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Writing

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

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Ephesians

“Be Holy for I am Holy”

Below is an excerpt from Mark Horne’s manuscript from his forthcoming commentary on Ephesians, specifically on Paul’s reference to Christians as “saints” (Ephesians 1:1). “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus.” Paul greets…

by Mark HorneMarch 25, 2025
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Exodus

The Perishable in the Ark of the Covenant

There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt (2 Chronicles 5:10). When Solomon finally brought the ark of the covenant to the finished temple in…

by Jonathan WhiteMarch 18, 2025
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Exodus

The Stages of a Man’s Life and the Second Table of the Law

In As You Like It , Shakespeare famously describes the seven ages of a man’s life. The division of man’s life into stages is not an invention by Shakespeare, nor merely a common medieval artifice, but an expression of the real journey taken in life. Shakespeare seems to divide up…

by Ryan HandermannMarch 13, 2025
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Christology

The Essence of God’s Image

Is there a chief characteristic which best illumines the image of God in Man? What is it exactly that makes Man as a lens through which to see God? Moses thoughtfully and deliberately escorts the reader to the characteristic showcased above all else: humility. Though much ink has been spilled…

by Ben LoveladyMarch 11, 2025
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Liturgy

Two Ways of Being Liturgical: A Baptist Response to the High Church Exodus

Note: This essay is adapted from a talk delivered at the Howell E. Jackson Committee conference on “Foundations of Baptist Education,” held at Union University, Oct. 4-5, 2024. It’s no secret that evangelicals are converting to High Church traditions, a term I will use to refer to Anglo-Catholicism, Roman Catholicism,…

by Ryan SinniMarch 4, 2025
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Icons

Don’t Convert: Icons and Images in the Early Church

In recent years, there has been a flurry of conversions from Protestant Christianity towards Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, at least in part due to their supposed early church heritage relative to Protestantism. In the words of Rod Dreher, a former Methodist who converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, “Many evangelicals seek…

by John CarpenterFebruary 25, 2025

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Brother strangers

In his third epistle, John commends Gaius for his hospitality to “brothers,” particularly for his hospitality to brothers who are “strangers.” This simple commendation marks a social revolution in ancient history. The revolution is not John’s commendation of hospitality per se. Many ancients commended philoxenia, hospitable love of strangers. The…

February 22, 2007
History

Language decline?

Electronic communication is supposed to be destroying our ability to use normal language, as we resort to various forms of shorthand - BTW, FWIW, LOL, ROFLOL, etc, etc. Well maybe. But if it’s a sign of linguistic decline, it’s not the first time. FF Bruce points out that certain greetings…

February 22, 2007

Sacramental piety

Some believe that an emphasis on sacraments must produce an externalized, mechanical form of the Christian life. That is no doubt partly the fault of high-church Christians who have permitted their participation to become externalized and mechanical. It’s incumbent upon high-church Christians to demonstrate that sacramental piety is indeed piety.…

February 21, 2007
History

Interim America

“Interim America” is Rosenstock-Huessy’s name for the American order during the period between 1890-1940. This is an “interim” because it is not a stable order, but a transition between the old and the new. This interim period is ordered by the suburb, the factory, the highway, and the loss of…

February 21, 2007
Theology

Who Defines “Reformed”?

In a couple of posts over the last several weeks, I’ve tried to analyze the “Federal Vision” from a variety of angles - as an “identity crisis” provoked by the FV tendency to reach outside the Reformed tradition for inspiration, and as a conflict not so much of doctrinal systems…

February 21, 2007
Theology

Who Defines “Reformed”?

In a couple of posts over the last several weeks, I’ve tried to analyze the “Federal Vision” from a variety of angles - as an “identity crisis” provoked by the FV tendency to reach outside the Reformed tradition for inspiration, and as a conflict not so much of doctrinal systems…

February 21, 2007

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