Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
preston-goff-xncifslw0jw-unsplash
Biblical Theology

The Old Testament Precursor to the Pastor

WHAT IS THE OT PRECURSOR OF THE NT OFFICE OF PASTOR? HOW DOES THE FORMER ILLUMINATE THE LATTER? The first problem to address is: how do we know that there is an office of pastor in the New Testament? 1 Perhaps the way the question is put may permit me…

by Mark HorneJune 5, 1999
nasa-vhsz50aafas-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

The Geocentricity Question

[This essay was originally published in December, 1981, in The Biblical Educator , a publication of the Institute for Christian Economics, and again with slight revisions in Contra Mundum 7 (Spring, 1993). It is reprinted here as a supplement to my book Creation in Six Days .] In 1979, Dr.…

by James B. JordanJune 4, 1999
screen-shot-2022-05-12-at-12-07-23-pm
Biblical Horizons

Call Me Ishmael, Part 2

Anyone seeking to reverse the meaning of this promise needs to come to grips not only with the phrase "God was with the lad" later on, but also with Hagar’s response in 16:13. She worships Yahweh, putting her trust in Him and obeying Him. In fact, Hagar is at the…

by James B. JordanJune 4, 1999
aaron-burden-h8s0pf2rcqs-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

Call Me Ishmael, Part 1

Ishmael is the narrator of Melville’s fantasy-romance Moby Dick. Melville takes up the traditional view of Ishmael as a wayward son of Abraham, driven out solely because of the Divine "caprice" of election, an angry man with his hand raised against all other men. He is a fitting "anti-hero," or…

by James B. JordanMay 4, 1999
aaron-burden-1ebsmyrau-s-unsplash
Isaiah

Five Cities and Isaiah 19

There were five cities at the center of the Canaanite culture in the circle of the Jordan, a place like the Garden of Eden, like the land of Egypt, before it became the Dead Sea at the destruction of the cities (Genesis 13:10). Genesis 14:2 tells us their names: Sodom,…

by James B. JordanApril 4, 1999
phillip-medhurst-abraham-and-lot
Biblical Horizons

Lot

Meditations by James B. Jordan Genesis 19, the destruction of Sodom and the rescue of Lot, is part two of a story that begins in Genesis 18. These two chapters happen in one 24-hour period: noon and evening in Mamre, and midnight and daybreak in Sodom. God and two angels…

by James B. JordanApril 4, 1999

Showing page 244 of 309

See all

Showing page 9 of 43

See all

What Theory Misses

"All theory is eye-obsessed," writes Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy in the recently published first volume of his Sociology (3). Theoria is a vision-rooted concept, and a theory attempts to grasp the "idea" of the matter by looking at things from all sides. Eyes, though, "whether empirical or inner - have one limitation,…

November 3, 2017

Elitist for the Revolution

Andrew Ferguson reviews Sally Quinn's memoir, Finding Magic , explaining how Quinn transformed society reporting to become "one of the channels through which the revolution of the 1960s entered Washington and remade the city and American politics." When Quinn got started, "society reporters were deferential matrons who acted less as…

November 3, 2017

Africa's Dutch Disease

In a wide-ranging, informative overview of US interests in Africa , Matthew Taylor King summarizes the optimistic narrative of African productivity that emerged in the early 2000s: "In any given year, in a list of the world’s top ten economic performers, one would spot five or more African economies, such…

November 2, 2017

King Among Priests

In that seventh year, Jehoiada the priest organizes a covenant renewal that will restore the Davidic kingdom. He places the boy king Joash on the throne (2 Chronicles 23). The covenant renewal is a double or even a triple covenant renewal. The first covenant involves Jehoiada the priest and five…

November 2, 2017

Schizo-Fania

For a week in early October, it looked as if my college football fantasy – or nightmare – might be realized. The three teams I root for all looked as if they might be heading for the NCAA playoff. Yes, I root for three college football teams. I suffer from…

November 1, 2017

Fractured Present, Catholic Future

On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses, a list of propositions aimed at problems in the Roman Catholic Church, to the door of the university church in Wittenberg, Germany. He wanted to start a theological debate. Instead, he started the Reformation. As Luther’s teaching reverberated through Europe,…

October 31, 2017

Showing page 127 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.