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Writing

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

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Masculinity

Ringing the Brothel Door

Bruce Marshall once wrote that every young man who rings the bell at a brothel is unconsciously looking for God. While it is not necessarily true that the inward desire of every man is ultimately a thirst for righteousness, it is true that every sin is the disordering of a…

by Garrett SoucyOctober 31, 2023
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Ruth

Work and Gratitude in Ruth

In a previous essay , I argued that the story which begins with Lot and culminates in Ruth’s great-grandson David follows God’s five-fold pattern of creative work as laid out by Jim Jordan: taking something in hand (in this case, the Abrahamic family), restructuring it, distributing the product of labor,…

by Josh JensenOctober 27, 2023
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Books

Men, Marriage, and the Feminine Imperative: A Review of "Men and Marriage"

Gilder, George. Men and Marriage. Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2023. 1 By 1973, the hightide of second-wave feminism had flooded the beaches of American culture. Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique eroded the shores of traditional female roles by naming and stirring up further domestic discontentment. Kate Millet wrote her dissertation-turned-book,…

by Bill SmithOctober 17, 2023
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Galatians

Get Behind Me, Eliphaz!

The Book of Job is a very tortuous book. The arguments of Job and his friends are shot through with truth and error hopelessly mixed together. Every line of contentious poetry stands locked in deadly battle with every other line. As maddening as this can be for a reader who…

by Jonathan WhiteOctober 10, 2023
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Apostle Paul

Before His Conversion, Paul Knew Jesus

More than once in the last 50 years it has occurred to me that Paul might have known Jesus before He appeared to Paul on the Damascus road, but I had never taken up the notion in earnest until recently when I ran into a book by Stanley Porter titled…

by Ralph Allan SmithOctober 4, 2023
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Acts

Did Peter Found the Church in Rome?

The question in the title is genuine, not polemic. I could be perfectly happy to follow an ancient — and what is regarded as a well-attested — tradition. But I do not feel compelled to follow it simply because it is tradition. I would like to have arguments that Peter…

by Ralph Allan SmithSeptember 26, 2023

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Baptismal meditation, October 23

Acts 9:15-19: But the Lord said to Ananias, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake. And Ananias departed and entered the…

October 23, 2005

Aunt Jezebel

For those inclined to have some sympathy with Dido, Wiseman offers a jarring bit of genealogical information: “according to Josephus . . . , [Ethbaal] was priest of the gods Astarte and Melquart. He ruled [Tyre] for thirty-two years. His granddaughter Dido founded Carthage. His daughter Jezebel married Ahab early…

October 23, 2005

David the ark

Donald Wiseman points out that the word for the “coverings” over David in 1 Kings 1 is the same as the word for the coverings of the tabernacle. Perhaps David is being implicitly compared to the ark of the covenant; the Lord is “enthroned” above David, a notion that would…

October 23, 2005

Mary and Martha

Mary and Martha form a double Israel, two women living in the same house. One spends her time housekeeping, ignoring Jesus because she has too much to do in her little home temple and grumbling (like the older brother in the Prodigal Son) that she is not appreciated. Mary gives…

October 22, 2005

What the Law Can’t Do

Would Adam have escaped the curse if he had repented when the Lord confronted him in the garden? To answer with a question: Did Josiah’s repentance save Israel? The threat of the covenant is, “dying you shall die,” and that happens whenever the covenant is broken. As Gowan points out…

October 20, 2005

What the Law Can’t Do

Would Adam have escaped the curse if he had repented when the Lord confronted him in the garden? To answer with a question: Did Josiah’s repentance save Israel? The threat of the covenant is, “dying you shall die,” and that happens whenever the covenant is broken. As Gowan points out…

October 20, 2005

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