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Writing

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

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Hermeneutics

The Complexity of Biblical Allusion

There is no question about the fact that the book of Deuteronomy is full of literary allusion. But there is a serious problem, even a paradox, of understanding how that allusion works. To begin with, if we assume that Deuteronomy was written by Moses — with some editorial emendations added…

by Ralph Allan SmithJanuary 23, 2018
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Culture

The Artificial Resurrection

Genesis and Genetics in Blade Runner 2049 The power of science fiction, and what’s positive about it, is that you’re able to experience the worst-case scenario without actually having to live it. (Actor Ryan Gosling, who plays Officer “K”) (Warning: The following analysis contains spoilers for both Blade Runner films.)…

by Mike BullJanuary 18, 2018
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Biblical Studies

The Battle of Gog and Magog

The battle of Gog and Magog is found in Ezekiel 38-39. My purpose in this brief essay is to propound an explanation for this passage that I have not encountered in any of my commentaries, but that makes more sense to me than any other. I offer it here in…

by James B. JordanJanuary 16, 2018
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Deep Hope

I. Varlam Shalamov in Kolyma Tales describes his experience of the Gulag, where he spent more than a dozen of years. In a story titled The Life of Engineer Kipreev Shalamov reflects on the theme of hope in the life of a prisoner: “Hope always shackles the convict. Hope is…

by Bogumil JarmulakJanuary 11, 2018
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Biblical Theology

Abram’s 318 Men

Genesis 14:14 says that Abram mustered his trained men, “born in his house,” to rescue Lot, and gives their number as 318. It is clear that the precise number is provided for some reason, but what is it? S. Gevirtz notes that 318 is the sum of all the prime…

by James B. JordanJanuary 9, 2018
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Biblical Studies

The Flying Scroll

And he said to me, "What do you see?" And I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits" (Zechariah 5:2). Immediately following his vision of the outpouring of the Spirit upon the restoration community (4:1-14), Zechariah saw a flying scroll. The…

by Peter LeithartJanuary 4, 2018

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Science

The Sense of Being Stared At

Rupert Sheldrake’s latest book, The Sense of Being Stared At , is full of amusing and entertaining oddities, as Sheldrake continues his assault on reductionistic modern science. At the outset of a treatment of “paranormal” phenomena, Sheldrake points out that such things as telepathy are “para-normal” only if we have…

December 7, 2003

Incarnation and God’s Lordship

The incarnation is no contradiction of God’s transcendence or sovereignty. Never think of Christmas, the incarnation, in any way as a qualification of God’s sovereignty, His Lordship. We shouldn’t say: Yes, God is sovereign Lord, who does as He pleases; but He is ALSO, in ADDITION, the God who has…

December 7, 2003

Incarnation and God’s Lordship

The incarnation is no contradiction of God’s transcendence or sovereignty. Never think of Christmas, the incarnation, in any way as a qualification of God’s sovereignty, His Lordship. We shouldn’t say: Yes, God is sovereign Lord, who does as He pleases; but He is ALSO, in ADDITION, the God who has…

December 7, 2003

Eucharistic Meditation, December 7

Eucharistic Meditation for Second Sunday in Advent: Luke 22:20 Martin Luther said that the Supper is the gospel. That’s true in a lot of different ways, but one way that it is true is that in the Supper we see and experience the reality of “God for us.” That’s what…

December 7, 2003

Exhortation, December 7

Exhortation for December 7: Christmas is a few weeks away, and that means food, lots of food, lots of rich food. It means candy and candy canes and nuts and chocolate and more chocolate, always chocolate. It means parties and feasts, and then more parties and feasts. It means drinking…

December 7, 2003

Advent and Election

Picking up on thoughts on Romans 2, some additional reflections on Advent, and reading further in Church Dogmatics 2.2: Here is the gospel of election, of the decree, that Jesus Christ was, from all eternity, elected and chosen as the true Israel of God, to ensure that God’s name would…

December 7, 2003

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