Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
nikko-macaspac-6snbwyfwuhk-unsplash
Counseling

Two Solutions for the Problem of Pain

C. S. Lewis tackled what is perhaps the most difficult and oft-heard objection to the Christian God in his classic, The Problem of Pain. 1 “If God were good,” Lewis restates the problem, “He would wish to make His creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty, He would be…

by Alexander WhitakerNovember 19, 2019
james-jordan-from-garden-to-city-part-2-3
Luke

Jesus’ Lamentations

There is nothing incongruous about assuming that Jesus lamented over His people on three separate occasions and that on two of those occasions, He expressed Himself in almost identical language. Two lamentations are recorded in the Gospel of Luke and are clearly marked as distinct. They are also expressed in…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 14, 2019
heavenly-city-2
Biblical Theology

Sacramental Representation and the Created Order

In the Anglican Church in North America, the question of women’s ordination to the priesthood continues to be discussed with each diocese left to decide its own practice. A recurring point of debate is how we are to understand the priest’s representative role in the liturgy. Emily McGowin, in a…

by Blake JohnsonNovember 12, 2019
screen-shot-2019-11-11-at-10-02-39-pm-2
Theopolis News

Press Release: New Board Members!

The Theopolis Institute recently added two new members to its Board of Directors, Josh Rollins and Sarah Moore. Josh has recently served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for MeTEOR Education, and was previously Chief Financial Officer at MeTEOR. He brings a wealth of finance experience, and will take…

by TheopolisNovember 12, 2019
screen-shot-2019-11-05-at-7-09-40-am
Pastoral Ministry

Seven Theses on Practical Unity

Since moving to Englewood, Colorado, I have been blessed to be involved in the nuts-and-bolts practice of Church unity. The pastors here talk about the One Church in Englewood, and mean it. They love each other, pray fervently for each other, and long for the unity they enjoy to spread…

by Tim NicholsNovember 5, 2019
screen-shot-2019-10-29-at-7-03-29-am-2
Language

How to Use Bad Words

One day, the author Samuel Clemens cut himself shaving. He was an inveterate foul-mouth and on this occasion recited the entirety of his iniquitous vocabulary. When he was finished, his wife, hoping to shock him, repeated every word he said. Clemens responded, "You have the words, dear, but you don't…

by Remy WilkinsOctober 29, 2019

Showing page 73 of 309

See all

Showing page 39 of 43

See all

Love Renews the World

Love has power to transform the world and lovers. "Love is the answer to the despair in which a reality is lost that knows nothing other than law, fate, and will" (74). Rosenstock-Huessy makes this claim in his Sociology , but he's not being gauzily sentimental. Love takes public form…

April 6, 2018
Trinity

Homoousios

What did the fathers who formulated the Nicene Creed mean to assert when they described the relationship between Father and Son with the term homoouios , "same substance"? In what sense "substance" and in what sense "same"? Surveying the usage of this terminology before Nicea, Christopher Stead ( Divine Substance…

April 5, 2018

Proclaiming the Mystery

Through the administration of the mystery, the manifold wisdom of God is made know through the church to rulers and authorities in the heavenly places (Ephesians 3:9-10). The “mystery” is something hidden in God for ages past and now revealed in Christ. In Ephesians, the mystery is the union of…

April 4, 2018

Secularism and Critique

Public discourse, it is often argued, has to be conducted in common language, and religious language isn't common. Religion has to be left in the "vestibule." Where does that perception come from? asks Charles Taylor . Taylor traces it to an epistemological distinction: "There is secular reason, which everyone can…

April 3, 2018

God from His Works

Stephen Holmes ( Quest for the Trinity ) summarizes Gregory of Nyssa's response to Eunomius's use of divine names: "Gregory is scathing about Eunomius's assumption that the divine essence can be adequately named. His arguments on this point are often unsatisfactory, turning regularly on the assumption that the same divine…

April 3, 2018

Rawls, Tribalist

Lenn Goodman's essay in Theology and the Soul of the Liberal State presents a devastating critique of Rawlsian political liberalism. The fundamental issue, Goodman claims, is that Rawls treats individual decisions as public acts, and therefore believes that liberalism needs to curtail the influence of ideologies even in the voting…

April 2, 2018

Showing page 81 of 2212

Browse by Category

In Medias Res

Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.

Donate

Theopolis is nearly 100% donor-supported. Consider joining us on our mission.