Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
trnava-university-beeyeib-am8-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

Puritans v. Reformed Worship: (Part Two of a Book Chapter Review)

Continuing through The Worship of the English Puritans by Horton Davies: The author gives some of his own appraisals rather than immediately quoting Durel, even though that is how he began his chapter. In Davies’ opinion, while the Puritans would invoke their own interpretation of Scripture in order to condemn,…

by Mark HorneFebruary 9, 2008
kelly-sikkema-gpoh17dxqdm-unsplash
Ephesians

Luther Should Have Inserted “Alone” a Second Time in Romans

What follows are from a couple of posts on my blog. I hoped to do a series. If I do follow up, I will probably want to do it here on the BH blog rather than my own. Feedback welcome: It is no secret that some have been scathingly critical…

by Mark HorneFebruary 9, 2008
jim-jordan-teaching-2
Baptism

Jesus’ Baptism and ours

Jeremy Sexton wrote this in an earlier line of discussion: “Along those lines, I think what we most often miss in our theology of baptism (though Calvin didn’t miss this) is that Christian baptism — if it “is” anything that came before — is Jesus’ water baptism. In our baptism,…

by James B. JordanFebruary 8, 2008
sixteen-miles-out-d40gdcd_-he-unsplash
Numbers

Israel was not (all of) the Church

Jeff pointed out that baptism is not Christian circumcision . Looking at the comments, I think it might be helpful to point out that Israel was not the Church . In the new creation, the idea of an “unbaptized Christian” is either very temporary or an anomaly. Those who came…

by Mark HorneFebruary 6, 2008
aaron-burden-h8s0pf2rcqs-unsplash
Parables

Parables, Part I

Once a upon a time, one Sunday morning, a pastor mounted his pulpit for the sermon and said the following: A troubled young man walked into a downtown high-rise building. As he approached the directory on the wall, he took out a small booklet and looked back and forth from…

by Jeff MeyersFebruary 5, 2008
sixteen-miles-out-al48tflf4e8-unsplash
Exodus

What is a Prophet? (Friendship and Justification)

If you are, say, leading a Bible study in Genesis, you might notice that right after the covenant is renewed and circumcision is established (ch 17) that we see Abraham eating and drinking with God (ch 18). After that meal, God makes a point of saying the he should share…

by Mark HorneFebruary 3, 2008

Showing page 216 of 309

See all

Showing page 6 of 43

See all

Paul Our Mother

With surprising regularity, Paul uses material images, often to describe his ministry to the churches. He and his helpers are like nurses to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 2:7). He is a laboring woman in Galatia (4:19), and he nurses the Corinthians with milk, since they are infants in Christ (1…

June 13, 2014

We Don’t Win

Tom Engelhardt knows that wars can be won and that won wars can change geopolitical conditions: “don’t think for a moment that war never solved a problem, or achieved a goal for an imperial or other regime, or that countries didn’t regularly find victory in arms. History is filled with…

June 13, 2014

Structure in Isaiah 63

Isaiah 63 begins with a question: Who is this? He comes from the direction of Edom, his clothing is stained (the Heb. verb is chametz , “leavened”. Yahweh answer: “I speaker of righteousness, mighty to save” (v. 1; Heb. for last phrase rab lehoshiy’a ). Verse 2 asks another question:…

June 13, 2014

Aporia of Purity

Michael Guichard and Lionel Marti offer an outstanding survey of purity in ancient Mesopotamia in their contribution to Purity and the Forming of Religious Tradition . Among the many details, two particularly stand out. The first was the connection between purity and luminosity, purity and glory. Referring to Sumerian terms…

June 13, 2014
Pneumatology

Husbandly Spirit

Jesus gives His Spirit to His Bride, and the Bride is so filled with the Spirit that she and the Spirit speak with a single voice, which is the voice of the Word whose Spirit it is. Filled with the Spirit, the Bride longs for the Lord’s coming: The Spirit…

June 12, 2014

Participation and Play

Robert Ellis ( Games People Play ) has a lot of critical things to say about sports, but the aim of his book is to analyze and ultimately to defend sports in theological terms. He’s comfortable with the Victorian Settlement. He does that in part by correlating the results of…

June 12, 2014

Showing page 587 of 2212

Browse by Category

In Medias Res

Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.

Donate

Theopolis is nearly 100% donor-supported. Consider joining us on our mission.