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

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Romans

Notes on Scary Stuff in Romans 9

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on…

by Mark HorneFebruary 5, 2015
lunch-counter
American Politics

Covenants of Exclusion

A hundred years ago, William Warley signed a contract to buy a house in Louisville, Kentucky from Charles Buchanan, a white man. Before closing the sale, Warley, who was black, learned that the lot was subject to a city ordinance barring blacks from occupying the premises if most of the…

by Brendan O'DonnellFebruary 3, 2015
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Literature

The Bard and the Book

I concluded the first essay on this topic by saying that I would introduce three books about Shakespeare and the Bible, but I decided to introduce four instead. The three books become four are: Naseeb Shaheen, Biblical References in Shakespeare’s Plays (London: Associated University Presses, 1999) ; Hannibal Hamlin, The…

by Ralph Allan SmithJanuary 29, 2015
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Augustine

Augustine on Pagan Virtue

My children attend a classical Christian school, situated in the independent “free church” evangelical tradition. Over the past few years they have been growing in their acquaintance with the world of Homer, Plato, Virgil, and Livy. They enjoy it, and I envy it. The school is a great school. My…

by Gerald HiestandJanuary 27, 2015
prodigal-son
Atonement

The Prodigal and the Cross

The Prodigal Son parable (Luke 15) has been a favorite of liberal theologians for a couple of centuries. It seems to be a parable designed for liberal sensibilities: An indulgent, accepting Father; forgiveness extended without a cross; a surly older brother who might represent the "conservative" face of religion who…

by Peter LeithartJanuary 22, 2015
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Ascension

Underground Man, Ascended Man

“I want now to tell you, gentlemen, whether you care to hear it or not, why I could not even become an insect. I tell you solemnly, that I have many times tried to become an insect. But I was not equal even to that. I swear, gentlemen, that to…

by Richard BledsoeJanuary 20, 2015

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May and Postliberalism

T he Guardian devoted a long recent editorial to an analysis of the political outlook of British Prime Minister Theresa May. Whatever Mayism might be, it is not an ideology, not Thatcherism, not David-Cameronian modernizing. For May, Toryism is not “a doctrine but as cultural inclination and a social milieu—the…

January 13, 2017

Trumpism and Paleoconservatism

I n a lengthy, admirably dispassionate New Yorker piece on “Intellectuals for Trump,” Kelefa Sanneh notes that “ Trumpism draws on a political tradition that has often been linked to white identity politics.” He draws particular attention to the work of Samuel Francis, who argued that “America needed a President…

January 13, 2017

China In Africa

I n an interview with Asia Times reporter Doug Tsuruoka, Brookings Fellow and former US Treasury emissary to China David Dollar assesses the scale and impact of Chinese investment in Africa. Overall, Dollar's assessment is bullish: China stabilizes Africa. “China is basically a stabilizing and positive force in Africa. There…

January 13, 2017

Saint Nick

I n his pre-game New Yorker profile of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, Benjamin Wallace-Wells suggests that Saban is an anomaly, perhaps an outmoded one. He starts with Saban's hair: “Men who spend a great deal of time on television tend to cultivate hair styles that look ridiculous in any…

January 13, 2017

Awesome

A t the Atlantic , Matthew Hutson summarizes recent research on the psychology of awe. The executive summary: Awe is good for you. Psychologists have described awe as the experience of encountering something so vast—in size, skill, beauty, intensity, etc.—that we struggle to comprehend it and may even adjust our…

January 13, 2017

Hope in the Hinterlands

J ames Fallows summarizes his findings from a period of travel around the US. It's good news: Erie, Pennsylvania, has a landscape of abandoned factory buildings and a generation of laid-off blue-collar workers who know that their children will never enjoy the security they did at the once-mighty GE locomotive…

January 13, 2017

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