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31-03-0213
Hermeneutics

Apocalyptic Eyes

Flying scrolls. Red horses. Beasts coming out of the sea. Winged women. The list goes on. Apocalyptic literature in the Bible is like a cross between science fiction and Marvel comics. And the Bible has a fair bit of this sort of thing. Daniel sees visions in Babylon, Zechariah sees…

by Toby SumpterNovember 4, 2014
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Theopolis News

New Name, New Look

Trinity House Institute has taken a new name, the Theopolis Institute. This striking new name expresses our unique vision and mission and captures the unified purpose behind all our specific programs and activities. We still have Bible, liturgy, and culture in our tagline. We still offer the same courses on…

by TheopolisNovember 4, 2014
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Atonement

Not Fearing the Devil

Adam Kotsko offers a socio-political variation on the Christus Victor atonement theory in his 2010 study, The Politics of Redemption: The Social Logic of Salvation . He does this by explaining "the devil" in terms of the Hegelian concept of "objective spirit," Geist . As Kotsko puts it, Geist "refers…

by Peter LeithartOctober 13, 2014
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Leviticus

The Meaning of Sacrifice

Two factors keep Nahtali Meshel from discussing the meaning of sacrifice until late in his The "Grammar" of Sacrifice . The first has to do with the texts he draws from: "P says little about the meaning of its rituals" (174). The other has to do with the grammatical theory…

by Peter LeithartOctober 8, 2014
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Leviticus

Praxemics

Chapter 5 of Naphtali Meshel's The "Grammar" of Sacrifice focuses on "praxemics," the physical actions of sacrificial ritual. Praxemes are constituted by six elements: an "atomact," an elementary physical act or gesture; an actor; an object that is acted up; a target for the action and often for the object…

by Peter LeithartOctober 6, 2014
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Leviticus

Jugation and Hierarchy

Two chapters of Naphtali Meshel’s The “Grammar” of Sacrifice cover what he calls “jugation” and “hierarchies.” The first involves the addition of other materials to an animal offering. Jugates include wine, cereal, and oil that are added to the animals (zoemes) that are offered in sacrifice. Some jugates are coordinated…

by Peter LeithartOctober 1, 2014

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Baptismal meditation, September 25

Galatians 3:26-29: For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man; there is neither male nor female; for you are…

September 25, 2005

Exhortation, September 25

The sermon today is about marriage and family, but I don’t want the unmarried men and women here to hit the mute button. The sermon text may not apply directly to you, but you should be preparing now for the roles that you are likely to assume in the future.…

September 25, 2005

Communion meditation, September 25

1 Corinthians 6:15-17: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a harlot is one…

September 25, 2005

Exodus in Kings

Amos Frisch has a very good article in the JSOT (2000) where he examines the allusions to the Exodus in 1 Kings 1-14. There are many excellent and fruitful insights here: 1) Hadad the Edomite lives through an exodus story, and is a kind of Moses figure (1 Kings 11).…

September 25, 2005

Shimei’s slaves

I don’t believe in the existence of a “Succession Narrative” (2 Sam 9-1 Kings 2), but James Ackerman, who does believe in a succession narrative, makes this interesting connection between Shimei’s execution and the earlier history of David (which does not depend on belief in a succession narrative): “two of…

September 25, 2005

Shimei’s slaves

I don’t believe in the existence of a “Succession Narrative” (2 Sam 9-1 Kings 2), but James Ackerman, who does believe in a succession narrative, makes this interesting connection between Shimei’s execution and the earlier history of David (which does not depend on belief in a succession narrative): “two of…

September 25, 2005

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