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Writing

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

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Coronavirus

Does Corona Compassion Kill?

The corona virus hit Western society like a Biblical plague — almost. Biblical plagues were actually much more devastating. Still, as Peter Leithart describes the present situation, it is a judgment from God, because the disease itself together with our political solutions brought about a social situation that fits Deuteronomy’s…

by Ralph Allan SmithMay 26, 2020
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Theology

Is Theology Useless?

“The achievements of theologians don’t do anything, don’t affect anything, don’t mean anything. What makes anyone think that ‘theology’ is a subject at all?” - Richard Dawkins One cannot be a Christian college president or seminary trustee (your essayist is both) without wondering if Richard Dawkins’s notorious take-down of theology…

by Alexander WhitakerMay 19, 2020
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How to Worship

How Should Churches Respond to One Another?

Nearly every church that I am aware of has adopted differing practices since the recent virus scare began. Some churches continued to meet during the state lock downs, and other churches left their building empty, meeting online through various video conference technologies. Some churches have gone back to life as…

by Jonah BarnesMay 12, 2020
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Fear

Fear

Fear is an inseparable companion of human life. We are afraid of illness and death, poverty and cataclysms, rejection and betrayal, failure and shame. We are afraid of the unknown, so in a sense we are afraid of the future and life itself. Unless we live in the illusory belief…

by Bogumil JarmulakMay 5, 2020
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Heresy

The Blessing of “Heresies”

In the title above, I put the word “heresies” in quotation marks because I would prefer that the word “heresy” be confined to erroneous beliefs about the Trinity and the Person of Christ, rather than be used broadly to describe any view that might be considered an error. 1 At…

by Ralph Allan SmithApril 30, 2020
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Fear

On Coping (or not) with a Crisis

I’ve been trying to work out why I’m feeling existentially disconnected from CoV-19-related fears. I’m taking it seriously, but it’s not registering in any deeply personal way. Partly it’s that my routines are largely undisrupted. But as I reflect on people’s reactions I think there’s more, because a lot of…

by Matthew MasonApril 28, 2020

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History

End of the Mainline

In a characteristically fascinating article in the August/September edition of First Things , Jody Bottum argues that, given the informal Protestant establishment that has existed since America’s founding, “the death of the Mainline is the central historical fact of our time: the event that distinguishes the past several decades from…

July 19, 2008

Chinese Fight Club

Mara Hvistendahl writes in the July 9 issue of TNR that increased violence is one likely result of China’s abortion policy: “After almost 30 years of the policy, China now has the largest gender imbalance in the world, with 37 million more men than women and almost 20 percent more…

July 18, 2008

Book of signs

The first 12 chapters of John are commonly seen as John’s “book of signs.” There are seven signs, which may suggest a connection with the creation week. Some starting thoughts: 1. Water to wine, ch 2: Jesus’ manifests His glory, His light in the darkness of Israel. 2. Child raised…

July 18, 2008

Johannine chiasm

Wayne Brouwer offers this chiastic analysis of John 13-17: A. Gathering, 13:1-35: unity with Jesus in mutual love B. Disciples’ denial, 13:36-38 C. Jesus departure and Father’s power, 14:1-14 D. Promise of Paraklete, 14:15-26 E. Troubling encounter with the world, 14:27-31 F. Vine and Branches, 15:1-17 E’. Troubling encounter with…

July 18, 2008
Theology

Providence and secularism

Reflecting on Thomas’s discussion of Jesus’ statement, “Without me you can do nothing,” Stephen A. Long writes, “If one denies that the human will receives not only its being, but also its natural motion and application to action from God, one makes the will a demiurgically unmoved first cause. Divine…

July 18, 2008

Limited Payoff

Cotterell and Turner spend many pages affirming Barr’s notions of meaning, in the process of which they distinguish between the lexical sense of a word and the “discourse concept,” that is, the particular connotations that might become part of the definition of a word in a particular context: “In the…

July 18, 2008

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