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

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Biblical Studies

Esther and Ruth, Grain and Fruit

1 Introduction ESTHER and RUTH are similar stories. Each details the changing fortunes of a young woman. Each begins with the protagonist in a destitute situation. The fortunes of each reverses by story’s end. Intriguing parallels exist: Scenes : The stories transition through a similar set of scenes, see Table…

by Scott FairbanksApril 29, 2021
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Biblical Studies

A Hermeneutic of Riddles

Maybe this is not the best venue to reveal that I sometimes wonder about all that deep exegesis: the chiasms, the numerology, vowel modifications, the typological labyrinthes, the innumerable exodus patterns that are so often limned by Peter Leithart or James Jordan or Alastair Roberts. Maybe it’s because I am…

by John AhernApril 27, 2021
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Culture

Building New Watchtowers

In 1923, J. Gresham Machen wrote the book he is perhaps most remembered for, “Christianity and Liberalism”. Machen wrote it to help map out the cultural currents that were impacting the church with the hope that the church could be vigilant against the dangers theological liberalism posed to historic Christianity.…

by Steve GreggApril 22, 2021
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Matthew

THE ANNUNCIATION TO JOSEPH | (Matthew 1:18-25)

March 25, nine months before Christmas, is the date that is often associated with the Annunciation to Mary, Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that, by the coming of the Spirit upon her, she would conceive and bear the heir to David’s throne, whose kingdom would have no end. The story is…

by John BarachApril 20, 2021
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Book Review

Book Review: Race and Covenant: Recovering the Religious Roots for American Reconciliation

Race and Covenant: Recovering the Religious Roots for American Reconciliation , edited by Gerald R. McDermott (Grand Rapids, MI: Acton Institute), 278 pp. A group of notable thinkers gathered to discuss biblical resources for addressing racial conflict in America in February 2019 at Samford University in Birmingham. Race and Covenant…

by Ben PetersonApril 15, 2021
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Matthew

Full Preterism’s Fatal Fractal Fracture

“Covenant Creationism,” which might be the most consistent brand of full preterism, is merely dispensationalism turned inside-out. The main cause of disputes over the interpretation of the Scriptures is the practice of interpreting texts in isolation. This applies not only to interpreting a passage without reference to other passages, but…

by Mike BullApril 13, 2021

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Shakespeare on Sacraments

In their essay on the Eucharist in Cultural Reformations , David Aers and Sarah Beckwith notes that “one of the central images in the exhortations to Holy Communion in the Book of Common Prayer and also in the ‘Homily of the Worthy Reception’ is the image of the heavenly banquet…

May 13, 2016

Reformation Crucifixion

In the second volume of his study of the cross in Western art ( The Triumph of the Cross ), Richard Viladesau notes that “the period immediately preceding the Reformation was one in which Christ's passion was treated with graphic emphasis on the violence of the events and on the…

May 13, 2016

Worthy Reception

In a contribution to Cultural Reformations , David Aers and Sarah Beckwith explain that “One of the chief reasons why Cranmer and other reformers thought the rejection of transubstantiation was so essential was that it negated the act of repentance and reception. If the body of Christ was e x…

May 12, 2016

Augustinian Eucharist

David Aers and Sarah Beckwith argue that Augustine's interpretation of John 6 cannot be understood in a Zwinglian or Wycliffite sense (essay in Cultural Reformations , 153). Augustine does say “Believe and you have eaten,” but Augustine's framework for saying this is corporate and ecclesial. As evidence, they summarize Augustine's…

May 12, 2016

Disenchantment and the Sacrifice of Intellect

Theology often lays claim to scientific status, Weber observes, but in doing so does something that no genuine science does: It operates with substantive presuppositions, especially the assumption that the cosmos is meaningful. In “Science as a Vocation,” he writes, “All theology represents an intellectual rationalization of the possession of…

May 12, 2016

From the Mountain

John is carried by the Spirit to a “great and high mountain” (Revelation 21:9-10), where he sees new Jerusalem descend from heaven. It's the last mountain in Bible, in line with Eden, Sinai, Zion, Moriah, Tabor, Olives. The link with Sinai is especially important, but not because this is a…

May 11, 2016

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