Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
chris-bair-ndczc5739ck-unsplash
Ephesians

“Be Holy for I am Holy”

Below is an excerpt from Mark Horne’s manuscript from his forthcoming commentary on Ephesians, specifically on Paul’s reference to Christians as “saints” (Ephesians 1:1). “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus.” Paul greets…

by Mark HorneMarch 25, 2025
300129rgsdl
Exodus

The Perishable in the Ark of the Covenant

There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt (2 Chronicles 5:10). When Solomon finally brought the ark of the covenant to the finished temple in…

by Jonathan WhiteMarch 18, 2025
tim-marshall-k2u71wv2ei4-unsplash
Exodus

The Stages of a Man’s Life and the Second Table of the Law

In As You Like It , Shakespeare famously describes the seven ages of a man’s life. The division of man’s life into stages is not an invention by Shakespeare, nor merely a common medieval artifice, but an expression of the real journey taken in life. Shakespeare seems to divide up…

by Ryan HandermannMarch 13, 2025
brent-cox-2plebdf1nba-unsplash
Christology

The Essence of God’s Image

Is there a chief characteristic which best illumines the image of God in Man? What is it exactly that makes Man as a lens through which to see God? Moses thoughtfully and deliberately escorts the reader to the characteristic showcased above all else: humility. Though much ink has been spilled…

by Ben LoveladyMarch 11, 2025
josh-applegate-toksfdmznkg-unsplash
Liturgy

Two Ways of Being Liturgical: A Baptist Response to the High Church Exodus

Note: This essay is adapted from a talk delivered at the Howell E. Jackson Committee conference on “Foundations of Baptist Education,” held at Union University, Oct. 4-5, 2024. It’s no secret that evangelicals are converting to High Church traditions, a term I will use to refer to Anglo-Catholicism, Roman Catholicism,…

by Ryan SinniMarch 4, 2025
raimond-klavins-mdlseox3vzo-unsplash
Icons

Don’t Convert: Icons and Images in the Early Church

In recent years, there has been a flurry of conversions from Protestant Christianity towards Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, at least in part due to their supposed early church heritage relative to Protestantism. In the words of Rod Dreher, a former Methodist who converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, “Many evangelicals seek…

by John CarpenterFebruary 25, 2025

Showing page 12 of 309

See all
See all

Sexual Laws of Leviticus 18

The sexual laws of Leviticus 18 have long been puzzling on a couple of levels. The logic of the arrangement of the laws is difficult to discern; the gaps in the laws seems inexplicable (no prohibition, for instance, of father-daughter incest); and the question of how obedience to these laws…

November 2, 2004

Righteousness in Romans 1

The phrase “righteousness of God” in Romans 1:17 has been the subject of considerable dispute in recent years, with many abandoning a standard Protestant interpretation of the passage (i.e., that the righteousness of God refers to the righteousness that God gives) in favor of a more redemptive-historical understanding (righteousness as…

November 2, 2004

Matthew 8 and Sodomy

Theodore Jennings and Tat-Siong Benny Liew have a curious article in the Fall 2004 issue of JBL . They offer an alternative interpretation of the story of the centurion of Matthew 8, an interpretation that hangs on taking “PAIS” not as “slave” or “son” but as “boy-lover.” They find plenty…

November 2, 2004
Literature

Romanticism and Spain

In a review of Joseph von Eichendorff’s collected works ( TLS , October 1, 2004), Carol Tully points out the fascination of German Romantics for Spain: “For the poets and theoreticians of the Romantic age in German, Spain was somewhere very special indeed. The nation and its culture were eulogized…

November 2, 2004

Two Kinds of Righteousness

Some intriguing quotations from Luther’s treatise on Two Kinds of Righteousness . 1) The first sort is “alien righteousness”: “The first is alien righteousness, that is the righteousness of another, instilled from without. This is the righteousness of Christ by which he justifies though faith, as it is written in…

October 27, 2004

Eucharist Lecture #3

INTRODUCTION Because of the imperfections of the reformation of the Eucharist in the sixteenth century, and because of the alien influences that have affected the practice of the Eucharist in the centuries since, there is much left to do in order to renew the Table. The Reformation must at this…

October 27, 2004

Showing page 2042 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.