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Writing

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

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Acts

No One Dared Join Them

And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. Acts 5:12-13 When Grandma needed healing, her children knew the…

by Tim NicholsAugust 31, 2021
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How to Worship

Why Sacraments?

Like certain kinds of music, the unchanging rhythm of Aquinas's Summa gets into your bones. Read a few sections and it begins to run through your head. You start drumming your fingers, humming, swaying gently to the rhythm of Videtur-Sed Contra-Responsio, Videtur-Sed Contra-Responsio, “It seems-On the contrary-I answer.” The only…

by Peter LeithartAugust 26, 2021
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Biblical Chronology

The Embarrassment of Biblical Chronology

And Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and became the father of Shelah . . . And Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber . . . and Eber lived thirty-four years and became the father of Peleg . . . and Peleg lived thirty years, and became the…

by James B. JordanAugust 24, 2021
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Hermeneutics

The Fall of Satan

Of course, the title should be something like, “The Fall of the Angel Who Came to be Satan,” but that and other more accurate titles are too cumbersome. The question is: who is Satan, and when and how did he become “Satan” (Adversary, Accuser) and the “devil” (slanderer)? By my…

by Ralph Allan SmithAugust 19, 2021
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Baptism

Baptismal Rain and the Feast of Booths

In The Oddness of the Feast of Booths , we saw that the Feast of Booths is a commemoration of the first encampment of Israel at Sukkoth (Booths) in Exodus 12:37, almost certainly the first celebration of the week of Unleavened Bread after the first Passover. The Feast of Booths…

by James B. JordanAugust 17, 2021
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Proverbs

An Antidote for Yuppie Postmillennialism

This piece was originally published in 1989. 1. The Blessed Hope "Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus." Titus 2:13 I was recently asked how I as a postmillennialist would preach on "The Blessed Hope." This is often…

by James B. JordanAugust 12, 2021

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LanguagePhilosophy

Sensation and Language

David Field and I entertained, or frightened, the students at our recent Easter Term course by spending a few minutes debating a passage from Aldous Huxley. Since I have a blog, and David doesn't, I'll take the opportunity to settle scores once and for all. The offending passage was this…

March 27, 2020
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Exodus

Walls of the Tent

Exodus 26:1-14 moves from inside out, from the tabernacle curtain itself (vv. 1-6) to the goats' hair covering that lays over the tabernacle (vv. 7-13) to the goats and dugong leather that constitute the outermost coverings (v. 14). Then the chapter changes course and moves outside-in: First the boards that…

March 23, 2020
memento-mori

Uncertainty

My daughter, MargaretAnn, posted these Lenten meditations on the coronavirus on Instagram today. uncertainty is a frightening thing. before i left campus unexpectedly to come home, my boss sat me down and reminded me that this is the perfect time to grow. it’s when things are difficult and unsettling and…

March 20, 2020
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MedicineModernity

God of Plagues

L.M. Sacasas ponders why the coronavirus spooks us. He says it's the pandemic's uncertainty and unpredictability, which destroys our illusions of control. We categorize it as an "accident" because we don't have other categories to wrestle with the unknown. It's a peculiarly modern mental tic. " To call something an…

March 18, 2020
tabernacle
Exodus

It's Curtains!

Exodus 26:1-14 describes four sets of coverings for the tabernacle: 1. The interior curtain, called the “tabernacle” (26:1-6). 2. A covering of goats’ hair to drape over the tabernacle (26:7-13). 3. A covering of rams’ leather, dyed red (26:14a). 4. An exterior covering of dugong or porpoise skin (26:14b). The…

March 16, 2020
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Exodus

Tabernacled Among Us

Superficially, the sequence of instructions in Exodus 25-27 moves from the furnishings of the interior of the tent (ark, table, menorah) to the tent fabrics, boards, and bars, before moving out to the courtyard to describe the bronze altar (Exodus 27:1-8) and the court hangings (Exodus 27:9-19). At that level,…

March 9, 2020

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