Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
case-study-header-streamlining-code-2
Biblical Studies

Levels of Language

A couple years ago, I read Paul Graham’s ruminations on higher- and lower-level languages in Hackers and Painters . Although he’s talking about computer languages, his insights have bearing on biblical language and hermeneutics. So bear with me while I lay out some of the basic points, and then we’ll…

by Tim NicholsAugust 7, 2018
e99a2225
Ecclesiology

The Church at the Center

Toward the end of the Revelation, John sees a vision of a new heaven and a new earth. The old created order in Adam has passed away, and the new order under the lordship of Jesus has been established. Within this new creation John also sees “the holy city, the…

by Bill SmithAugust 3, 2018
screen-shot-2018-02-08-at-9-58-52-am
Epistemology

Seeking Integration in a Fragmented World: D.C. Schindler: Integrative Metaphysics

I have been talking with you about integration—an elusive, allusive, word, pregnant with something we long for. I have suggested that what might be rightly a natural longing has been exacerbated by our own modern Western milieu’s dominating devotion to bits and bytes, a prevailing sense of fragmentation. Fragmentation is…

by Esther Lightcap MeekJuly 31, 2018
lone-tree-in-a-field-t-mulraney
Art

The Stone Upon the Well

Sunday morning found me kneeling at the foot of my bed, trembling, pebbles of sweat leaping off the edge of my brow and nose, and hitting the floor in front of me, but not from piety was I procumbent; though as a minister for over a decade, I had made…

by Remy WilkinsJuly 26, 2018
border-fence
Immigration

Counseling, Immigration, and the Politics of the Gospel

In April of this year, President Trump issued a zero-tolerance border policy that separated families, specifically children from their parents who had crossed the USA/Mexico border be it illegally or as asylum seekers . In mid-June, Trump dropped this policy of splitting up families, however there are still children who…

by Michael SpalioneJuly 24, 2018
giotto_di_bondone_-_no-_11_scenes_from_the_life_of_the_virgin_-_5-_marriage_of_the_virgin_-_wga09183-672x372
Biblical Studies

Joseph, the Righteous Husband

During the Middle Ages, Joseph, the husband of Mary, was the butt of many jokes. Medieval theater and art often depicted him as something of a buffoon, decidedly marginal to the gospel story. In part, this was the unfortunate obverse of the exaltation of Mary; any man would suffer by…

by Peter LeithartJuly 19, 2018

Showing page 90 of 309

See all

Showing page 8 of 43

See all

Lex orandi, lex credendi

The first way to honor the Passion as a mysterion , Jenson argues, is liturgical ( Theology as Revisionary Metaphysics , 132-3): “We understand the cross as our reunion with God when we ourselves are made actors in the cross’s story,” especially, he argues, in the three-day celebration of Pascha.…

August 20, 2014

Deliverdict

One of Douglas Campbell’s essays in Beyond Old and New Perspectives on Paul deals the dikaio - language of Paul, both as a noun (righteousness, dikaiosune ) and as a verb (“justify,” dikaioo ). Addressing the latter, Campbell rightly highlights the importance of Romans 6:7: “whoever has died is justified…

August 20, 2014

AdWorld Wide Web

The first thing that came on my computer screen when I clicked the link to look over Ethan Zuckerman’s Atlantic essay on the ad-based web was a pop-up. Oh, the irony! as my kids like to say. Zuckerman has been in the web industry for a couple of decades, and…

August 20, 2014
Medicine

The Costs of C-Sections

Cesarean sections have gotten a lot safer over the past century plus. And as they’ve gotten safer, they’ve gotten a lot commoner. But Sarah Yager reports that there are costs attached to the increase: “unnecessary C-sections cost insurers an estimated $5 billion a year.” And the cost of the procedure…

August 20, 2014
Atonement

Errors of Atonement Theology

Jenson gives a concise summary of the weaknesses of traditional atonement theories ( Theology as Revisionary Metaphysics , 128-30). There are “two paired errors.” The first separates the cross “from its future, in the resurrection.” As Jenson says, without the resurrection, the “in the Bible’s general view of reality, a…

August 19, 2014

God the Creator

One of the themes of Andrea Gabriel’s summary of Barth’s Doctrine of Creation is that, for Barth, the doctrine of creation is a doctrine about God. This brings some fresh insights to the fore. It means, Barth insists, that “God” is not “synonymous with the concept of a world-cause, rightly…

August 19, 2014

Showing page 545 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.