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Writing

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

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Art

Toward a Biblical Definition of Obscenity

My copy of Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1976: not so new, really) defines obscene as (1) "disgusting to the senses; repulsive" and (2) "abhorrent to morality or virtue; specif: designed to incite lust or depravity." Definitions such as this serve a useful purpose only when there is agreement on what…

by Peter LeithartMay 30, 1991
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Biblical Studies

The Abomination of Desolation, Part 1

An Overview Here begins a series of studies in the Abomination of Desolation, or Desolating Sacrilege. This month and next I shall set out an overview of what I regard as the best interpretation of the phenomenon. Later essays will look at it in more detail. (The original form of…

by James B. JordanMay 22, 1991
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Biblical Studies

Advice From a Sojourner, Part 12

29. There are three things that are stately in their march, Even four that are stately when they walk: 30. The lion is mighty among beasts And does not turn back before any, 31. The strutting cock, The male goat, And a king with his army around him. 32. If…

by James B. JordanMay 22, 1991
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Biblical Studies

The Chronology of Ezra & Nehemiah, Part 4

We have seen that it is likely that the Artaxerxes of Ezra-Nehemiah is the same as Darius the Great. If this solution be correct, and I think it is, possibly there is another problem in Ezra that can be resolved by it. In Ezra 4:6 we are told that "in…

by James B. JordanMay 22, 1991
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Biblical Horizons

The Weight of Being

Czech novelist Milan Kundera, though hardly a household name in the English-speaking world, has achieved a certain notoriety in America in recent years, largely on the strength of the English translation and film version of his novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. 1 The Unbearable Lightness of Being — the…

by Peter LeithartMay 6, 1991
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Proverbs

Advice From a Sojourner, Part 11

24. Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise; 25. The ants are not a strong folk, But they prepare their food in the summer; 26. The coneys are not a mighty folk, Yet they make their houses in the rocks; 27. The locusts have no…

by James B. JordanApril 22, 1991

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Rape and Consolatio

I n a 2013 article in Augustinian Studies , Melanie Webb argues that Augustine challenged a deeply entrenched Roman and North African “heritage of valorized suicides” in his treatment of rape, shame, and suicide in the first book of City of God . That heritage included Christian writers, like Jerome…

January 26, 2015

Guinea Pig Economy

It isn’t just Facebook. Over at Forbes.com , Parmy Olson explains how companies are not only gathering data from our computers and phones, but constantly subjecting us to tests. We have entered the Guinea Pig Economy, and everyone with an internet connection is part of the experiment: “Consumers have been…

January 26, 2015

Life By Faith

Faith is inescapable. Trust is embedded, in various ways, in all human actions. We act in order to achieve certain results, aiming at expected consequences. When we act, we trust that the actions we perform will achieve those consequences. I turn the handle on my sink, trusting that the city’s…

January 26, 2015

Mosaianic Secret

Exodus and Acts seem to offer different accounts of Moses’ killing of the Egyptian. In Exodus, there’s an emphasis on the secrecy of the act. Moses sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, looks around to see if anyone is watching, then kills the Egyptian and buries him in the…

January 26, 2015

Who Needs Books?

Naomi Baron’s Reading Onscreen argues that the value of digital reading depends on the kind of reading you’re doing: “digital reading is fine for many short pieces or for light content we don’t intend to analyze or reread.” But “eReading is less well suited for many longer works or even…

January 23, 2015
Parenting

Who needs Dads?

In his Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child , John Gottman describes “Emotion Coaching” in parenting. This involves involves acknowledging a child’s negative emotions, using those moments of negative emotion as an opportunity to teach and engage the child, listening, helping the child put labels on his feelings, and setting parameters…

January 23, 2015

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