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

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Hermeneutics

The Complexity of Biblical Allusion

There is no question about the fact that the book of Deuteronomy is full of literary allusion. But there is a serious problem, even a paradox, of understanding how that allusion works. To begin with, if we assume that Deuteronomy was written by Moses — with some editorial emendations added…

by Ralph Allan SmithJanuary 23, 2018
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Culture

The Artificial Resurrection

Genesis and Genetics in Blade Runner 2049 The power of science fiction, and what’s positive about it, is that you’re able to experience the worst-case scenario without actually having to live it. (Actor Ryan Gosling, who plays Officer “K”) (Warning: The following analysis contains spoilers for both Blade Runner films.)…

by Mike BullJanuary 18, 2018
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Biblical Studies

The Battle of Gog and Magog

The battle of Gog and Magog is found in Ezekiel 38-39. My purpose in this brief essay is to propound an explanation for this passage that I have not encountered in any of my commentaries, but that makes more sense to me than any other. I offer it here in…

by James B. JordanJanuary 16, 2018
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Deep Hope

I. Varlam Shalamov in Kolyma Tales describes his experience of the Gulag, where he spent more than a dozen of years. In a story titled The Life of Engineer Kipreev Shalamov reflects on the theme of hope in the life of a prisoner: “Hope always shackles the convict. Hope is…

by Bogumil JarmulakJanuary 11, 2018
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Biblical Theology

Abram’s 318 Men

Genesis 14:14 says that Abram mustered his trained men, “born in his house,” to rescue Lot, and gives their number as 318. It is clear that the precise number is provided for some reason, but what is it? S. Gevirtz notes that 318 is the sum of all the prime…

by James B. JordanJanuary 9, 2018
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Biblical Studies

The Flying Scroll

And he said to me, "What do you see?" And I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits" (Zechariah 5:2). Immediately following his vision of the outpouring of the Spirit upon the restoration community (4:1-14), Zechariah saw a flying scroll. The…

by Peter LeithartJanuary 4, 2018

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The “N” in NGO

N ongovernmental organizations have been on my radar since I heard a pro-family activist from Ireland describe the array of forces pressing for approval of same-sex marriage—many political leaders, business leaders, some church leaders, and NGOs. Where, I wondered, do these NGOs get their resources? Who is actually funding these…

June 19, 2015

More on the “N” in NGO

According to the Agenda Europe web site , the gay rights network ILGA Europe receives most of its funding from the European Commission. To receive the funding, ILGA has to coordinate its planning with the commission, which means that “this self-described “non-governmental” organization actually appears to be something like an…

June 19, 2015

Notes Toward a Theology of Works

D iscussions of the place of good works ( erga ) in the Christian life often focus on Pauline sources. Johannine texts are equally important, and there are few passages richer in resources for a theology of works (perhaps a theology of human action) than the letters to the churches…

June 18, 2015

Evangelicals and Catholics

B efore Roe , before the culture wars, before the 60s, Will Herberg was observing social dynamics that, he argued, would initially put Protestants and Catholics more sharply at odds but eventually push them together. The key shift was the move of Catholics into the mainstream of American middle-class life.…

June 18, 2015

Enthronement

The verb “sit” ( kathemai ) is used thirty-three times in Revelation, often explicitly with the connotation of enthronement. A dozen or more times God is said to be the “One seated” (4:2-3, 9-10; 5:1, 7, 13; 6:16; 7:10, 15; 19:4; 20:11; 21:5), and twice John sees twenty-four elders enthroned…

June 18, 2015

Eating Doritos

T amar Adler reviews Mark Schatzker's The Dorito Effect in a recent edition of NYTBR . It's another book about food, but Schatzker traces the problems with food back to breeding of plants and animals. In Adler's summary: “Over the last 70 years, American animal and plant breeding has focused…

June 18, 2015

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