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

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evangelists
Matthew

Dating Matthew, (Part 1)

When might the Gospel according to Matthew have been written? Of course, any answer can only be speculation, but that does not mean we are reduced to groundless opinion. In this series of articles I point the way to an approach different from the general consensus among scholars today which…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 22, 2016
hebrew-manuscript-3
Hermeneutics

Synopticity, (Part 2)

In my first essay on “synopticity” I offered a rather rough definition of the phenomenon and important, though not exhaustive examples. In this essay, I want to introduce broader aspects of the phenomenon of “synopticity.” The first example that I have in mind is conventional stories, stories of different historical…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 17, 2016
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Ascension

Brexit and the Binding of Satan, Part 4

Since the judgment of Babel was followed by the initiation of the circumcision, the impending end of the circumcision in AD70 explains the significance of the first century miracle of foreign tongues. Except for a few Aramaic “teasers” in the book of Daniel, the Word of God was monolingual and…

by Mike BullNovember 15, 2016
four-evangelists
Hermeneutics

Synopticity, (Part 1)

To the best of my knowledge “synopticity” is not a word used in theology or Biblical studies, but it seems an appropriate word to describe the kind of phenomena associated with the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These three Gospels tell essentially the same story with significant — sometimes…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 10, 2016
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Humor

Learning to Laugh

Humor is a funny thing. It is altogether familiar yet also mysterious. What makes us laugh? Why do we find things funny? There are academic fields of study dedicated to discovering what makes things humorous. These academicians even have a journal entitled International Journal of Humor Research . No joke.…

by Bill SmithNovember 8, 2016
chaucer
Literature

Flawed Means of Grace: Liturgy in The Pardoner's Tale

Out of all the characters in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales , the Pardoner has been called the “one lost soul.” The pious Parson, who closes out the collection of tales with a sermon on the seven deadly sins and how a sinner can absolve himself of them, connects the…

by Christian LeithartNovember 3, 2016

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KMart-Sears

The Weekly Standard parody of the KMart-Sears merger (Nov 29) is too rich. The parody is a letter purporting to be from a market researcher to the KMart board of directors. Here’s a couple of samples: “We recently received the preliminary report from our $30-million, 5-year contract with ImagInc, who…

December 7, 2004

American Foreign Policy

Kenneth Minogue provides a superb summary of the case for the Bush foreign policy in the Nov 12 issue of TLS : “the United States is an open liberal democracy with which millions of Europeans are directly acquainted, and it has been our sheet-anchor against both fascist and Communist totalitarianism…

December 7, 2004
History

Alexander

Peter Green, reviewing Paul Cartledge’s new Alexander biography in TNR , cites a “remarkable anecdote told by Theophrastus, who surely had it from Aristotle when the latter was Alexander’s tutor”: “Both Philip and Olympias, he alleges, were scared that their adolescent son was showing signs of becoming a GYMNIS, that…

December 7, 2004

Eucharistic Meditation, Second Sunday in Advent

John 1:14; 6:55-56: ?And the Word became flesh . . . . [Jesus said] ?My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in Him.?E This morning, we have been considering the incarnation of…

December 5, 2004
Theology

Exhortation, Second Sunday in Advent

Christmas is about many things, but one of the chief things revealed in the gospel of Christmas is the humility of God. We don?t often think of humility as an attribute of God. If God is glorious and exalted, we think, He must be haughty and proud and self-centered. We…

December 5, 2004

Order of Worship

This repeats some material from an earlier post. INTRODUCTION In the last several classes, we have been looking at sacrifice as it operated in the OC, both in the Mosaic and the Davidic worship. We have seen that Mosaic worship follows a sequence of purification-ascension-communion, and we have seen that…

December 5, 2004

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