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Writing

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

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American Politics

God Damn Democracy!

This may not be a good title for an essay, especially one written by a Christian minister who is deeply sympathetic with the people of Hong Kong. I suspect that many of our friends there would be overjoyed at the prospect of a significant infusion of “democracy.” They even raise…

by Ralph Allan SmithDecember 17, 2019
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Revelation

Apocalyptic Meme Warfare

Despite its deadly serious purpose, The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the funniest book in the Bible. Jesus’ sheep hear His voice but they often fail to get His jokes. God always delivers His witticisms deadpan because that is the easiest way to separate the sheep from the goats in…

by Mike BullDecember 10, 2019
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Biblical Theology

Symbolism and Worldview

The study of symbolism is seen by some as a curiosity, rather far removed from the central matters of life. According to them, anyone who spends time studying Biblical imagery and symbolism may well be getting into a "dangerous" area. Persons who engage in an "overly symbolic" interpretation of Scripture…

by James B. JordanDecember 3, 2019
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Biblical Studies

James Jordan and Biblical Language

The meaning of my title will not be apparent till the end, but he who endures will find intellectual relief, if not satisfaction. One of my favorite quotes from John Walvoord comes from his commentary on the book of Revelation. 1 With regard to the “stars of heaven” falling to…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 28, 2019
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Advent

Entitled Children

Christmas is just around the corner, which means the topic of purchasing gifts for children has been floating around my conversations. Minimalism has been on trend for the last few years, and many families have adopted the mindset of “less is more” when it comes to gifts. In Christian circles,…

by Lindsey TollefsonNovember 26, 2019
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Biblical Studies

God’s Patterns in Creation:

A Speech Given to a Christian School Hello High Schoolers and Middle Schoolers! I’m one of the local pastors in town, and one of my main jobs is to study the Bible. So I have come today to speak to you about some basic points about the Bible. One of…

by Eric GreeneNovember 21, 2019

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Way of Man With A Maid

Four things puzzle Agur the son of Jakeh, elusive author of Proverbs 30: eagles in the sky, serpents on rocks, ships on the sea, and “the way of a man with a maid” (v. 19). Agur is thinking of the mysteries of attraction and passion. There are plenty of puzzles…

December 19, 2017

When Our World Became Christian

Paul Veyne, When Our World Became Christian, 312-394 (trans. Janet Lloyd; Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2010). Paperback, 248 pages; $24.95. Paul Veyne is one of France’s leading classical scholars, an Honorary Professor at the College de France and author of recognized classics like Bread and Circuses and Did the Greeks Believe…

December 18, 2017

Overinterpreting Alabama

Doug Jones won a "stunning" victory in the Alabama Senate race. It was a stinging "rebuke" to Trump. Those were the headlines following the raucous Alabama Senate runoff on Tuesday. Jones is the first Democratic Senator in Alabama for a quarter century, and the first Democrat elected in a state-wide…

December 15, 2017
Augustine

Augustine and the Old Covenant

Augustine, Paula Fredriksen found ( Augustine and the Jews ), radically revised the common Christian views on the Old Testament and Judaism, embodied in the adversus Iudaeos tradition that stretched back to Justin’s treatises against Trypho the Jew. It started with a public debate with the Manichean Fortunatus. Though he…

December 15, 2017

Liberal Heresy

Post-liberal movements in Europe are often denounced as "fascist," "racist," or "far-right." Timothy Less disputes this. Populist parties - "France’s National Front, the Alternative for Germany, the Danish People’s Party, Poland’s Law and Justice, Hungary’s Fidesz and the Austrian Freedom Party" - usually cut across existing left-right divides. He concedes…

December 15, 2017

Advent Symmetries

Why would God bring the Savior into the world through a female virgin? Anselm offers some answers ( Cur Deus Homo , 323-4): "is extremely appropriate that, just as the sin of mankind and the cause of our damnation originated from a woman, correspondingly the medicine of sin and the…

December 15, 2017

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