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Writing

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

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Matthew

Fertile Toledots

The Book of Genesis contains eleven distinct markers readily acknowledged as the toledot formula. 1 Commentator Nahum Sarna counts the ’elleh toledot to be “…one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Book of Genesis”. 2 Among translations, the noun is variously translated as “generations” (ESV, KJV), “records of the generations”…

by Ben LoveladyDecember 20, 2022
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Romans

Who was Judah's Wickedest King? (Kings & Romans 1:18ff)

The answer that immediately comes to mind to the question in the title is Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah. He was conceived during the extension of life that God granted Hezekiah in response to his ardent prayer on his sick bed (2 Kings 20:1-11, 21:1). His reign is summarized in…

by Mark HorneDecember 13, 2022
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Ecclesiology

The End of Premium Mediocre Church

Back in 2019, on a whim, I sketched out a setting for a modern fantasy story: a single coffee shop that is simultaneously present in multiple cities throughout the world: “...you know the one. Books by local authors, brochures for a walking tour of the city’s outdoor sculpture, a poetry…

by Tim NicholsDecember 6, 2022
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Colossians

Colossians 4:2, “Watch"

Peter O’Brien’s translation of Colossians 4:2 surprised me: “Persevere in prayer as you watch for the Lord’s return, and be thankful.” 1 What is surprising about that? Well, none of my English translations mentioned “the Lord’s return” — nor does the Greek text! Translated literally, the verse just says: “In…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 29, 2022
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Books

The Laws and the Cosmos: A Brief Response to Stephen Wolfe on Cicero

I Natural Law This is a brief (well, briefer than it could be) first attempt at responding to a very small section of Stephen Wolfe’s recent book The Case for Christian Nationalism . It’s partial, deeply incomplete, and does not at all address the book as a whole; it is…

by Susannah Black RobertsNovember 24, 2022
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Formation

A Bad Man Speaking Well

The scuttlebutt of the last hundred years would tell us that Albert Einstein was a horrible husband, Winston Churchill was a racist, Mother Theresa was a hypocrite, and Caravaggio a murderer. From Benjamin Britten’s boys to Gandhi’s girls, it can be depressing and confusing to hear about people of great…

by Garrett SoucyNovember 22, 2022

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Evangelicals and Catholics in Europe

Christianity Today reported this week on a controversy among European Evangelicals about relations with the Roman Catholic Church. Thomas Schirrmacher and Thomas K. Johnson of the World Evangelical Alliance, responded with a defense of Evangelical collaboration and dialogue with Catholics . Schirrmacher and Johnson note the difference between the Reformation…

February 2, 2018

Orphan Philosophy

Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy's *In the Cross of Reality,* the first volume of his *Sociology*: "Rene Descartes' mother died shortly after childbirth. . . . He never found relief from the formal strictness prevalent among grown men, with its presumption of standing by one's given world. Prematurely, this child had no choice…

February 2, 2018

Christian Ethics In Technological Age

It’s important to pay careful attention to the title of Brian Brock’s superb 2010 Christian Ethics in a Technological Age . The book isn't merely a theological/ethical analysis of technology, though it includes that. Brock’s aim is broader, as he explores the shape of Christian morality in contemporary, technological society,…

February 1, 2018

God of Days, God In Days

The following paragraphs are snipped from an article of mine on God and time in Genesis 1, published in the Criswell Theological Review. You can find more information about this issue of the journal here . It seems significant that Genesis describes this evening-and-morning pattern without reference to the category…

February 1, 2018

Hand of Yahweh

Theopolis student Jacob Hanby pointed out that Ezekiel uses the phrase "the hand of Yahweh" seven times. It appears at major junctures in the prophecy: Ezekiel 1:3 : The first verses of Ezekiel provide a double narrative opening (first person, then third person) to a prophecy that is largely taken…

January 31, 2018

Reaganism for Lefties

Mark Lilla's dissection of identity politics in The Once and Future Liberal is incisive. He doesn't spare the conservative movement or the Republican party in the least, but he at his sharpest in analyzing what he calls the "abdication" of liberalism and the Democratic party. Liberals, he argues, once had…

January 30, 2018

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