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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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Past for Future’s Sake

In an extended review of my Delivered from the Elements of the World , Brad Littlejohn argues that I’m addicted to novelty. I write theology in which, so it seems to Brad, “newness is prized above all.” I am a Protestant primitivist yet at the same time a Protestant futurist,…

September 6, 2016

Levitical Pattern

A s David brings the ark into Jerusalem, he assembles Levites and priests to carry it to its place, as Torah requires. 1 Chronicles 15:5-11 enumerates Levites in each of six subtribes: 1. Koathites, 120 2. Merarites, 220 3. Gershomites, 130 4. Sons of Elizaphan, 200 5. Sons of Hebron,…

September 5, 2016

Yahweh Enters Rest

“A rise, Yahweh, to Your resting place, you and the ark of your strength” (Psalm 132:8). The Psalm describes the ascent of Yahweh…s ark-throne into Jerusalem as an entry into rest. Yahweh has conquered, Yahweh has taken His throne, Yahweh enters Sabbath. Unsurprisingly, 1 Chronicles 15, which recounts the ascent…

September 5, 2016
Liberalism

Liberalism's Unlimited Government

P atrick Deneen argues that liberal order is incompatible with limited government. Liberalism is devoted to the protection of rights, including the right to happiness; its ends are limitless, and so the scope of liberal government is likewise unlimited. At the end of the essay, Deneen quotes this illuminating passage…

September 2, 2016

Basic Plots

M IT’s Technology Review reports on research by computer scientist Andrew Reagan of the University of Vermont that uses data-mining to determine the most common story-arcs of 1700 English stories and novels. Their method is: “words have a positive or negative emotional impact. So words can be a measure of…

September 2, 2016

Useful Old

N inety-five-year-old Walter Laqueur has an interest in thinking that the aged are still useful. In an essay in The American Interest , he assembles ancient evidence in support: Foolish people, Cicero says, blame old age for their own faults and shortcomings, but Enius did not do so. As an…

September 2, 2016

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