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Writing

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

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Matthew

Fertile Toledots

The Book of Genesis contains eleven distinct markers readily acknowledged as the toledot formula. 1 Commentator Nahum Sarna counts the ’elleh toledot to be “…one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Book of Genesis”. 2 Among translations, the noun is variously translated as “generations” (ESV, KJV), “records of the generations”…

by Ben LoveladyDecember 20, 2022
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Romans

Who was Judah's Wickedest King? (Kings & Romans 1:18ff)

The answer that immediately comes to mind to the question in the title is Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah. He was conceived during the extension of life that God granted Hezekiah in response to his ardent prayer on his sick bed (2 Kings 20:1-11, 21:1). His reign is summarized in…

by Mark HorneDecember 13, 2022
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Ecclesiology

The End of Premium Mediocre Church

Back in 2019, on a whim, I sketched out a setting for a modern fantasy story: a single coffee shop that is simultaneously present in multiple cities throughout the world: “...you know the one. Books by local authors, brochures for a walking tour of the city’s outdoor sculpture, a poetry…

by Tim NicholsDecember 6, 2022
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Colossians

Colossians 4:2, “Watch"

Peter O’Brien’s translation of Colossians 4:2 surprised me: “Persevere in prayer as you watch for the Lord’s return, and be thankful.” 1 What is surprising about that? Well, none of my English translations mentioned “the Lord’s return” — nor does the Greek text! Translated literally, the verse just says: “In…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 29, 2022
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Books

The Laws and the Cosmos: A Brief Response to Stephen Wolfe on Cicero

I Natural Law This is a brief (well, briefer than it could be) first attempt at responding to a very small section of Stephen Wolfe’s recent book The Case for Christian Nationalism . It’s partial, deeply incomplete, and does not at all address the book as a whole; it is…

by Susannah Black RobertsNovember 24, 2022
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Formation

A Bad Man Speaking Well

The scuttlebutt of the last hundred years would tell us that Albert Einstein was a horrible husband, Winston Churchill was a racist, Mother Theresa was a hypocrite, and Caravaggio a murderer. From Benjamin Britten’s boys to Gandhi’s girls, it can be depressing and confusing to hear about people of great…

by Garrett SoucyNovember 22, 2022

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Poetry

Poetry and Metaphysics

In a 1950 article on “Agrarianism in Exile,” Richard Weaver pointed out that the Southern Agrarians did not begin their careers are publicists or partisans, but as poets: “The served the music of poetry” (589). This is revealing: “It tells us a great deal about a man to know that…

April 5, 2016

The Triumph and Failure of Marx

In the translator's introduction to Augusto Del Noce's Crisis of Modernity , Carlo Lancelotti outlines Del Noce's theory about the “heterogenesis of ends” in Marxism, its simultaneous failure and success. Originally attracted to a synthesis of Christianity and Marx, Del Noce hesitated because of his moral objections to Marxism's justification…

April 5, 2016

Wedding Homily

Every wedding is a liturgy. Note, I didn’t say: Every wedding has a liturgy. Or, Weddings tend to take liturgical form . Rather: Every wedding is a liturgy. Not only weddings like this one, with formal dress, dignified processions, pre-scripted words and prayers, gorgeous music, dialogue between minister and people.…

April 4, 2016

Foreknowledge and Freedom

In The Dilemma of Freedom and Foreknowledge , Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski outlines a variety of solutions to the dilemma of the title - how God's omniscience, which includes omniscience regarding the future, is compatible with human freedom. Is it possible to account for God's foreknowledge in such a way that…

April 4, 2016

Monotheism in Athens

Paul's apologetic sermon in Acts 17 is often taken as a model of apostolic accommodation. He quotes “one of your own poets,” speaks of “divine nature,” introduces the Athenians to a God they already vaguely know. His sermon is not so much news as an elaboration of what the Athenians…

April 4, 2016

Tribes of the Transjordan

When Israel conquered and settled in Canaan, two and a half tribes settled on the eastern side of the Jordan, in “transJordanian” territory - Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. The Chronicler treats these three tribes as a complex unit in 1 Chronicles…

April 1, 2016

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