Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The name of Harry Turtledove is well known to readers of fantasy and science fiction. Turtledove is an historian, and most of what he writes is in the "alternative history" genre. A fine collection of short stories, available in paperback, is his Agent of Byzantium . These stories are set…
In answer to a question, the following about the unicorn, a supposed "New Age" symbol: The unicorn, or monoceros (one-horn), was known around the ancient world. Some scholars believe it may have been the one-horned goat that is still bred today. Others think it may have originated in tales of…
3. A Brief Survey of Esther (continued from the previous issue) Haman told the king that "a certain people" were rebellious against him, and that Haman wanted to rid the king of their noxious presence. The king agreed, and the two sat down to a feast. This is the third…
It has become routine in October for some Christian schools to send out letters warning parents about the evils of Halloween, and it has become equally routine for me to be asked questions about this matter. "Halloween" is simply a contraction for All Hallows’ Eve. The word "hallow" means "saint,"…
2. The Setting of the Book of Esther (continued from previous issue) Astyages E. W. Faulstich presents his arguments in his book History, Harmony, The Exile & Return . 1 To understand it, we have to have some background. The Assyrians ruled the near east. Median king Cyaxeres decided to…
In my commentary on Judges, I demonstrated that Jephthah in his Spirit-led vow intended to offer to Yahweh the first person who greeted him from the doors of his house after the battle. Since it was a custom for the young women to come out dancing to greet the returning…
Showing page 264 of 309
Showing page 39 of 43
Milbank argues that, given its ontology of violence, paganism can only respond to violence with a counter-violence of its own. Political and social thus do not rest on peaceful donation or harmony but on the threat and actual practice of violence. This view could be refined by introducing redemptive history.…
Robert Louis Wilken has a very fine piece on the “church’s way of speaking” in the Aug/Sept issue of First Things. He points out that the church’s faith is not merely “doctrinal propositions, creedal affirmations, and moral codes” but “a world of discourse that comes to us in language of…
Kierkegaard: “Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close . . . We would be sunk if it were not for Christian scholarship! Priase be to everyone who works…
Ephesians 1:7, 13-14: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace . . . In Him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in Him…
Almost from the beginning of the university in the late Middle Ages, students have formed a community of their own, set off from the surrounding community. Sometimes this division of town and gown erupted in literal battles. As recently as the late 1960s, students in various universities in Europe and…
This comment comes from Burke’s “Letter to a Noble Lord,” addressed to the Duke of Bedford and the Earl of Lauderdale. He is warning that “the rude inroad of Gallic tumult” will turn on any English nobles who support it: “With them insurrection is the most sacred of revolutionary duties…
Showing page 1955 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
