Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
kelly-sikkema-ggs0_g6wi-i-unsplash
Apologetics

Do I Have to go to Church?

Imagine driving up to Canada and stopping at a restaurant to get a bite to eat. While you’re sitting at the table, an enthusiastic young man comes over to you and says in an excited voice, "Are you an American?" You reply, "Yes, I am." "Wonderful! I have so little…

by Mark HorneNovember 15, 1999
aaron-burden-1ebsmyrau-s-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

The Prayer of Manasseh

1 O Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous posterity; 2 You who have made heaven and earth with all their order; 3 who have shackled the sea by Your word ofcommand, who have confined the deep and sealed it with…

by James B. JordanOctober 4, 1999
kessler_daniel_und_konig_cyrus_im_tempel
Biblical Horizons

The Apocrypha: Bel and the Dragon

Part 1: 1When King Astyages was laid with his fathers, Cyrus the Persian received his kingdom. 2 And Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of his friends. 3Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they spent on it twelve bushels…

by James B. JordanOctober 4, 1999
kiwihug-l4gw27xzn1i-unsplash
Church Government

Ministers and Ruling Elders Do Not Occupy the Same Office

This debate has been going on for some time. But with few exceptions, almost all explanations of Presbyterian church polity claim that a “church” (meaning a single local congregation) must be ruled by “a plurality of elders” of whom one may happen to teach and work full-time doing so. This…

by Mark HorneSeptember 2, 1999
5c05205f42e49e739f0d955e_143482
Biblical Horizons

The Apocrypha

I hope that those who are advocating reading more of the ancient, "classical" literature of the ancient, "classical" world, are also promoting the Apocrypha. I’m afraid that many Christians don’t realize what great literature much of the Apocrypha is. It is not, of course, inspired by God, and perhaps because…

by James B. JordanAugust 4, 1999
carlo-alberto-burato-smdx3gleu_m-unsplash
Church Government

What is Presbyterianism?

PRESBYTERIANISM is a term referring to a system of government in the Church. It is commonly contrasted with Congregationalism and Episcopalianism. Presbyter is a Greek word that is translated as “elder” in our English New Testaments. Thus, Presbyterianism is commonly defined as “rule by elders.” This is a misleading definition.…

by Mark HorneJune 5, 1999

Showing page 243 of 309

See all

Showing page 5 of 43

See all

Sermon Outline, October 5

Sermon outline for October 5: Toward Jerusalem and the Cross, Luke 9:1-62 INTRODUCTION Luke 9 marks the great turning point in Luke’s account of Jesus’ ministry. Luke 9:1-9 forms the climax of the Galilean ministry, and later in this chapter, Jesus begins His journey toward Jerusalem, where, as He predicts…

October 2, 2003

Virgil on Roman Empire

Virgil seems nearly to have come to the Augustinian insight that the Roman empire is nothing more than civil war writ large. Aeneas, the pius hero, has to combat furor , which is passion, anger, rage, everything that causes disorder in the world. But during the battle scenes in the…

September 30, 2003

Gelernter on Iraq

The multi-faceted David Gelernter offers a rousing call to the Bush administration to defend their Iraqi policy on a moral rather than strategic basis in the October 6 edition of the Weekly Standard . He compares the debate over Iraq today with the debate between Chamberlain and Churchill in the…

September 30, 2003
Literature

My Life as a Fake

In the September 29 issue of the Weekly Standard , Sam Munson reviews Peter Carey’s novel, My Life As a Fake , a fictionalized account of a famous Australian literary hoax. As Munson summarizes the (true) story: Over a single wet weekend on an army base (or so at least…

September 29, 2003

Exhortation, September 28

Exhortation for September 28: We sometimes think of the church as a collection of families, and in some respects that is true. More fundamentally, though, the church is a family. We are brothers and sisters of one another because we are all brothers and sisters of Jesus, whose Father is…

September 28, 2003

Galilean Apostles

The Twelve apostles are all men of Galilee, but as soon as Acts opens they are based in Jerusalem and remain there, even after the stoning of Stephen and the dispersal of the church. Perhaps there’s a connection with the remnant typology mentioned in an earlier post: The remnant has…

September 27, 2003

Showing page 2189 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.