Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Every attempt to understand the Christian sacraments makes use of comparisons or analogies with other rituals, events, or customs. Calvin and those who followed him, for example, spoke of the sacraments as “seals,” and compared them to the “seal of approval” that an official impresses on a document. Thinking about…
Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy has pointed out in his essay "Hitler and Israel, or On Prayer" (available for $2.00 from Biblical Horizons ) that it is God’s word "No!" that establishes in a culture the distinction between the Creator and the creature. The Bible repeatedly says "No!" to every human attempt to…
If you missed Gattaca at the movie theaters, you can probably check it out from your local video store now. And you should. This is one of those relatively rare thought-provoking movies that can stand being watched with brain in gear more than once. It is also poetic, sensitive, visually…
Part 4: The Nephilim Factor Western Civilization partakes of what I call "the Nephilim Factor." The Enoch Factor means that the pagans get there first. This is both a blessing and a danger. As a blessing, it means that they work out techniques of dominion over the lower creation that…
The Worship Service Then the one speaking with me took me by the hair and lifted me into the air in the middle of the great room. And as I watched, I saw people entering the room to the sound of the great bells outside. Then entered from all four…
Part 3: Philosophy (continued) If we realize that human beings are the images of God, and that man hates God, then we realize that all non-Christian political philosophy is founded on a fundamental hatred of other human beings, a hatred manifest in contempt. Rome, like Enoch, was founded on the…
Showing page 250 of 309
Showing page 7 of 43
In case you need yet another reason to search for Isidore, he has recently been proposed as the “patron saint of the Internet.” And for those without the cash to buy the recent translation of Isidore’s Etymologies (advertized here some time ago), and with some facility in Latin, the Latin…
Paul also makes some observations that hint at aspects of a theology of music. He says or implies several things in 1 Corinthians 14:6-8. First, he introduces a musical analogy into a discussion of speech in the church, implying a parallel between music and language. That analogy becomes explicit as…
In 1 Corinthians 14:10-11, Paul supports a point about tongues and prophecy with a bit of linguistics. Meaning, he notes, functions within a linguistic community. Languages have significance (v 10), but only for those who know that significance (v 11). Language boundaries are community boundaries, so that if we speak…
INTRODUCTION John says that believing in Jesus the Christ is a sign of being born of God (5:1) and that those who believe in Jesus as Son of God overcome the world (5:4-5). How do we know that Jesus is Christ and Son of God? John’s answer is that faith…
Terrence Rafferty reviews a couple of recent horror novels in the NYT - John Saul’s In the Dark of the Night and Joe Schreiber’s Chasing the Dead . Both, he says, fail to deliver on the hints of deeper horror they toy with: “These novels are constructed as efficient, relentless…
1 John 5:5: whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. John uses the root of the word “victory” (nik-) seven times in this letter. Mostly, it’s buried in the word “overcome.” Young men, he says, overcome the evil…
Showing page 1727 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
