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

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evangelists
Matthew

Dating Matthew, (Part 1)

When might the Gospel according to Matthew have been written? Of course, any answer can only be speculation, but that does not mean we are reduced to groundless opinion. In this series of articles I point the way to an approach different from the general consensus among scholars today which…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 22, 2016
hebrew-manuscript-3
Hermeneutics

Synopticity, (Part 2)

In my first essay on “synopticity” I offered a rather rough definition of the phenomenon and important, though not exhaustive examples. In this essay, I want to introduce broader aspects of the phenomenon of “synopticity.” The first example that I have in mind is conventional stories, stories of different historical…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 17, 2016
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Ascension

Brexit and the Binding of Satan, Part 4

Since the judgment of Babel was followed by the initiation of the circumcision, the impending end of the circumcision in AD70 explains the significance of the first century miracle of foreign tongues. Except for a few Aramaic “teasers” in the book of Daniel, the Word of God was monolingual and…

by Mike BullNovember 15, 2016
four-evangelists
Hermeneutics

Synopticity, (Part 1)

To the best of my knowledge “synopticity” is not a word used in theology or Biblical studies, but it seems an appropriate word to describe the kind of phenomena associated with the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These three Gospels tell essentially the same story with significant — sometimes…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 10, 2016
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Humor

Learning to Laugh

Humor is a funny thing. It is altogether familiar yet also mysterious. What makes us laugh? Why do we find things funny? There are academic fields of study dedicated to discovering what makes things humorous. These academicians even have a journal entitled International Journal of Humor Research . No joke.…

by Bill SmithNovember 8, 2016
chaucer
Literature

Flawed Means of Grace: Liturgy in The Pardoner's Tale

Out of all the characters in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales , the Pardoner has been called the “one lost soul.” The pious Parson, who closes out the collection of tales with a sermon on the seven deadly sins and how a sinner can absolve himself of them, connects the…

by Christian LeithartNovember 3, 2016

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History

Butter and Beer

Rossi writes (in Francis Bacon: From Magic to Science ), “Though Bacon had violently attacked Paracelsus for such notions, he proposed to test the powers of imagination by trying to arrest the fermentation of beer and prevent churned milk from turning into butter. Indeed he exalts the occult powers of…

September 6, 2006
History

Bacon, Hobbes, Rousseau

Howard White traces out a bit of Bacon’s lineage as a political philosopher: “Young Hobbes had accompanied Bacon on some of his walks, and Bacon delighted in his company. And Hobbes was to establish a system of political philosophy on principles of motion, precisely as Bacon ahd urged, taking his…

September 6, 2006

Ingratitude and Invention

Bacon offers this explanation of the myth of Prometheus: “The next is a remarkable part of the fable, which represents that men, instead of gratitude and thanks, fell into indignation and expostulation, accusing both Prometheus and his fire to Jupiter, - and yet the accusation proved highly pleasing to Jupiter;…

September 6, 2006
History

God’s Two Books

Paolo Rossi says of Bacon: “The distinction between the will and power of God, so fully and subtly present in Baconian texts, is very important. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handworks’: this very from the Psalms . . . is quoted by Bacon…

September 5, 2006
History

God’s Two Books

Paolo Rossi says of Bacon: “The distinction between the will and power of God, so fully and subtly present in Baconian texts, is very important. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handworks’: this very from the Psalms . . . is quoted by Bacon…

September 5, 2006
History

Bacon’s Induction

Stanley Fish, in a renowned essay on Bacon’s Essays , concludes that the essays are “unfinished with a purposefulness that makes the bestowing of the adjective less a criticism than a compliment.” He insists on the provisionality of knowledge, and “communicates that provisionality [in the Essays ] by letting the…

September 5, 2006

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