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Writing

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

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Culture

Sacred Work in a Secular World

Several weeks ago, a picture of a man working at Trader Joe’s went viral. At first glance, it was hard to tell what was worthy of note in the picture—a man simply standing near a cash register. It turns out, the picture went viral not because of what the man…

by Dustin MesserOctober 4, 2018
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Biblical Theology

Jesus on Sinai

Among the many allusions in the transfiguration story, one allusion, or rather, one group of allusions, is especially prominent — allusions to Mt. Sinai. The first and least obvious of the allusions to Mt. Sinai is the expression “high mountain” in Matthew and Mark and “the mountain” in Luke. Ancient…

by Ralph Allan SmithOctober 2, 2018
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Biblical Theology

Jesus’ Transfiguration: The Context

The revelation of Jesus’ glory at the transfiguration is one of the most important stories in the synoptic Gospels. At Jesus’ baptism — the inauguration of New Covenant baptism with the Holy Spirit and the paradigm for Christian baptism — God the Father spoke from heaven: “You are My Son,…

by Ralph Allan SmithSeptember 27, 2018
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Proverbs

Solomon's Argument against Living by Plunder

The first section of Proverbs (chapters 1-9) contains two lengthy descriptions of temptations that a young man should resist and avoid (1:10-19 and 7). The two temptations are recruitment into a robber gang and being enticed by an adulterous wife. I've argued before that these are the two perversions of…

by Mark HorneSeptember 25, 2018
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Eucharist

The Gospel Invitation

Is there a Gospel invitation? To many evangelical Christians, the answer to that question is an unqualified "yes." Some calvinists, reacting against the misleading character of the "altar call," seem less interested in inviting men to anything than they are in sending men away to think about the message they…

by James B. JordanSeptember 20, 2018
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Counseling

The Sacramental System and Counseling

Effective pastoral care helps people progress to maturity. Historically, the Christian church worked out the sacramental system to assist people with the various conversions of life. While we Protestants believe in only two sacraments, it is helpful for us to look at the sacramental system, because there is some wisdom…

by James B. JordanSeptember 18, 2018

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American CultureAmerican Politics

After Nationalism

I made revisions to this essay on July 9, to correct my misleading summary of Hazony's position on the origins of nations . During World War I, writes Samuel Goldman ( After Nationalism ), German communities in the U.S. “were subjected to both official and unofficial harassment and violence.” Towns…

July 5, 2021
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American PoliticsMedicine

From Sword to Syringe

Stanford’s Jay Bhattacharya, Oxford’s Sunetra Gupta, and Harvard’s Martin Kulldorff are heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last October, they teamed up to write the Great Barrington Declaration that advocated “focused protection” of the vulnerable as an alternative to generalized lockdowns. They’ve faced relentless scorn, slander, and censorship ever since, yet…

June 28, 2021
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American CultureAmerican Politics

After the Body

Today’s battles over sex present, Douglas Farrow observes , “a curious sight.” Since Descartes and Rousseau, moderns have split body and soul, but that dualism has often underwritten a politics of mechanistic materialism. Now, though, the body has lost public relevance. Instead, “the body is private and the soul, or…

June 14, 2021
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Medicine

Distortions of Modern Medicine

A few highlights from the readings for Kimbell Kornu’s Pentecost Term course on "The Christian Art of Dying," which we hosted at Theopolis in May. 1. Christians agree that sin is the ultimate cause of illness. But George Khushf suggests another dimension of the sin-sickness relation: Illness as “general revelation.”…

June 7, 2021
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Theopolis News

The Theopolitan

My WordPress dashboard tells me I've published 13,203 posts since I started blogging in 2004. If my posts average a mere 200 words, that's 2.6 million words. It could be twice that. I don't blog much anymore, but for the past several years, I've been writing a weekly newsletter, The…

May 26, 2021
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Pentecost

Divine Humanity

Pentecost is the climax of our redemption, the fulfillment of our human destiny. Jesus isn’t done when He dies on the cross, and His work isn’t finished when He takes up His life again. He isn’t finished when He ascends to heaven. Jesus’ founding work of redemption isn’t done until…

May 24, 2021

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