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Writing

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

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Psalms

Reimagining Psalm 23

The Bible depicts Man’s transformation from beas t to priest in and through Jesus Christ. Two sets of people have their garments designed by God in the Torah: Adam and Eve and priests (of which the High Priest’s garments garner most attention). The first garment is beastly, while the second…

by Ben LoveladyApril 19, 2023
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Church Government

The Rise and Dangers of Presbyterialism

I became the pastor of Westminster Bible Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky soon after completing my Ph.D. in church history. On paper, it was the ideal church for me. Even the name, I thought smacked of my preferences: the Westminster Confession with idealistic Biblicism. I didn’t know it had been,…

by John CarpenterApril 11, 2023
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Luke

An Easter Meditation

Why do we believe in the resurrection of Jesus? It itself, it is utterly unbelievable, as the two disciples on the road to Emmaus also concluded (Luke 24:19-24). But why is it so unbelievable? Are there not many stories of a dead man or woman coming back to life? Stories…

by Ralph Allan SmithApril 9, 2023
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Hope

Political Hope in the Negative World (Part 2)

In the first installment of this two-part essay, we provided a rough outline of a thick theological account of Christian hope. We concluded with mention of important critiques of such traditional views on hope, that by orienting Christians to place their ultimate hope in God and the future consummation of…

by James WoodApril 5, 2023
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Hope

Political Hope in the Negative World (Part 1)

Dare we hope in the midst of “ negative world ”? The idea of the “negative world” has recently served as a helpful framework for many to come to terms with the fact that Western societies (particularly the United States) are aggressively turning against their Christian roots and moral values.…

by James WoodMarch 28, 2023
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Biblical Studies

Luke’s Gospel of Seven

In his prologue, Luke tells us that his gospel history is an “orderly account” (1:3). Although generally chronological, time is not the only or the main organizing principle for his history. To argue for Luke’s main theme would take up too much space, but instead I want to explore one…

by Ryan HandermannMarch 24, 2023

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Theology

Augustine and Cultural Diversity

Augustine has a sense of cultural diversity and historical change usually associated with post-Renaissance western thought. In Book 3 of On Christian Teaching he warns against the mistake of taking a literal statement in Scripture as figurative, and offers this test to determine what is literal and what figure: “anything…

September 9, 2005

Contradictions of heroism

In an essay on manhood and heroism in Homer, Michael Clarke describes Achilles’ towering rage as he returns to the field to avenge Patroclus, and asks: “is Achilles’ heroic excellence fulfilled or undone by his wildness as he moves towards death? The poem forbids us to frame an easy answer.…

September 8, 2005

Odyssey as Wisdom Literature

Proclussaid of the Odyssey, “Many are the wanderings and circlings of the soul: one among imaginings, one in opinions and one before these in understanding. But only the life according to NOUS has stability and this is the mystical harbor of the soul to which, on the one hand, the…

September 8, 2005

Sin and Impurity

Milgrom says that the “purification offering” deals with impurity and not with sin. Kiuchi says that it deals also with sin, suggesting that the “problem of terminology arises from the fact that the cultic law distinguishes between physical uncleanness and . . . (sin), whereas . . . (sin) itself…

September 8, 2005

Made sin

John Kleinig suggests in his commentary on Leviticus that 2 Cor 5:21 refers to Jesus’ fulfillment of the rites of Leviticus 4-5: “Even though Jesus was singless, God offered Jesus as the ‘sin offering’ for human sin. In this case Paul employs the term HAMARTIA alone, which the LXX also…

September 8, 2005

Sermon outline

INTRODUCTION Ephesians is about the formation of Christian culture, or, in Paul’s terminology, a corporate Christian “walk.” Once, we walked, zombie-like, in death and sin (2:1), but God raised us in Christ to walk in good works (2:10). We are called to walk in a manner worthy of our calling…

September 7, 2005

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