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Writing

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

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Anthropology

What Irenaeus’ Christology Teaches Us about the Goodness of our Bodies

The Christian tradition has always had an uneasy relationship with the materiality of creation. Dirt, liquid, sex, blood, and bodies—the world and the flesh stand in company with the Devil as two of the three great enemies of the saints. Mundus, caro, et diabolus , as the old Latin saying…

by Gerald HiestandSeptember 13, 2018
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Biblical Studies

The Second Death in Liturgy and History

Since the destruction of Jerusalem was an event of earth-shattering covenantal significance, what might be the meaning of the subsequent tragic events at the desert fortress of Masada? In Hebrew, the name Masada means “strong foundation or support,” from a root meaning “to hunt, lie in wait for prey.” Located…

by Mike BullSeptember 11, 2018
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How to Worship

Cross My Heart

Take a long look at the photo above. To whom is this woman praying? It is hard to tell, isn’t it? Suppose we watch her for a while. We may see her bow low to the floor. Her lips may move, though perhaps it is too low for us to…

by Christopher KouSeptember 6, 2018
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Biblical Theology

The Problem of Psalm 137

Psalm 137 is widely regarded as one of the meanest of the imprecatory psalms. Certainly as we read it it is seems to be a song of pure vengeance. The exiles in Babylon, in grief over the judgment that Babylon has brought upon them, pray for the destruction of that…

by James B. JordanSeptember 4, 2018
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Course Recap

A Week with Esther Meek: Course Recap

Forty men and women came from all over the United States to attend the 2018 Trinity Term course at Theopolis. Pastors, students, teachers, an electrician, a city planner, and others from a variety of denominations spent five days at Beeson Divinity School studying covenant epistemology under the tutelage of philosopher…

by TheopolisAugust 31, 2018
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Matthew

Galilee of the Gentiles

Matthew records that Jesus "withdrew" to Galilee to begin His public ministry there after He "heard that John had been delivered up" (Mt. 4:12). Matthew’s typically matter-of-fact style veils the truly remarkable character of Jesus’ withdrawal. Matthew has been presenting Jesus as the Messiah, the Seed of Abraham and Son…

by Peter LeithartAugust 31, 2018

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Not Nicene Christianity

Wright ( How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels ) claims that “the creeds were remarkable, a unique postbiblical innovation to meet a fresh need. They have functioned as the badge and symbol of the Christian family . . . for a millennium and a half. They…

March 11, 2013

Substitutionary Atonement

In his recent How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels , N.T. Wright argues that many forms of atonement theology detach the cross from its proper context in the gospels - that is, the context of God’s coming kingdom. He finds that many “devour works” that deal…

March 11, 2013

Law and History

The first of Pastor Ralph Smith’s multi-part series of studies on Deuteronomy is up on the Trinity House site. Ralph is the Pastor of the Mitaka Evangelical Church of Tokyo.

March 11, 2013

Your God Reigns, Isaiah 52

INTRODUCTION Zion has called on Yahweh to awake (Isaiah 51:9), and Yahweh has responded by rousing Jerusalem from her sleep (51:17). Now, Yahweh rouses Zion to wake up to get ready for release and a wedding (52:1). THE TEXT “Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your…

March 11, 2013

Marriage at the Movies

Romantic comedies and dramas have long been Hollywood staples, but Jeanine Basinger’s I Do and I Don’t reviews the alternative tradition of films about marriage. As Judith Newman says in her NYT review , the trick to making marriage dramatic is to create problems for the married couple. Newman writes:…

March 9, 2013
Politics

Conspiratorial Hobbes

In his TLS review of Noel Malcolm’s three-volume edition of Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan , David Runciman summarizes the origins of Leviathan. Hobbes wrote the book in France, watching the civil war unfold, sometimes serving as tutor to the future Charles II. As he finished writing in 1650, he had concluded…

March 9, 2013

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