Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
armitage-edward-the-festival-of-esther
Biblical Studies

Esther and Ruth, Grain and Fruit

1 Introduction ESTHER and RUTH are similar stories. Each details the changing fortunes of a young woman. Each begins with the protagonist in a destitute situation. The fortunes of each reverses by story’s end. Intriguing parallels exist: Scenes : The stories transition through a similar set of scenes, see Table…

by Scott FairbanksApril 29, 2021
dariusz-sankowski-abamxzlot8e-unsplash
Biblical Studies

A Hermeneutic of Riddles

Maybe this is not the best venue to reveal that I sometimes wonder about all that deep exegesis: the chiasms, the numerology, vowel modifications, the typological labyrinthes, the innumerable exodus patterns that are so often limned by Peter Leithart or James Jordan or Alastair Roberts. Maybe it’s because I am…

by John AhernApril 27, 2021
fabian-keller-kqjpiatm-om-unsplash
Culture

Building New Watchtowers

In 1923, J. Gresham Machen wrote the book he is perhaps most remembered for, “Christianity and Liberalism”. Machen wrote it to help map out the cultural currents that were impacting the church with the hope that the church could be vigilant against the dangers theological liberalism posed to historic Christianity.…

by Steve GreggApril 22, 2021
download
Matthew

THE ANNUNCIATION TO JOSEPH | (Matthew 1:18-25)

March 25, nine months before Christmas, is the date that is often associated with the Annunciation to Mary, Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that, by the coming of the Spirit upon her, she would conceive and bear the heir to David’s throne, whose kingdom would have no end. The story is…

by John BarachApril 20, 2021
screen-shot-2021-04-14-at-8-50-22-am
Book Review

Book Review: Race and Covenant: Recovering the Religious Roots for American Reconciliation

Race and Covenant: Recovering the Religious Roots for American Reconciliation , edited by Gerald R. McDermott (Grand Rapids, MI: Acton Institute), 278 pp. A group of notable thinkers gathered to discuss biblical resources for addressing racial conflict in America in February 2019 at Samford University in Birmingham. Race and Covenant…

by Ben PetersonApril 15, 2021
beyond-creation-science-illustration
Matthew

Full Preterism’s Fatal Fractal Fracture

“Covenant Creationism,” which might be the most consistent brand of full preterism, is merely dispensationalism turned inside-out. The main cause of disputes over the interpretation of the Scriptures is the practice of interpreting texts in isolation. This applies not only to interpreting a passage without reference to other passages, but…

by Mike BullApril 13, 2021

Showing page 56 of 309

See all
See all

Richard III

Here are some highlights of Marjorie Garber’s essay on Richard III in Shakespeare After All . 1) Garber suggests that Richard is the “first fully realized and psychologically conceived character” in Shakespeare’s plays. Richard’s character is fully realized because he is complex, protean, chameleon and Machiavellian (cf. 3 Henry VI…

September 5, 2018

In the Beginning Were Diptychs

Thomas Brodie ( Genesis As Dialogue ) argues that "Genesis consists of twenty-six diptychs. Building on older insights that several Genesis texts occur in pairs and that Genesis is somehow binary or dialogical, this study makes a basic observation: The entire book is composed of diptychs—accounts which, like some paintings,…

September 4, 2018

Shakespeare's Fallen World

John Wilders's The Lost Garden attempts to discern the unified concept of the human condition that lies behind Shakespeare's English and Roman history plays. He finds the key in the Christian doctrine of sin: The "discrepancy between an ideal past and a painful present, between the hopeful intentions of Shakespeare's…

September 3, 2018

Loyalism v. Integrity

President Trump started calling his Attorney General Jeff Sessions “beleaguered” months ago. Now it’s actually true. Trump made it true. Republican leaders are plotting with Trump to replace Sessions after the mid-term elections. Jerry Falwell, Jr ., has raised questions about the sincerity of Sessions’s commitment to Trump’s agenda. “He’s…

August 30, 2018
Catholicism

Not Pedophilia

News reports of the recent revelations about the sex scandals in the Catholic church still claim that the crisis is about "pedophilia." It's not, as Philip Jenkins pointed out more than twenty years ago ( Pedophiles and Priests ). The alliterative "pedophile priests" is rhetorically punchy but, Jenkins argued, misleading:…

August 29, 2018
Art

Why Art?

My wife recently hung a small painting in the master bathroom. I bought the painting some years ago during a trip to Florida. In slightly impressionistic style, it depicts a rowboat tied to a dilapidated dock. Behind the boat the sea stretches out until it meets the graying sky. When…

August 28, 2018

Showing page 60 of 2212

Browse by Category

In Medias Res

Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.

Donate

Theopolis is nearly 100% donor-supported. Consider joining us on our mission.