father’s Liturgical Logic: The Pastoral Aim of the Davidic Revolution

In his book From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution , Peter Leithart shows that David, the author of so many Psalms and the musician who trained choirs, instituted a musical and liturgical revolution of how the people of Israel worshipped. The liturgical revolution in turn was designed to…

by Ralph Allan SmithOctober 29, 2025
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Additional Thoughts on Romans 2

A few additional thoughts on Romans 2: 1) As Dunn points out, Paul is clearly lining out a series of oppositions in the latter part of this chapter, much as he does in Galatians: manifest ?Enot Jew ?Emanifest circumcision ?Eflesh ?E gramma /letter ?Epraise from man hidden ?EJew ?Ecircumcision ?Eheart…

December 5, 2003

Romans 2:24

In Romans 2:24, Paul cites Isaiah 52:5 and/or Ezekiel 36:20-23 to describe Israel’s effect on the nations. Israel was called to be a light to the world, to be a priest to the nations, and to cause Yahweh’s name to be honored among the Gentiles. Torah, and all the privileges…

December 5, 2003

Sermon Outline, December 7

Sermon outline for Second Sunday in Advent: God For Us INTRODUCTION Last week, we meditated on the fact that God became flesh. This week, we will make that more specific. The incarnation is an event in human history, but more specifically in the history of Israel. When the Son of…

December 5, 2003
Theology

Presuppositionalism?

Based on a student’s questioning, I’m wondering whether “presuppositionalism” is the best term to describe what Vantillians are after. We don’t, after all, come up with some kind of set of axioms or theological idea “prior” to receiving revelation. We can talk about making the Triune God our “starting point”…

December 4, 2003

Girard on Christ’s Death

There’s an intriguing interview with Rene Girard in Touchstone as well. His most provocative comments come in response to a question about his “non-sacrificial” understanding of the death of Christ: “It is not quite true that I take what you have called a ‘non-sacrificial reading of the death of Christ.’…

December 4, 2003

Girard on Christ’s Death

There’s an intriguing interview with Rene Girard in Touchstone as well. His most provocative comments come in response to a question about his “non-sacrificial” understanding of the death of Christ: “It is not quite true that I take what you have called a ‘non-sacrificial reading of the death of Christ.’…

December 4, 2003

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