Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
cloister
Democracy

The Babylonian Unity of the Church

There are many legitimate reasons to lament the divided state of the church. Fleshly pride, theological hubris, sectarian rivalries are each in their own ways modern versions of the Galatian heresy, refusing table fellowship with brothers and sisters for whom Christ died. And denominations have frequently played the same role…

by Toby SumpterJune 23, 2015
img_0166
Theopolis News

Bogumil Jarmulak

Though Bogumil Jarmulak was not able to deliver his lectures on Jurgen Moltmann due to flight delays, he preached at Trinity Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning, June 14. He encouraged the church in how to deal with misery in this life, and pointed them to their only hope in life…

by Brian MoatsJune 18, 2015
img_6328
History

Christians, Liturgy, and the Past, 2

Connecting with the past within the present is a complicated endeavor. One of the most immediate challenges facing us is that of ensuring that, as Christians, our use of the past is undertaken in service of present faithfulness. The past is not a realm to which we retreat, but a…

by Alastair RobertsJune 18, 2015
img_6538-2
Theopolis News

Letter From Peter Leithart

Dear friend of Theopolis, Before he attended the Theopolis course on Holistic Mission during Easter term, 2014, Jonathan Sedlak lived with his family in the quiet, comfortable Milwau­kee suburb of Slinger, Wisconsin. An intensive week in Birmingham changed all that. Listening to missionary Wes Baker and hashing over readings and…

by TheopolisJune 16, 2015
bauhaus
Architecture

The Crystalline Vision: Bauhaus and the Bible

“What is in the nature of these materials?” The Bauhaus, founded in Germany in 1919 by architect Walter Gropius, had a profound influence in every area of design, from graphics and typography to clothing, furniture and architecture. The institution was not so much a style as a method, its philosophy…

by Mike BullJune 11, 2015
samuel-branch-zpvisr0s_hq-unsplash
Books

The American Way of Being Church

​Russell Richey's ​Denominationalism collects some of the most important essays on its titled topic. The authors are a who's-who of 20th century American religious history: Winthrop Hudson, Timothy L. Smith, Sidney Mead, Richey himself, H. Richard Niebuhr and Martin Marty. Some are broad synthetic studies; others are more granular studies…

by Peter LeithartJune 10, 2015

Showing page 151 of 309

See all

Showing page 6 of 43

See all

Derrida the Tactician

O’Regan ( Theology and the Spaces of Apocalyptic , 113-4) deftly captures the limits and use of Derrida. Limits first, and there are severe: Derrida is not “adequate for Christian theology,” he argues, because “as theo -logy, there is presumtively a reality whose very nature it seems it to self-disclose,…

January 14, 2014

Flicker

Christian reception of the work of Walter Benjamin is often set in the context of Christian reception of Jewish messianism or Jewish apocalyptic. In a brilliant summary of Benjamin, Cyril O’Regan ( Theology and the Spaces of Apocalyptic , 61-8) contests this characterization. Despite Benjamin’s claim that he is settled…

January 14, 2014

New Creation

The Spirit is upon the Servant of Yahweh (Isaiah 61:1), and where the Spirit is, there is new creation (cf. Genesis 1:2). The mission of the Servant is fittingly described in a complex of seven infinitive clauses (vv. 1-3): A) Yahweh anointed Me 1) to proclaim good news to the…

January 14, 2014

Comforting vengeance

The Servant of Yahweh is anointed to proclaim the “acceptable year of Yahweh” and the “day of vengeance of our God” and to comfort the mourners (Isaiah 61:2). These are not opposites. They proclaim the same fact from different angles, and the connection is underscored by a Hebrew play on…

January 14, 2014

Liberty

The word “liberty” ( deror ) is rarely used in the Hebrew Bible, and the terms for its use are set by Leviticus 25, the laws of Jubilee. There, liberty includes the freeing of slaves, as whenZedekiah proclaims liberty to slaves (Jeremiah 34:8-16). But the specific liberty that is proclaimed…

January 14, 2014

Tragic Protestantism

Some months ago, I wrote a brief piece on the “tragedy” of conversion .I used the word “tragedy” in the sense I develop in Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, & Hope In Western Literature . The word describes a conception of history and metaphysics in which the original is by definition…

January 14, 2014

Showing page 708 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.