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31-03-0213
Hermeneutics

Apocalyptic Eyes

Flying scrolls. Red horses. Beasts coming out of the sea. Winged women. The list goes on. Apocalyptic literature in the Bible is like a cross between science fiction and Marvel comics. And the Bible has a fair bit of this sort of thing. Daniel sees visions in Babylon, Zechariah sees…

by Toby SumpterNovember 4, 2014
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Theopolis News

New Name, New Look

Trinity House Institute has taken a new name, the Theopolis Institute. This striking new name expresses our unique vision and mission and captures the unified purpose behind all our specific programs and activities. We still have Bible, liturgy, and culture in our tagline. We still offer the same courses on…

by TheopolisNovember 4, 2014
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Atonement

Not Fearing the Devil

Adam Kotsko offers a socio-political variation on the Christus Victor atonement theory in his 2010 study, The Politics of Redemption: The Social Logic of Salvation . He does this by explaining "the devil" in terms of the Hegelian concept of "objective spirit," Geist . As Kotsko puts it, Geist "refers…

by Peter LeithartOctober 13, 2014
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Leviticus

The Meaning of Sacrifice

Two factors keep Nahtali Meshel from discussing the meaning of sacrifice until late in his The "Grammar" of Sacrifice . The first has to do with the texts he draws from: "P says little about the meaning of its rituals" (174). The other has to do with the grammatical theory…

by Peter LeithartOctober 8, 2014
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Leviticus

Praxemics

Chapter 5 of Naphtali Meshel's The "Grammar" of Sacrifice focuses on "praxemics," the physical actions of sacrificial ritual. Praxemes are constituted by six elements: an "atomact," an elementary physical act or gesture; an actor; an object that is acted up; a target for the action and often for the object…

by Peter LeithartOctober 6, 2014
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Leviticus

Jugation and Hierarchy

Two chapters of Naphtali Meshel’s The “Grammar” of Sacrifice cover what he calls “jugation” and “hierarchies.” The first involves the addition of other materials to an animal offering. Jugates include wine, cereal, and oil that are added to the animals (zoemes) that are offered in sacrifice. Some jugates are coordinated…

by Peter LeithartOctober 1, 2014

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Romans 3:5a

Most commentators accept that Romans 3:5a offers a legitimate conclusion, but one whose implications must be carefully qualified. From the quotation of Psalm 51, it is argued, Paul draws the inference that the unrighteousness of Israel commends or establishes or somehow contributes to the righteousness of God. BUT, so the…

December 21, 2003

Mindset Behind Romans 3:3

What kind of mindset would even raise the question Paul poses in Romans 3:3? On what basis would it follow that the APISTIA (unfaithfulness) of Israel would nullify the PISTIS THEOU, the faithfulness of God? This would follow only if God’s faithfulness to His promises, and His faithfulness to His…

December 21, 2003

Romans 3:1-8

Romans 3:1-8 picks up on a number of themes and concerns that reach back to the first chapter of the letter, especially the crucial verses in 1:16ff. Although unrighteousness (ADIKIA) has been a topic in chapter 2, the contrast between the ADIKIA of man (and of Jews in particular) and…

December 21, 2003
Literature

Wood’s Book Against God

Speaking of James Wood, there’s a devastating review of his novel, The Book Against God in the December issue of First Things . Dermot Quinn is underimpressed with Wood’s “painterly” writing style, and pans the supposed depths of the issues that Wood raises. According to Quinn, “Wood’s atheism began as…

December 20, 2003
Literature

Wood’s Book Against God

Speaking of James Wood, there’s a devastating review of his novel, The Book Against God in the December issue of First Things . Dermot Quinn is underimpressed with Wood’s “painterly” writing style, and pans the supposed depths of the issues that Wood raises. According to Quinn, “Wood’s atheism began as…

December 20, 2003

Sermon Outline, December 21

God In Us INTRODUCTION Confessing that God the Son was incarnate as the baby Jesus is once of the church’s non-negotiable beliefs, however offensive it is to high-minded reason. But the church has often placed a wrong stress on the incarnation, as if God becoming man were in itself sufficient…

December 20, 2003

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