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Art

The Second Word V: On Images and Art, Part 3

The Failure of the Church Yet a third factor played an important role in this historical development, in addition to the imperial adoption of icons and the rise of the icons of the holy man. Brown writes: "The great Christian basilicas of the previous centuries tended to stand empty, except…

by James B. JordanSeptember 4, 1998
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Biblical Horizons

Patriarchal Dominion

The three large patriarchal narratives of Genesis concern the three aspects of the cosmos: matter, space, and time. Over these three is man given dominion. Lucifer was originally appointed to train man in this dominion, but he chose to lead man into rebellion instead. Thus, the Angel of Yahweh replaced…

by James B. JordanAugust 4, 1998
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Biblical Horizons

The Case Against Western Civilization, Part 6

Part 6: Living in a Dying World (continued) The "Trivium" (continued) The five stages of education are simply the five stages of the covenant as God administers it in human life and history, and in the liturgy of covenant renewal: First, God announces Himself. "I am Yahweh Your God." He…

by James B. JordanAugust 4, 1998
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Biblical Studies

Re-creation in the Ascension Offering

The following essay is tentative and exploratory, offered for your consideration. It seems to me that the ritual of the Ascension Offering (incorrectly translated as Burnt Offering) of Leviticus 1 is a symbolic recapitulation of Genesis 1, which thereby portrays the sacrificial ritual as way of moving from a fallen…

by James B. JordanJuly 4, 1998
Biblical Horizons

The Framework Hypothesis: A Gnostic Heresy

Just as the vast majority of evangelical Christians in America today are Arminian and Baptist, so the vast majority do not believe in a creation around 4000 BC. I don’t expect any of these three situations to change anytime soon. Powerful presuppositions are at work in all three instances, along…

by James B. JordanJuly 4, 1998
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Art

The Second Word V: On Images and Art, Part 2

The Iconoclastic Controversy Continuing Pagan Influence How did images creep in? To begin with, there was in the post-Constantinian Church a concerted effort on the part of the semi-pagans to interpret Christianity in essentially pantheistic terms. The heretics put God and man on a continuum of "being," so that God…

by James B. JordanJuly 4, 1998

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Theology

Exhortation, August 22

Welcome back to the students. As you are starting a new year of school, you have been and will be talked at, exhorted, and challenged many times. And this is going to be one of those times. To the NSA students, I urge you to remember what was said to…

August 22, 2004

Eucharistic Meditation, August 22

1 Kings 2:7 Most of chapter 2 is concerned with ?establishing?ESolomon?s kingdom, and this can only be done by eliminating the enemies of the kingdom. Solomon must use the sword if he?s going to promote the peace and welfare of his kingdom, and he must use it wisely and firmly.…

August 22, 2004

Conditionality and Unconditionality in the Davidic Covenant

Well, that’s quite a long title for a short post. In any case: The apparent problem is this. 2 Sam 7 seems to promise an eternal kingdom to David, unconditionally. To be sure, David’s son (and later sons) will suffer discipline when they sin, but Yahweh promises never to remove…

August 21, 2004
Theology

Wedding Sermon, August 20

You know what the Lord requires of you in your marriage. You heard Genesis 2 and Ephesians 5 just moments ago, and you have often heard them often before. You have listened repeatedly as the biblical teaching on marriage has been explained at length, and you have observed Christian families…

August 20, 2004

Maacah

The name Maacah occurs several times in Scripture, most frequently in connection with Absalom. Maacah is David’s wife, the mother of Absalom (2 Sam 3:3), and Maacah is also the DAUGHTER of Absalom who is also the wife of Rehoboam (2 Chron 11:20-22) and mother of Abijah and Asa, successors…

August 20, 2004

Joab’s Wilderness House

Why is the location of Joab?s house mentioned (1 Ki 2:34)? The wilderness is the place of Israel?s 40-year sojourn, prior to the entry into and conquest of the land of Israel. Thus, the reference to the wilderness connects with the Joshua typology that is evident elsewhere in the chapter…

August 20, 2004

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