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American Religion

Protestantism's Lost Soul

D. G. Hart’s The Lost Soul of American Protestantism vividly clarifies the differences between evangelical and Confessional Protestantism. In part the book is a manifesto for historians of American religion. Hart argues that historians of American Protestantism have operated with a simplistic binary contrast of evangelical/conservative v. liberal/progressive. At best,…

by Peter LeithartAugust 18, 2015
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Books

The Idiot and the Limits of Compassion

Dostoyevsky’s novel, The Idiot , like his other major works, is a complex evaluation of the human condition—a juxtaposition of the innate goodness and innate evil that resides within every human heart. There is much one can say about The Idiot . I am no specialist of Russian literature, or…

by Gerald HiestandAugust 13, 2015
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Homosexuality

If There is “Natural Law” How Can People Believe in Same-Sex Marriage?

At risk of violating some secret handshake agreement on some important nuance to “natural law,” I will sum up what I understand in my own words. As far as I can tell natural law is supposed to be an area of knowledge that all people should be able to agree…

by Mark HorneAugust 11, 2015
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Biblical Studies

Cosmic Language, 2

The first installment of this article may be found here . The Image of Man This brings us to a substitutionary atonement which we do understand, the fulfilment of the cruciform Tabernacle in the cross of Christ. Although Jesus’ execution was Physical and Social, it was primarily Personal . Beginning…

by Mike BullAugust 6, 2015
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Genesis

Every Noise Appalls

The first two essays in this series drew attention to the structure of the first part of Macbeth and to the way Shakespeare incorporates the Garden of Eden into his story. Macbeth , we saw, is a temptation story in which, compared to the Biblical story, the temptation itself is…

by Ralph Allan SmithAugust 4, 2015
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Revelation

The Warrior and the City: A Wedding Homily

Revelation 19:6-9 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For theLord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him,…

by Peter LeithartAugust 3, 2015

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Mummified Concepts

From Nietzsche's Twilight of the Idols , on "reason" in philosophy: "You ask me what all idiosyncrasy is in philosophers? . . . For instance their lack of the historical sense, their hatred even of the idea of Becoming, their Egyptianism. They imagine that they do honour to a thing…

April 27, 2018

Rebellion at Sinai

Martin Hauge's Descent from the Mountain draws attention to the parallels between Israel's reaction to Yahweh's direct revelation of the Ten Words (Exodus 20:18-21) and the golden calf incident and its aftermath (Exodus 32-34). The two episodes are introduced similarly: "the formal contacts of 20.18 and 32.1 [are] possible signs…

April 27, 2018

Yahweh

What does Yahweh mean when He introduces Himself to Moses as ' ehyeh ʾăšer 'ehyeh (Exodus 3)? Victor Hamilton (Exodus) notes that the traditional translation "I am who I am" is too constricting. Grammatically the phrase has multiple possible meanings: "The term 'ehyeh is a first-person imperfect of the verb…

April 27, 2018

God and Caesar

Paul DeHart argues that Christianity, not the Enlightenment, gave us the separation of church and state. He cites Gelasius. He points out that Christianity challenged the near-universal institution of sacral kingship on Christological grounds. He of course alludes to Jesus' statement about the things of God and the things of…

April 27, 2018

Orwell v. Comfort

Eric Laursen's forthcoming The Duty to Stand Aside provides an intimate glimpse into British debates about Allied tactics during World War II. He focuses on the "wartime quarrel of George Orwell and Alex Comfort." Orwell needs no introduce. Comfort is best known for his Joy of Sex , published long…

April 27, 2018

End of Cult?

The letter to the Hebrews is sometimes read as a brief for a cultless, liturgy-free Christianity. Barnabas Lindars ( Theology of the Letter to the Hebrews ) argues that, on the contrary, the letter is a defense of Christian cult. He provides an innovative sketch of the pastoral impetus behind…

April 27, 2018

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