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History

Congregational Theocracy: That Time Theocrats Ran Puritan New England

Timon Cline wrote recently that “theonomists” didn’t run Puritan New England. 1 He is correct, in his major thesis, that the claim that “Puritanism and the natural law tradition are antithetical” is “wildly ahistorical.” Mr. Cline demonstrates that Puritans repeatedly extolled natural law. Besides the Puritan sources Mr. Cline mustered,…

by John CarpenterAugust 9, 2022
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Mark

The Land of the Walking Trees

The Church is the land of the walking trees. In Mark’s Gospel, the identity of Jesus is slowly and progressively revealed. Though St. Mark announces at the beginning of his narrative that Jesus Christ is “the Son of God” (1:1), this is a reality that must be spoon-fed to His…

by Jackson ShepardAugust 4, 2022
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Ephesians

The Significance of Ephesians (with a comparison to Romans)

All Scripture is of ultimate significance as the word of God, but it may be helpful to think about what makes a book (in this case, a letter) possibly unique within the canon. In this case, the “general” nature of Ephesians should stand out, but it often is not recognized…

by Mark HorneAugust 2, 2022
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Ecclesiastes

A Time to Kill (Ecclesiastes 3:3)

Where do we draw the lines between what is right and wrong? This question is fundamental to civilization, fundamental to a free society. To put this question in the bluntest and most offense terms: if there is a time to kill — which Solomon says there is — whom shall…

by Ralph Allan SmithJuly 28, 2022
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Biblical Horizons

Broadening Our View of the Trinity

This article was originally posted in May of 1994. We speak of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The early Church tended to speak of Him as Father, Word, and Spirit. In this short essay, I want to suggest some other ways to think of the Trinity, ways that…

by James B. JordanJuly 26, 2022
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Jonah

Journeying Prophets in Kings

Jonah’s Home The story of JONAH belongs in the book of KINGS. JONAH balances the story of the unnamed Judean prophet (1K13) in KINGS’ literary structure. Each story describes a journeying prophet that crosses land or sea to confront a wayward king. The two stories are located during the reigns…

by Scott FairbanksJuly 21, 2022

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Media

Attributed Celebrity

Chris Rojek describes celebrity as “the attribution of glamorous or notorious status to an individual within the public sphere.” He recognizes there are other forms of celebrity: the “ascribed” celebrity of inherited status (Prince William, eg), and the “achieved” celebrity of an accomplished musician or writer or actor or sports…

August 17, 2007
Theology

Barth and Dogmatics

Dogmatics, according to Barth (CD, I, 1), is the correction, clarification, and criticism of church proclamation by measuring proclamation against the Word of God in the Bible. Dogmatics is a second-order form of thought and reflection. It is not the same as the proclamation of the church; it is a…

August 16, 2007
Theology

Theology’s false humility

I’ve read this paragraph from the introduction to Milbank’s Theology and Social Theory dozens of times, but it’s still thrilling. “The pathos of modern theology is its false humility. For theology, this must be a fatal disease, because once theology surrenders its claim to be a meta-discourse, it cannot any…

August 16, 2007
Theology

Theology’s false humility

I’ve read this paragraph from the introduction to Milbank’s Theology and Social Theory dozens of times, but it’s still thrilling. “The pathos of modern theology is its false humility. For theology, this must be a fatal disease, because once theology surrenders its claim to be a meta-discourse, it cannot any…

August 16, 2007
Theology

Modernity’s protective shield

If “we have never been modern,” why do we all say we have? Why do we say we’re living in an iron cage, that the world has been secularized and disenchanted, that religion has passed its sell-by date? Perhaps we just like to beat ourselves up. Or, perhaps the notion…

August 15, 2007
Theology

Modernity’s protective shield

If “we have never been modern,” why do we all say we have? Why do we say we’re living in an iron cage, that the world has been secularized and disenchanted, that religion has passed its sell-by date? Perhaps we just like to beat ourselves up. Or, perhaps the notion…

August 15, 2007

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