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

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Hermeneutics

Hermeneutical Polytheism

A couple of decades ago, when I was a young Reconstructionist (instead of a middle-aged post-Reconstructionist), I coined the phrase "political polytheism" to describe how modern evangelical Christians approach matters of social law and politics. Christians want the Bible for Church and family life, but turn to other gods for…

by James B. JordanJanuary 28, 1996
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Biblical Horizons

Concerning Contracts and Covenants

Gary North has from time to time taken note of some of the differences between contracts and covenants. For him, one of the most important is the oath-character of a covenant. Naturally, the English terms "contract" and "covenant" can be used with varying nuances by different writers, and their zone…

by James B. JordanJanuary 5, 1996
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Biblical Studies

Rethinking the Order of the Old Testament

The Book of Chronicles is the last book in the Hebrew Canon of the Old Testament. The word "canon" means "authoritative list" when used in connection with the Bible. What we call the Hebrew Canon consists of 24 books arranged in three major divisions: the Law, the Prophets, and the…

by James B. JordanDecember 28, 1995
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Biblical Studies

At The Center of the Book of Kings

by: Peter Leithart and James Jordan The Book of Kings is structured chiastically, or concentrically. To see this clearly, we start in the middle and work our way outward. 2 Kings 3–7 record the central events of the ministry of Elisha. Elisha makes his first appearance in 1 Kings 19:19-21,…

by Peter LeithartNovember 5, 1995
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Judges

Dynastic Aspirations in the Book of Judges

(The following is a supplement to my book, God’s War Against Humanism , a study of the book of Judges, available from Biblical Horizons for $20.00 – a photocopy of the original book, which is now out of print). The turning point in the book of Judges is 8:22-28. Here…

by James B. JordanNovember 5, 1995
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Biblical Horizons

Doing the Lord’s Supper

From time to time I am asked how I think the Lord’s Supper should be done. This essay is my response to that question. To start with, we should agree that the Lord’s Supper is the only ritual we are obligated to do in the New Covenant on a routine…

by James B. JordanNovember 5, 1995

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The Warrior and the City

Revelation 19:6-9 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to…

August 3, 2015

Justice by Faith

Eugene Boring reviews Herman Waetjen's Letter to the Romans in the Review of Biblical Literature (July 2015). According to Boring, Waetjen sets Paul's gospel in the context of a biblical story stretching back to Adam and including the promise to Abraham: “Adam (= humanity) was created in God’s image and…

August 3, 2015

In the City

In John's final vision (Revelation 21:9-22:5), new Jerusalem descends from heaven as a bride. Her jasper walls sparkle, the city itself is transparent gold, the foundation stones are precious gems. She is, in sum, a rich city. Within Jerusalem, there is constant light. The glory of the nations comes into…

July 31, 2015

Immigration and Statism

During the gold rush of 1848, Chinese immigrants began to move into the United States in large numbers, especially in California. Between 1850 and 1882, a quarter-million immigrated, many of them working on railroads and mines, in dangerous working conditions, with little pay and few tools. During the 1860s and…

July 31, 2015

A Nation of (Some) Immigrants

Aristide Zolberg argues that the US isn't a nation of immigrants so much as a Nation By Design . President Kennedy to the contrary: Not a nation of immigrants but a nation of some immigrants. American immigration is not a story of laissez-faire yielding to restrictionism. Openness and restriction have…

July 31, 2015

Rolling Back Reconstruction

During the debates over the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), Western mounted arguments to appeal their Southern colleagues. Southerners in their turn employed the Western arguments against Chinese rights to limit the rights of Southern African Americans. Cozy bedfellows in racial politics. According to Andrew Gyory's study of the Chinese act…

July 31, 2015

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