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Writing

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

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Poetry

Seed-bearing Fruit

Ten-thousand ‘yeses’ and a single ‘no.’ From bough it dangles, beauty to the eyes, For belly, food, a fruit to make one wise. Too soon, they eat; they know; the leaves they sew, But, oh! the Love who asks, “Where did you go?” Confessions flow from under leaf’s disguise; A…

by Marc HaysAugust 16, 2023
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Augustine

Eternal Life Chiasm in John's Gospel

In his masterful work, De Doctrina Christiana , Augustine of Hippo writes: I would have learned men to know that the authors of our Scriptures use all those forms of expression which grammarians call by the Greek name tropes, and use them more freely and in greater variety than people…

by Doug PonderAugust 15, 2023
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Ruth

Lot, Ruth, and the Work of New Creation

“In accordance with the creation pattern, God sovereignly took hold of Adam and put him to sleep. Then God divided Adam by removing flesh and bone from his side, and restructured humanity into male and female. When Adam awoke, God distributed the woman to him. Adam gazed upon her and…

by Josh JensenAugust 8, 2023
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Culture

The Barbie Movie

Greta Gerwig’s new film, Barbie, has been criticized, probably rightly, for having too many ideas and layers to properly bring in any for a landing. Gerwig herself thought the script was so “ wild and anarchic ” that she was surprised WB agreed to make it. Many see it as…

by Robin HarrisAugust 1, 2023
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Matthew

Why Does John the Baptizer Look Like a Camel?

“Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey” (Matt. 3:4). Why is John the Baptizer clothed with camel’s hair? Why does he want to look like a camel? Or at least: what does he expect…

by Jeff MeyersJuly 26, 2023
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Literature

Stinking, Rotten Ministers of the Gospel

In the second greatest story ever told, The Brothers Karamazov , Fyodor Dostoyevsky tells the story of a family plagued by the lasting legacy of sin’s destructive power and the all-surpassing truth that God is Light and in Him is no darkness. The young protagonist, Alyosha, is a monk committed…

by Garrett SoucyJuly 18, 2023

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Eschatological merit

Augustine said that in crowning the merit of human works, he is simply crowning his own gifts: “si ergo Dei dona sunt bona merita tua, non Deus coronat merita tua tanquam merita tua, sed tanquam dona sua.” McGrath points out that this axiom concerning merit is set by Augustine in…

April 26, 2006
Literature

Prime mover

Dante understood Aquinas: The prime mover is not pushy; He/it is not the first domino that knocks down all the others. He is Beautiful and Beauty in Himself, Glorious and Triune Glory, and by His beauty He arouses desire, which moves us toward Him. That is why people in the…

April 25, 2006
Theology

Background to Marion, Being Given

INTRODUCTION Jean-Luc Marion is one of the major figures in contemporary French Philosophy, and particularly a leader in French phenomenology. As introduction to Marion’s work on gift and givenness, we’ll be looking at the key figures and ideas of phenomenology, the “theological turn” in French phenomenology, and other work of…

April 25, 2006

Sacraments and Soteriology

Justification, Protestants confess, is a declaration of God as judge. But is this ever audible? Where? Is the judgment ever publicly promulgated? Is it merely the secret declaration in the heart? And if so, how can we be sure that the declaration we’re hearing is God’s voice of commendation and…

April 25, 2006

Acts and Romans

The canonical ordering of the NT does not carry the authority of the text itself, but it is not irrelevant. (Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, among others, has shown that the canonical order of the gospels links them together into a unified literary unit.) With this in mind, it is not irrelevant that…

April 24, 2006

Sermon outline, Third Sunday of Easter

INTRODUCTION Because of Israel’s faithlessness, and her hardness toward Yahweh’s prophets, He sends Assyria in to remove Israel and resettle the land with Gentiles. The arc of Israel’s history comes to a great, tragic conclusion, with Israel removed from her land. THE TEXT “In the twelfth year of Ahaz king…

April 24, 2006

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