Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
cloister

Gatekeepers

1 Chronicles 9:1 seems to bring the genealogies of 1 Chronicles to an end. The Chronicler has recorded the genealogy of the human race from Adam, focusing on the descendants of Abraham through Jacob. Summing it all up, he says, “So all Israel was enrolled by genealogies; and behold, they…

by Peter LeithartJune 21, 2016
trinity-1-2
Trinity

Are the Divine Persons Persons?

The “personalist” understanding of the Trinity, articulated most influentially in the work of John Zizioulas, has fallen on hard times. Recent scholars have attacked Zizioulas’s idea that Cappadocian Trinitarianism represented an ontological revolution, hammering on the distinction between divine and human personhood. Michel Barnes’s conclusion is the most drastic of…

by Peter LeithartJune 16, 2016
img_4660-2
Architecture

On Biblical Theology

Biblical Theology is often defined as the historical unfolding of God’s revelation, or of God’s revelation and of the history of his covenantal redemption and transformation of humanity and the world. In practice, Biblical Theology is usually broader than this, and also includes the study of literary structure and of…

by James B. JordanJune 14, 2016
laughing_statue_by_xxbobbiie-d5f0meh-2
Humor

Wise Laughter

We are made to be happy. Created to enter into the eternal joy of God, our whole being inclines to that end, but the fallen world has put forth barriers and by our own sin we bar ourselves from that endless delight, and death blinds us to that reality. Yet…

by Remy WilkinsJune 7, 2016
img_7664
Liturgy

Why Theopolis? Take Two

At the end of Revelation, John sees the heavenly city descending to earth. The city shines with the brilliance of God's glory, which lightens the nations, so that kings bring their glory to the city. This is not a vision of the final new heaven and new earth. It's a…

by Peter LeithartJune 2, 2016
trinity-1-2
Attributes of God

How Can We Talk About God?

“No one has ever seen God,” writes John (John 1:18). If this is the case, then how can we speak about God? Some people say we actually cannot. Or at least we cannot speak about God positively, i.e. who He is. We can only say who or what God is…

by Bogumil JarmulakMay 31, 2016

Showing page 130 of 309

See all
See all

Bourdieu's Language Games

Jeannine Verdes-Leroux doesn't like Pierre Bourdieu, not one bit. In her Deconstructing Pierre Bourdieu , she calls him of offering a “con-artist's sociology” (22), a lazy evidence-free sociology based more on Bourdieu's personal experience than on research. Some of her complaints could be lodged against any number of intellectuals. Does…

July 24, 2015

Divine Craftsman

In Making Good , Trevor Hart summarizes an earlier vision of artistry as craftsmanship: “a human activity of skilled making or forming” (22), and unpacks several dimensions of this definition. Craft is not “a mode of ‘making' linked primarily to the realization or gratification of an artist's burning individual vision…

July 24, 2015

Structure in Revelation 20

Revelation 20 - the millennium prophecy - is divided into four sections with the repeated phrase “and I saw” (vv. 1, 4, 11, 12). The first section, verses 1-3, forms a neat chiasm of its own: A. Angel from heaven with key and chain, v. 1 B. Satan bound for…

July 23, 2015

Son and Heir

Revelation 21:7-8 is set up as a chiasm: A. It is done. B. I am Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. C. I give water to the thirsty. D. Those who overcome will inherit these things and be sons. C'. Cowardly, etc. B'. Have share in the lake of fire.…

July 23, 2015

Book of Strange New Things

Michel Faber's 2014 novel, The Book of Strange New Things , may be the first of a new subgenre: The intergalactic epistolary novel. Syfy meets Pamela . Pastor Peter Leigh has been chosen by the mysterious USIC corporation for a unique mission - to serve as spiritual leader to the…

July 23, 2015

We Are What We Hate

Every society has some over-arching religious structure, Will Herberg argues, echoing many social scientists ( Protestant, Catholic, Jew , 87-90). What unites Americans is clearly not our particular religious creeds. Rather, it is what Herberg calls the “American Way of Life.” He offers this splendid description: “It would be the…

July 23, 2015

Showing page 399 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.