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Acts

Journeys of the Prophets in Luke-Acts

In an earlier paper 1 I argued that the story of Jonah belongs in the book of KINGS. Jonah and the unnamed Judean prophet in 1K13 are paired by the author through literary links. The Judean prophet travels longitudinally to confront national paganism and is killed but not swallowed by…

by Scott FairbanksNovember 15, 2022
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Biblical Theology

The Liturgical Day and the Eschatological Day

The Scriptures have much to say about “the day.” “This is the day that the Lord has made,” sings the Psalmist (Psalm 118:24). But what exactly is the day ? Or, more broadly, what even is a day? Days make up human life like water, light, and air. There’s no…

by Jackson ShepardNovember 8, 2022
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John

Worship in Spirit and Truth

According to the Westminster Confession of Faith 21:5, “God is to be worshipped everywhere, in spirit and truth, …” A similar phrase is found in the OPC’s Directory for Public Worship (II.6). In my experience in the OPC and other Reformed churches, the phrase is often interpreted to mean that…

by Brian NolderNovember 1, 2022
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Genesis

Through New Eyes: Eve's Desire and Adam's Rule

Introduction In Genesis 3:16, after the fall, God said that Eve would “desire” her husband and that her husband would “rule” over her. It is popular for Christians to interpret Eve's desire as sinful, that she would try to usurp her husband's authority. Likewise, some interpret Adam's rule as sinful,…

by Adam McIntoshOctober 25, 2022
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American Culture

LGBTQ+ Is Not Enough! — TMPZ+

White Western/Christian society has long discriminated against lesbians and homosexuals — ever since the days of Moses — who was neither white nor Christian, but that is beside the point — who claimed that God gave him revelation about what a man or woman is and how they should relate…

by Ralph Allan SmithOctober 18, 2022
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Humor

A History of Quiet Times

They Found a Book in a Wall, You Won’t Believe What Happens Next The secret behind the history of quiet times will make your quiet times more effective than ever. One of the enduring mysteries of American Evangelicalism is the question of the source of Quiet Times: A Handbook ,…

by George EdemaOctober 11, 2022

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You, We, and Us in Ephesians 2

“You,” “we” and “us” are interesting in Eph 2: Let’s try “you” = Gentiles and “we” = Jews. This becomes explicit at least by verse 11, and I suggest that we read vv 1-10 in the same way: “You Gentiles were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you formerly…

November 12, 2003

Law on Gentile Hearts

When Paul says that the Gentiles do what the law requires because of the law written in their hearts, who is he talking about? Righteous pagans? Christians (as NT Wright and others have recently argued)? There seems to be an obvious third alternative: That is, Gentiles who are heirs of…

November 12, 2003

“Greek” Again

This from the TDNT on HELLEN: “In Hellenistic Judaism Hellenism was found to be the most dangerous form of paganism, but as yet there is no simple equation of HELLENES and Gentiles. Hellenism is the historically known magnitude of the Greek world with its language, customs and deities . .…

November 12, 2003

“Greek” Again

This from the TDNT on HELLEN: “In Hellenistic Judaism Hellenism was found to be the most dangerous form of paganism, but as yet there is no simple equation of HELLENES and Gentiles. Hellenism is the historically known magnitude of the Greek world with its language, customs and deities . .…

November 12, 2003

“Greek”

What does Paul mean by “Greek”? Though often taken as simply synonymous with “Gentile,” it seems instead to have the more specific force of “Hellene,” someone who is part of the Greco-Roman empire. ETHNOS means simply “nation,” and refers to nations other than Israel. A HELLEN is a member of…

November 12, 2003

“Greek”

What does Paul mean by “Greek”? Though often taken as simply synonymous with “Gentile,” it seems instead to have the more specific force of “Hellene,” someone who is part of the Greco-Roman empire. ETHNOS means simply “nation,” and refers to nations other than Israel. A HELLEN is a member of…

November 12, 2003

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