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Writing

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

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Authority

Eldership and Maturity, (Part 2)

(continued from previous issue) Between 30 and 50 What did the Levites do between age 30 and 50? Numbers 4 shows us that they carried the house of God on their shoulders. Lifting up the Lord is an image of worship in the Bible, and David’s restructuring of the Levites…

by James B. JordanJuly 8, 1995
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Romans

The Great Hangover, Parts 1-2

When God created the world, He created two lands: the Throne-land of Eden (entered through the sanctuary-garden, the Garden of Eden), and the Outlying Lands, such as the lands of Havilah and Cush. This essentially bi-polar world is the world of the Old Creation, and it continued to exist until…

by James B. JordanJuly 5, 1995
Architecture

Concerning Colors, Architecture, and Sacraments

Color is inescapable, except for those who are color blind. In our church architecture, we either employ color schemes that are helpful to worship, or we employ color schemes that are not helpful. Of course, this assertion merely begs the question: What color schemes are most helpful. God showed interest…

by James B. JordanJuly 4, 1995
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Baptism

Jesus’ Baptism Into Priesthood

As I noted in an earlier article in Rite Reasons , the Church Fathers Tertullian, Ambrose, and Augustine all claimed that baptism inducts the baptized person into membership in the royal priesthood of the church, and Thomas Aquinas said that baptism, by imprinting an indelible “character” on the soul, confers…

by Peter LeithartMay 26, 1995
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Baptism

Renewing Circumcision

When the Aaronic priests were ordained, the blood of the ram of "filling” was placed on the lobe of the right ear, the right thumb, and the right big toe (Lev. 8:22-24). Similarly, the cleansing rite for a leper included smearing the right ear lobe, thumb, and big toe with…

by Peter LeithartMay 14, 1995
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Daniel

A Correction on Daniel 7

In my Preliminary Commentary on Daniel , which many of you have obtained, I argued in chapter 13 that the four monsters called up from the sea by the evangelistic work of the four winds (the saints) represented the deep hatred of God that evangelistic work brings to the fore…

by James B. JordanMay 7, 1995

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Esau and Jacob Redux

When Bathsheba gets word that David’s son Adonijah is making himself king, she gets worried (1 Kings 1). She expects her own son Solomon to be king, and knows that she and Solomon are going to be “offenders” if Adonijah gets away with it. So she and the prophet Nathan…

December 4, 2014

Of Mules and Kings

Solomon rides to his coronation on a mule (1 Kings 1:38). It’s not just any mule, but David’s mule (v. 44). Even before Solomon is on David’s throne, he is sitting in David’s seat, in David’s saddle-throne on the back of David’s mule. Why a mule? Mules are double, part…

December 4, 2014

At Gihon

Solomon’s coronation takes place at Gihon (1 Kings 1:38), a water source near Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 32:30). The name itself means “a gushing, a bursting forth.” It’s an appropriate place to make a king, because the king himself is a source of living water to his people. A king rules…

December 4, 2014

Theopolis Institute Accreditation

A press release from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accounability: BIRMINGHAM, AL – The ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) announced today the accreditation of Theopolis Institute of Birmingham, AL. ECFA accreditation is based on the ECFA Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship™ , including financial accountability, transparency, sound board governance…

December 4, 2014

Silent Voices

Robert Okin’s Silent Voices is a beautiful, disturbing, sad book. A practicing psychiatrist, Okin spent time on the streets of San Francisco getting to know the homeless of that city. The book includes some general analysis of the nexus between homelessness and mental illness. Tens of thousands of mentally ill…

December 3, 2014

Being With, Being Towards

The appendix to Stanslas Breton’s The Word and the Cross is an interview of Breton with Richard Kearney. Breton reveals that his earliest intellectual formation came through his interest in the Latin language, enhanced by his exposure in seminary to the scholastic logic of relations, the “scholastic emphasis on professional…

December 3, 2014

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