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Writing

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

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Biblical Horizons

Pansexual to Mature Marriage

There is a young man (under 35) who sometimes stops and speaks to me at my “office” (the coffee bar at the Wild Oats Grocery Store). He is very articulate and highly intelligent, and I always enjoy my conversations with him. In our last few conversations it has become apparent…

by Richard BledsoeJanuary 14, 2009
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Biblical Horizons

Jesus and Confusion

What began at the Tower of Babel has increasingly become a global affair. All of world history is a project to become a “tower to the heavens” as a self contained and self sufficient world, but this is increasingly judged everywhere, and more and more, crisis is introduced and interjected…

by Richard BledsoeJanuary 13, 2009
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Biblical Horizons

Outside the Box

At the always marvellous Auburn Avenue Pastor’s Conference this past week the inimitable Douglas Wilson complained that he is tired of hearing of the need to get out of the box. He said that some people need to stay in the box. Indeed. Who can disagree? The so-called “Federal Vision”…

by James B. JordanJanuary 9, 2009
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Advent

Virgin-Born Son of God | Pagan Myth or New Creation?

It is popular in some circles to claim that the story of the virgin birth was a pagan insertion into the teaching of the early Church. In various books one can easily find by scanning the shelves of the “religion” section in any decent bookstore this claim functions as a…

by Mark HorneDecember 15, 2008
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Biblical Horizons

Ritual Versus Christianity

This article was originally published at the Biblical Horizons blog. Some of the comments and responses on the original article have been shared at the end. Peter Leithart in Against Christianity points out that “Christianity” tends to be an ideology, and that Jesus did not come to set up an…

by James B. JordanOctober 29, 2008
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Ecclesiology

10 Things a Church can do to Change the World

The principle to keep in mind is that we have to change ourselves first. 1. Participate In The Lord’s Supper Every Sunday In Worship The Kingdom is again and again a feast. The Church is the beachhead of the Kingdom. Does Jesus ever tell a parable comparing the Kingdom to…

by Mark HorneJune 5, 2008

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Girardian Underground

In various works, Rene Girard analyzes the "underground" of Dostoevsky, most elaborately presented in Notes from Underground . The underground is both a psychology and a metaphysics. The psychology arises from the dynamics of mimesis and rivalry that are Girard's key themes, which lead to alienation of frustrated resentment, ressentiment…

October 30, 2018

Inner Rings and Tribal Politics

Alan Jacobs has recently ( How To Think ) used CS Lewis’s essay on the “Inner Ring” to explain what has happened to political discourse in the US. Lewis began his essay by citing a passage from Tolstoy, which revealed an informal hierarchy, an “inner ring,” within the overt organizational…

October 28, 2018

Girardian Basics

A brief overview of key elements of the thought of Rene Girard. Mimetic desire . Desire isn’t individual; it doesn’t emerge from isolated individuals. It’s mimetic. We desire what we see others desiring. This is the basis for the advertising industry; it’s obvious in any day care center, when children…

October 26, 2018

Quadrigizing Leviticus

A brief, sketchy outline applying the quadriga to various topics of Leviticus . The quadriga. Fourfold sense: Literal, allegorical, tropological, anagogical. Examples: Jerusalem; David and Goliath. Strengths *Implies a Christology, an ecclesiology, an ethics, and an eschatology *Allegory and tropology. *Faith, hope, love built into hermeneutical. Quadrigizing the sanctuary. Literal…

October 26, 2018

Among Beasts

With Saudi Arabia in the news following the murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi, there's an opening for rethinking the US relation with Saudi. The following is an excerpt from my 2012 Between Babel and Beast . Numbers and details may be somewhat outdated, but the main points stand. In August…

October 23, 2018
Philosophy

Through the Microscope

Gotta love Mary Midgley. She died on October 10 of this year, a month after her 99th birthday. To the end, she did philosophy with a rare degree of common sense and wit. She begins The Myths We Live By , published when she was a mere octogenarian, by explaining…

October 22, 2018

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