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Ephesians

Music and Drunkenness, Part 2

For Part 1, click HERE . How did Paul’s earliest commentators view his juxtaposition of music and drunkenness, and did they connect it to the ancient Greek ideas of musical ethos described in Part I? Origen, one of the earliest commentators on Paul, writes about Ephesians 5:18-19: One, however, who…

by John AhernMay 17, 2018
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Ephesians

Music and Drunkenness, Part 1

Perhaps it is because I am a musician that I have always found Ephesians 5:18-19 so arbitrary. But isn’t it a little odd to contrast music and drunkenness? Perhaps it is not obvious that that is what Paul is doing; I know, for myself, that it is remarkably easy to…

by John AhernMay 15, 2018
infant-baptism
Baptism

Unequal Holiness

In 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 Paul deals with how the Corinthian Christians are supposed to be relating to unbelieving spouses. He essentially tells them, “Look, if your unbelieving spouse is willing to stay with you as a faithful Christian, don’t initiate a divorce. If he/she wants to leave you, let him/her…

by Bill SmithMay 10, 2018
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Violence

The Sword of Adam: Preterism vs. Pacifism, (Part 2)

For Part 1, click HERE . Those who focus on the supposed “pacifism” of Jesus and condemn the violence of God’s judgments throughout the Old Testament overlook the ministry of sacrificial bloodshed as an alternative to human bloodshed. The sword bearing of the sacrificial system was introduced to avoid the…

by Mike BullMay 8, 2018
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Violence

The Sword of Adam: Preterism vs. Pacifism, Part 1

How should a Christian respond to the objection that the Bible, like the Koran, is a book of violence and bloodshed? Numerous answers have been offered by well-meaning exegetes, but none of them gets to the heart of the matter: God desires to place a sword in the hands of…

by Mike BullMay 3, 2018
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Theopolis News

Alastair Roberts Appointed As Adjunct Senior Fellow

Beginning this summer, Dr. Alastair Roberts will join the Theopolis Institute as an adjunct Senior Fellow, the Institute has announced. Dr. Roberts will be a regular on the Theopolis podcast, teach intensive courses and in the Fellows Program, and help develop new programs and outlets. Roberts earned his PhD from…

by TheopolisMay 2, 2018

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Prayer and the lusty body

Tyndale distinguished true and false prayer in part by distinguishing the role of the body in each. False, hypocritical prayer, relies entirely on the body; hypocrites have “turned [prayer] into a bodily labor, to vex the tongue, lips, eyes, and throat with roaring, and to weary all the members.” This…

June 6, 2007

Cartestian Elizabeth

We blame Descartes for the divided self of modernity, but perhaps we should blame Elizabeth I. In her book on the Book of Common Prayer, Ramie Targoff notes the limits of what Elizabeth demanded of her subjects: “so long as worshippers came to services on Sunday, they were free to…

June 6, 2007

Baptized Body

As you can see to the side, my little book on baptism is now available from Canon Press, just in time to give it a quick read before the PCA General Assembly. It’s short; it’s easy to read; and each copy helps to feed small children who are much cuter…

June 6, 2007

Reversing the curse?

When Adam and Eve sinned, Yahweh cursed the ground on account of/in relation to Adam (Gen 3:17). Following the flood and in response to Noah’s offering, He declares “I will no more curse the ground on account of man” (ADAM; Gen 8:21). Though the word for “curse” differs in these…

June 6, 2007

The Blind Side

Michael Lewis, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game . New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. Hardback, 299 pp. $24.95. Over the past two decades, professional football has evolved so that the outcome of games often turns on the performance of one of the least-noticed and least-glamorous men on the…

June 5, 2007
Theology

Graduation address

It’s customary on an occasion such as this to extol the accomplishments of the graduating seniors, commend students and teachers for a job well done, and encourage you with a stirring speech about the open future that lies before you. ‘Tis the season for clichés, and you’ve heard them all:…

June 2, 2007

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