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

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Apologetics

Do I Have to go to Church?

Imagine driving up to Canada and stopping at a restaurant to get a bite to eat. While you’re sitting at the table, an enthusiastic young man comes over to you and says in an excited voice, "Are you an American?" You reply, "Yes, I am." "Wonderful! I have so little…

by Mark HorneNovember 15, 1999
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Biblical Horizons

The Prayer of Manasseh

1 O Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous posterity; 2 You who have made heaven and earth with all their order; 3 who have shackled the sea by Your word ofcommand, who have confined the deep and sealed it with…

by James B. JordanOctober 4, 1999
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Biblical Horizons

The Apocrypha: Bel and the Dragon

Part 1: 1When King Astyages was laid with his fathers, Cyrus the Persian received his kingdom. 2 And Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of his friends. 3Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they spent on it twelve bushels…

by James B. JordanOctober 4, 1999
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Church Government

Ministers and Ruling Elders Do Not Occupy the Same Office

This debate has been going on for some time. But with few exceptions, almost all explanations of Presbyterian church polity claim that a “church” (meaning a single local congregation) must be ruled by “a plurality of elders” of whom one may happen to teach and work full-time doing so. This…

by Mark HorneSeptember 2, 1999
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Biblical Horizons

The Apocrypha

I hope that those who are advocating reading more of the ancient, "classical" literature of the ancient, "classical" world, are also promoting the Apocrypha. I’m afraid that many Christians don’t realize what great literature much of the Apocrypha is. It is not, of course, inspired by God, and perhaps because…

by James B. JordanAugust 4, 1999
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Church Government

What is Presbyterianism?

PRESBYTERIANISM is a term referring to a system of government in the Church. It is commonly contrasted with Congregationalism and Episcopalianism. Presbyter is a Greek word that is translated as “elder” in our English New Testaments. Thus, Presbyterianism is commonly defined as “rule by elders.” This is a misleading definition.…

by Mark HorneJune 5, 1999

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Master of the Week

Jesus holds seven stars (Revelation 1:16). Farrer says there can be no doubt what these stars are: They are the seven planets of the ancient solar system, which lent their names to the days of the week ( Revelation of St. John Divine , 68). He elaborate: “Christ embraces [the…

February 9, 2014

The Voice

John hears a voice and turns to see it (Revelation 1:10, 12). C.E. Douglas ( The Last Word in Prophecy , 149-51) observes that this picks up on a rich vein of biblical phonology. Ezekiel heard a voice above the firmament, and what he saw was a human figure glowing…

February 9, 2014

Presence of the Past

We live in a world of novelty. Newness has never been more new, and, like the mercies of God, the new is new every morning. But a strange thing has happened on the way to a world of the never-new now. Along the way we’ve made the past more accessible…

February 8, 2014

Fangasm and Constructed Intimacy

Fans exert more influence on popular culture than ever before, or so it seems. Katherine Larsen and Lynn Zubernis, authors of Fangasm , aren’t buying it. Drawing on their work Devon Maloney observes that “creating a relationship in which producers give fans what they think they want—has become a massive,…

February 8, 2014

Sacraments and the Free Spirit

Christopher Elwood ( The Body Broken , 75) claims that Calvin’s “instrumental” view of sacramental efficacy opens up a space for critical scrutiny: “Rather than being regarded as either sacred or secular, political and social orders, by analogy with the sacramental elements, were likely seen by the attentive reader of…

February 7, 2014

Sanctuary Theology

I sketch some of the contours of sanctuary theology at the Trinity House site.

February 7, 2014

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