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

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Hermeneutics

The Structure of the Joseph Narrative

(Genesis 37:2 – 50:26) A. Generations of Jacob, 37:2a B. Joseph hated by brothers, 37:2b C. Jacob’s discriminatory blessing, 37:3-4 D. Rule over family: vision, 37:5-11 E. Joseph seeks brothers, 37:12-17 F. Joseph "killed," 37:18-36 G. Judah’s sin, ch. 38 H. Imprisonment, though undeserved, ch. 39-40 I. Famine and Pharaoh,…

by James B. JordanJanuary 4, 1999
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Exodus

Crisis Time: Patriarchal Prologue, Part 5

Moses and Jesus The gift of the Father is a son, but we must be ready to give our sons back to Him when it is time. The gift of the Brother is an estate, but we must be ready to give our estates back to Him when it is…

by James B. JordanJanuary 4, 1999
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Ecclesiology

Of The Church

An Exposition of Chapter XXV of the Westminster Confession of Faith I. The Catholic or universal Church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the…

by Mark HorneDecember 5, 1998
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Biblical Horizons

From Plato to NATO: The Idea of the West and Its Critics

From Plato to NATO: The Idea of the West and Its Critics , by David Gress (New York: Free Press, 1998). This book came into my hands after I had finished my series of essays on Western Civilization. It is so good that I was tempted to summarize it in…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998
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American Politics

Buchanan and Free Trade

In a recent issue of the Chalcedon Report (March, 1999), R. J. Rushdoony praises Patrick Buchanan’s book The Great Betrayal (Boston: Little Brown, 1998), a defense of protectionism. Rushdoony claims that the conflict between free trade and tariffs is a religious conflict, and he is correct. Unfortunately and surprisingly, he…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998
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Esther

Crisis Time: Patriarchal Prologue, Part 4

Joseph and Esther The third patriarch was Joseph, and the third phase of pre-gospel history is the Restoration. We have not spent time looking particularly at the Joseph narrative heretofore, because it is different in cast from the Abraham and Jacob ones. There is no explicit promise, fulfillment, and crisis…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998

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Is Anonymity Still a Thing?

T he literary world is atwitter this week with the revelation of the real identity of Elena Ferrante, the pseudonym used by the author of the acclaimed Neopolitan Quartet. Italian journalist Claudio Gatti reported on his months-long investigation in the New York Review . Gatti’s conclusion, based on real estate…

October 7, 2016
Liberalism

Infantilism and Anti-Paternalism

J ohn Milbank and Adrian Pabst ( Politics of Virtue , 17) claim that “politics should revert to its ancient character as a ‘politics of the soul,’ concerned above all to nurture virtuous citizens, just as parents are concerned above all with the character of their children, precisely because they…

October 7, 2016

Disembedding

J ohn Milbank and Adrian Pabst ( Politics of Virtue , 47) observe that the liberal state claims to release “the economic and social spheres to be pre-politically themselves as natural, meaning true to human biological needs and inclinations.” In fact, however, it “politically produces this sphere of man as…

October 7, 2016

Scarcity

S carcity is one of the central premises of economic theory. John Milbank and Adrian Pabst see the premise of scarcity as one of a triad of pessimistic assumptions that found liberal order - the other two are “ontological violence and natural egoism” ( Politics of Virtue , 48). They…

October 7, 2016

Your Brain On Paper

M atthew Crawford ( The World Beyond Your Head ) observes that we can do simple mathematics in our heads. We can even multiply bigger numbers by breaking them down into smaller ones. At some point, though, most of us lost track: “If one has to multiply 356 by 911,…

October 7, 2016

God's Gift to God

1 Chronicles 17 is the Chronicler’s account of the Davidic covenant, Yahweh’s commitment to the Davidic dynasty. In his response to the Lord’s pledge, David summarizes the aims of the exodus (v. 21). Following the Hebrew word order, we can see a somewhat irregular chiasm: A. And what one nation…

October 6, 2016

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