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History

Congregational Theocracy: That Time Theocrats Ran Puritan New England

Timon Cline wrote recently that “theonomists” didn’t run Puritan New England. 1 He is correct, in his major thesis, that the claim that “Puritanism and the natural law tradition are antithetical” is “wildly ahistorical.” Mr. Cline demonstrates that Puritans repeatedly extolled natural law. Besides the Puritan sources Mr. Cline mustered,…

by John CarpenterAugust 9, 2022
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Mark

The Land of the Walking Trees

The Church is the land of the walking trees. In Mark’s Gospel, the identity of Jesus is slowly and progressively revealed. Though St. Mark announces at the beginning of his narrative that Jesus Christ is “the Son of God” (1:1), this is a reality that must be spoon-fed to His…

by Jackson ShepardAugust 4, 2022
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Ephesians

The Significance of Ephesians (with a comparison to Romans)

All Scripture is of ultimate significance as the word of God, but it may be helpful to think about what makes a book (in this case, a letter) possibly unique within the canon. In this case, the “general” nature of Ephesians should stand out, but it often is not recognized…

by Mark HorneAugust 2, 2022
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Ecclesiastes

A Time to Kill (Ecclesiastes 3:3)

Where do we draw the lines between what is right and wrong? This question is fundamental to civilization, fundamental to a free society. To put this question in the bluntest and most offense terms: if there is a time to kill — which Solomon says there is — whom shall…

by Ralph Allan SmithJuly 28, 2022
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Biblical Horizons

Broadening Our View of the Trinity

This article was originally posted in May of 1994. We speak of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The early Church tended to speak of Him as Father, Word, and Spirit. In this short essay, I want to suggest some other ways to think of the Trinity, ways that…

by James B. JordanJuly 26, 2022
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Jonah

Journeying Prophets in Kings

Jonah’s Home The story of JONAH belongs in the book of KINGS. JONAH balances the story of the unnamed Judean prophet (1K13) in KINGS’ literary structure. Each story describes a journeying prophet that crosses land or sea to confront a wayward king. The two stories are located during the reigns…

by Scott FairbanksJuly 21, 2022

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Kingdom First

W hatever else the 2016 Presidential cycle has accomplished, it has brought the chasm between nationalism and globalism into sharp relief. Many see this divide as the issue of the campaign ( Robert Merry ) or of the century ( Pat Buchanan ). It seems to be a choice we…

August 2, 2016

From 2 to 70

G enealogies occupy a large portion of the opening chapters of the Bible, tracing a line from Adam and Eve through ten generations to Noah. Noah fathers a new human race through his three sons, the 70 nations listed in Genesis 10. From 2 (Adam and Eve, Noah and Mrs.…

August 2, 2016

Bless This House

Prayers for the blessing of a house, adapted from this order of house blessing. A t the doorway : O God, heavenly Father, Lord of heaven and earth, protect our going out and our coming in. Banish demons, defeat all curses, and station your angels at this door. Shine the…

August 1, 2016

Dawn After Evening

P astor Rich Lusk of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, Alabama, points out that, narratively, the entire gospel of Mark takes place during the night. The sun sets in Mark 1:32 and there is no reference to a sunrise until 16:2, on the first day of the week when the women…

August 1, 2016

Words in Search of Meaning

B en Lerner remembers his youthful play with half-understood words, and finds there a clue to the meaning of poetry: “I remember my feeling that I possessed only part of the meaning of the word, like one of those fragmented friendship necklaces, and I had to find the other half…

July 29, 2016

Don't Break My Name

B en Lerner discovers the power of linguistic repetition in childhood games: “every kids know the phenomenon that psychologists call ‘semantic saturation,' wherein a word is repeated until it feels emptied of sense and become mere sound - ‘to repeat, monotonously, some common word, until the sound, by dint of…

July 29, 2016

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