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

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John

Moses & Jesus: Friends or Foes?

A Look at John 1.17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The above quotation is John 1.17 and comes from the New King James Version of the Bible. It is quite similar to the original translation in the old King James…

by Mark HorneJune 6, 2002
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Christology

Grace Apart From Sin

And the Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. There is nothing faulty in this translation (New American Standard Bible); Jesus was the recipient of the grace of God His Father from whom He is eternally begotten and with…

by Mark HorneJune 6, 2002
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Philemon

Flesh and Lord: Philemon 15 & 16

When Paul wrote to Philemon asking him to forgive his runaway slave, Onesimus, he gave Philemon an interesting perspective on how God used Onesimus’ action to bring about his conversion: For perhaps he was for this reason parted from you for a while, that you should have him back forever,…

by Mark HorneJune 6, 2002
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Covenant

Covenant of Works?

Adam’s good works were acceptable to God. He could do them and God would receive them. Our own “good” works, our very best works, require the forgiveness of God and the continual intercession of Jesus Christ due to their impurity. Thus, it is appropriate to describe God’s covenant with Adam…

by Mark HorneJune 6, 2002
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Mark

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?

In Mark’s Gospel we read: “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and ‘He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons’” (3.22). Jesus replied in part, “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of…

by Mark HorneJune 6, 2002
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Ecclesiology

A Visionary Ecclesiology

A Primer for Church Members on the Nature and Functions of the Body of Christ Introductory Note: I intend this paper to serve as something of a “user’s guide” for church members, though church leaders may also find it valuable in developing vision statements for their local bodies. I have…

by Rich LuskJune 5, 2002

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The Limits of Brotherhood

Andrew Pettegree ( Reformation and the Culture of Persuasion , 201-2) describes the post-Reformation efforts to cultivate a sense of brotherhood and solidarity among Protestant Christians who had rejected medieval rites and practices of kinship. He quotes a “disenchanted defector” who denied brotherhood “to all who did not adhere to…

December 9, 2016

Up From Flatland

G eography has historically imagined a flat world: “territory, sovereignty and human experience have long been flattened by a paradoxical reliance on flat maps—and, more recently, aerial and satellite images—projected or imaged from the disembodied bird's or God's eye view from high above,” writes Stephen Graham in Verical (1). He…

December 9, 2016

Post-Enlightenment Apocalyptic

A ccording to Cyril O'Regan, von Balthasar saw Hegel and Heidegger as the great exemplars of post-Enlightenment mis-remembering ( Anatomy of Misremembering ). Misremembering is not the same as forgetting. To misremember involves a will to overcome forgetfulness, but at the same time distorts what is remembered. Misremembering overcomes amnesia,…

December 9, 2016

Monstrous Revelations

N ear the beginning of his Religion and its Monsters , Timothy Beal points to the etymological hint that monsters might have some inherent connection to religion: “the monster's religious import is rooted in the word itself: ‘monster' derives from the Latin mon­s trum , which is related to the…

December 9, 2016

Come out!

“C ome out from her!” says a heavenly voice to the saints (Revelation 18). Come out from Babylon, the harlot city, the doomed city. Commentators hasten to spiritualize: The command doesn't require a change of place but only a metaphorical exodus, an exodus of the heart. It's a flight from…

December 8, 2016

Faith in a Time of Crisis

K ing Ahaz of Judah is in a panic. Israel and Aram have allied to resist Assyria's expansion, and they are pressuring Ahaz to join the alliance. If he refuses, they will overthrow Judah and replace him with another king. The result may be the end of the Davidic line.…

December 8, 2016

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