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

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Biblical Studies

Funerals and Flutes

Matthew 8-9 records three clusters of miracles, interspersed with snatches of Jesus’ teaching about various aspects of discipleship. Just as the Sermon on the Mount displays the authority of Jesus’ Word in teaching, these chapters display the authority of Jesus’ Word over sickness, uncleanness, the creation, demons, and death. In…

by Peter LeithartApril 17, 1992
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Baptism

Daddy, Why Was I Excommunicated?

Since the early 1980s, several of the conservative Reformed Churches have debated and wrestled with the issue of paedocommunion (infant communion). The PCA and the OPC assigned study committees to examine the question, both of which produced useful reports both in support of and against the position. Though the debate…

by Peter LeithartApril 13, 1992
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Biblical Chronology

Chronologies and Kings, Part 9: Jehu, Hazael, and Assyria

(This issue of Biblical Chronology concludes a discussion of the Biblical and Assyrian chronologies, begun in previous posts. Click on the category link of "Biblical Chronology" above to see previous issues. Did Shalmaneser Know Jehu? Allis writes: "The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser contains, in addition to brief accounts of the…

by James B. JordanMarch 23, 1992
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American Culture

Arts and Play, Part 4

Movies Movies as an art form have a powerful impact because they take place in a dark room, on a large screen, with no distractions, and because they entail many of the arts: music, acting, choreography, design and color, etc. A movie can be an overwhelming experience for a young…

by James B. JordanMarch 23, 1992
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Leviticus

The Ecology of the Tribute Offering

The Hebrew word translated as "grain offering" or "cereal offering" is minchah . Like the translation of `olah as "burnt offering," the translation of minchah as "grain offering" is somewhat deceiving, since minchah does not refer to grain or cereal. In liturgical contexts outside of Leviticus, in fact, the word…

by Peter LeithartMarch 13, 1992
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Ascension

Skinned and Cut

"He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces" (Leviticus 1:6). The normal word ( `olah ) that is translated as "burnt offering" and "whole burnt offering" has nothing to do with either burning or wholeness. It is the noun form of a verb meaning "to…

by Peter LeithartMarch 13, 1992

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Sacraments and salvation

Kimberly Hope Belcher states the thesis of her Efficacious Engagement: Sacramental Participation in the Trinitarian Mystery early on. She says that the premise of classic Catholic sacramental theology is that God is at work in them. All other definitional discussions are subordinate to this basic conviction. Citing Thomas’ insistence that…

September 10, 2012
Art

Young David

Donatello’s innovation in depicting David, Kenneth Clark informs us ( The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form , 54), captures the spirit of Renaissance: He transforms “the king of Israel into a young Greek god.” Both adjectives are critical: young and Greek: In the middle ages “the image of David…

September 10, 2012

Sermon notes

INTRODUCTION Yahweh promises to rescue His chosen servant Israel (Isaiah 41:8-9). But Israel isn’t just an object of Yahweh’s care. Israel is also an instrument of Yahweh’s justice. THE TEXT “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon…

September 10, 2012

Eucharistic meditation

Exodus 35:2: For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to Yahweh. As Pastor Sumpter pointed out, the instructions for building the tabernacle end with a Sabbath command and the narrative about building begins with…

September 9, 2012

Exhortation

When Yahweh created the world, His Spirit hovered over the waters to transform the empty waste into glory and beauty. When Yahweh re-created the world in the tabernacle, His Spirit hovered again, this time over the craftsmen Bezalel and Oholiab, to whom He gave wisdom to make things. The Spirit…

September 9, 2012

Atonement

Did Jesus make atonement on the cross? Not exactly, says David Moffitt in Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Supplements to Novum Testamentum) . According to the reviewer in Review of Biblical Literature, Moffitt appeals to the atonement rites of the Old Testament as…

September 8, 2012

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