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

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Esther

Genesis 1 and Genesis 8

I mentioned last month ( BH 82) in my essay "Like a Dove" that Genesis 8 is a recapitulation of Genesis 1. Let me explicate that assertion here. Of course, the world after the Flood is a new creation, so we may expect a recapitulation of the first creation. It…

by James B. JordanMarch 28, 1996
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Daniel

Esther: Historical & Chronological Comments (I)

The book of Esther is one of the most neglected of the books of the Bible. To be sure, sermons are preached on it, and commentaries have occasionally been written on it, but almost without exception Esther has been interpreted in isolation from the rest of Biblical history, chronology, and…

by James B. JordanMarch 28, 1996
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Biblical Horizons

A Letter on Geocentricity

Dear Mr. ______, . . . Here is how I look at the geocentricity question. Since I don’t recall what I wrote you before, I may be repeating some things. 1. The Bible does not teach it. Biblical passages used to support the idea are being misinterpreted. My original paper…

by James B. JordanMarch 28, 1996
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Biblical Horizons

What is God?

Answer 4 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is often taken as a magnificent answer to the question, "What is God?" It reads: "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." Presbyterians are fond of praising this statement, preaching on it,…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1996
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Baptism

Like a Dove

The gospels tell us that at Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him "in bodily form like a dove" (Luke 3:22 & parallels). Biblically sensitive commentators have associated this event with three Old Testament parallels: (1) the hovering of the Spirit over the creation in Genesis 1:2; (2) the…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1996
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John

Jesus at Belshazzar’s Feast: Being an Explanatory Disquisition on an Aspect of the Story of the Woman Taken in Adultery

This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. (John 8:6) The story of the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53-8:11) has been part of the canonical Christian Bible from its earliest…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1996

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Barth’s Ecclesiology

In an essay on Barth’s sacramental theology (in the Cambridge Companion to Barth ), James J. Buckley summarizes Barth’s early views on ecclesiology in the modern age as follows: “Modern man “‘nationalizes’ the Church and the Church allows this nationalization,’ elevating ‘the idea of the relativity of all confessions to…

November 12, 2003

Barth’s Ecclesiology

In an essay on Barth’s sacramental theology (in the Cambridge Companion to Barth ), James J. Buckley summarizes Barth’s early views on ecclesiology in the modern age as follows: “Modern man “‘nationalizes’ the Church and the Church allows this nationalization,’ elevating ‘the idea of the relativity of all confessions to…

November 12, 2003

Atargatis’s Rites

Thousands of years before David Blane, there was this, reported in a text called “On the Syrian God” purportedly by Lucian, which describes the orgiastic rites of the goddess Atargatis: “Two [phalli] at the entrance of the sanctuary, 1,800-foot-high monsters. One of them is climbed twice a year by a…

November 12, 2003

Atargatis’s Rites

Thousands of years before David Blane, there was this, reported in a text called “On the Syrian God” purportedly by Lucian, which describes the orgiastic rites of the goddess Atargatis: “Two [phalli] at the entrance of the sanctuary, 1,800-foot-high monsters. One of them is climbed twice a year by a…

November 12, 2003

“Justified” in Rom 2:13

“Justified” in Rom 2:13 (the first use in Romans) is clearly contrasted with “perish” and “judged by Law.” The structure of vv 12-13 is poetic parallelism: whoever without law sins without law also perishes whoever in law sins through law will be judged not the hearers of law are just…

November 12, 2003

“Justified” in Rom 2:13

“Justified” in Rom 2:13 (the first use in Romans) is clearly contrasted with “perish” and “judged by Law.” The structure of vv 12-13 is poetic parallelism: whoever without law sins without law also perishes whoever in law sins through law will be judged not the hearers of law are just…

November 12, 2003

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