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Writing

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

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Art

Toward a Biblical Definition of Obscenity

My copy of Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1976: not so new, really) defines obscene as (1) "disgusting to the senses; repulsive" and (2) "abhorrent to morality or virtue; specif: designed to incite lust or depravity." Definitions such as this serve a useful purpose only when there is agreement on what…

by Peter LeithartMay 30, 1991
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Biblical Studies

The Abomination of Desolation, Part 1

An Overview Here begins a series of studies in the Abomination of Desolation, or Desolating Sacrilege. This month and next I shall set out an overview of what I regard as the best interpretation of the phenomenon. Later essays will look at it in more detail. (The original form of…

by James B. JordanMay 22, 1991
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Biblical Studies

Advice From a Sojourner, Part 12

29. There are three things that are stately in their march, Even four that are stately when they walk: 30. The lion is mighty among beasts And does not turn back before any, 31. The strutting cock, The male goat, And a king with his army around him. 32. If…

by James B. JordanMay 22, 1991
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Biblical Studies

The Chronology of Ezra & Nehemiah, Part 4

We have seen that it is likely that the Artaxerxes of Ezra-Nehemiah is the same as Darius the Great. If this solution be correct, and I think it is, possibly there is another problem in Ezra that can be resolved by it. In Ezra 4:6 we are told that "in…

by James B. JordanMay 22, 1991
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Biblical Horizons

The Weight of Being

Czech novelist Milan Kundera, though hardly a household name in the English-speaking world, has achieved a certain notoriety in America in recent years, largely on the strength of the English translation and film version of his novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. 1 The Unbearable Lightness of Being — the…

by Peter LeithartMay 6, 1991
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Proverbs

Advice From a Sojourner, Part 11

24. Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise; 25. The ants are not a strong folk, But they prepare their food in the summer; 26. The coneys are not a mighty folk, Yet they make their houses in the rocks; 27. The locusts have no…

by James B. JordanApril 22, 1991

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Abraham’s Faith

I’ve argued in several recent venues that Gen 15 is not the story of Abraham’s conversion. He was a worshiper of God before that time, and Hebrews 11 is explicit that Abraham was a believer from the time he left Ur (or when he left his father’s house). Unless we…

March 14, 2004

Abraham’s Faith

I’ve argued in several recent venues that Gen 15 is not the story of Abraham’s conversion. He was a worshiper of God before that time, and Hebrews 11 is explicit that Abraham was a believer from the time he left Ur (or when he left his father’s house). Unless we…

March 14, 2004
Theology

Accommodation

Accommodation is a way of handling the “problem” of theological language. Since God is the infinite Creator and we are creatures, He can speak to us only by “accommodating” His language to our capacities. This sometimes goes so far as to suggest that God has given us “divine misinformation” in…

March 14, 2004
Theology

The Passion

Leon Wieseltier , not surprisingly, has a blisteringly negative review of Gibson’s film in the March 8 issue of TNR . Along the way, though, Wieseltier’s article is inadvertently insightful. Here is his description of the violence of the torture: “There is only the relentless destruction and dehumanization of a…

March 10, 2004
Science

Darwin’s Worms

The Winter 2004 issue of The Wilson Quarterly also has an article on Darwin’s studies of earthworms, in which Darwin made innovative contributions. Darwin was inspired to study works after a visit to his uncle, Josiah Wedgewood: “Upon arriving, he scarcely had time to put down his hat before Wedgewood…

March 10, 2004
Science

Darwin’s Worms

The Winter 2004 issue of The Wilson Quarterly also has an article on Darwin’s studies of earthworms, in which Darwin made innovative contributions. Darwin was inspired to study works after a visit to his uncle, Josiah Wedgewood: “Upon arriving, he scarcely had time to put down his hat before Wedgewood…

March 10, 2004

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