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Writing

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

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American Politics

God Damn Democracy!

This may not be a good title for an essay, especially one written by a Christian minister who is deeply sympathetic with the people of Hong Kong. I suspect that many of our friends there would be overjoyed at the prospect of a significant infusion of “democracy.” They even raise…

by Ralph Allan SmithDecember 17, 2019
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Revelation

Apocalyptic Meme Warfare

Despite its deadly serious purpose, The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the funniest book in the Bible. Jesus’ sheep hear His voice but they often fail to get His jokes. God always delivers His witticisms deadpan because that is the easiest way to separate the sheep from the goats in…

by Mike BullDecember 10, 2019
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Biblical Theology

Symbolism and Worldview

The study of symbolism is seen by some as a curiosity, rather far removed from the central matters of life. According to them, anyone who spends time studying Biblical imagery and symbolism may well be getting into a "dangerous" area. Persons who engage in an "overly symbolic" interpretation of Scripture…

by James B. JordanDecember 3, 2019
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Biblical Studies

James Jordan and Biblical Language

The meaning of my title will not be apparent till the end, but he who endures will find intellectual relief, if not satisfaction. One of my favorite quotes from John Walvoord comes from his commentary on the book of Revelation. 1 With regard to the “stars of heaven” falling to…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 28, 2019
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Advent

Entitled Children

Christmas is just around the corner, which means the topic of purchasing gifts for children has been floating around my conversations. Minimalism has been on trend for the last few years, and many families have adopted the mindset of “less is more” when it comes to gifts. In Christian circles,…

by Lindsey TollefsonNovember 26, 2019
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Biblical Studies

God’s Patterns in Creation:

A Speech Given to a Christian School Hello High Schoolers and Middle Schoolers! I’m one of the local pastors in town, and one of my main jobs is to study the Bible. So I have come today to speak to you about some basic points about the Bible. One of…

by Eric GreeneNovember 21, 2019

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More Anti-Catholic Than Thou

T he “second Reformation” introduced Reformed liturgy and teaching into Lutheran Germany. This was seen by some as a continuation of the Reformation and a purgation of Catholic remnants. The effort to carry on “further reformation” led to disputes with Lutherans. As Bodo Nischan has put it, the hottest debate…

March 28, 2017

Criminal Justice Reform

T he late William J. Stuntz spent his life studying the American criminal justice system. In a 2001 article on our “pathological politics of criminal law,” he lays out the institutional barriers to the fundamental reform that we need. Most descriptions and prescriptions for criminal justice reform assume that criminal…

March 28, 2017
Reformation

Shattered World

I n her “new history” of The Reformation , Lee Palmer Wandel offers a stark, sobering summary of the shattering effects of the Reformation. “By 1600, Europe was no longer ‘Christian.’ Some places were Lutheran, some, Catholic, some Reformed. Even if we recognize them all as Christian, they did not.…

March 27, 2017

Trump and Russia

A t the American Interest , James S. Henry examines Trump's Russian connections. It's an unnerving read. Whatever his relationship with Putin, Trump “has certainly managed to accumulate direct and indirect connections with a far-flung private Russian/former Soviet Union (FSU) network of outright mobsters, oligarchs, fraudsters, and kleptocrats. Any one…

March 24, 2017
Jane Austen

Austen in Autumn

T wo hundred years ago this month, Jane Austen put aside her pen for the last time, dating an unfinished novel that has come to be known as Sanditon . Anthony Lane thinks the novel shows that, despite her physical decay, Austen had lost none of her powers: “Although—or precisely…

March 24, 2017

War and Inequality

S ummarizing the argument of Walter Scheidel's The Great Leveler , the Economist reports: “inequality within countries is almost always either high or rising, thanks to the ways that political and economic power buttress each other and both pass down generations. It does not, as some have suggested, carry within…

March 24, 2017

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