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

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Baptism

Baptismal Efficacy and the Reformed Tradition: Past, Present, and Future

OUR REFORMED HERITAGE When a Reformed Christian hears “baptismal regeneration,” what comes to mind? “Heresy,” most likely. Unfortunately, many in the Reformed community today have lost touch with some important aspects of their own heritage. If Reformed theology is going to continue reforming according to Scripture, we must recover the…

by Rich LuskMay 29, 2002
Theologia

Standing on the Promises | Faith and Assurance in the Bible

Faith and assurance are recurring subjects of controversy in Evangelical circles. We all agree that we are saved by the righteousness of Christ reckoned to us, which we receive through faith alone. Jesus lived and died and rose again as the representative of his people so that all of them…

by Mark HorneMay 24, 2002
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New Perspective on Paul

Getting Some Perspectiveon the “New Perspective”

What’s at stake (or not!) for Reformed Pastors regarding the contemporary discussion of Paul and “the works of the law”? There has been a great deal of talk lately about “the New Perspective on Paul” and the works of, among others, Ed Sanders, James Dunn, and N. T. Wright. Each…

by Mark HorneMay 24, 2002
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Theologia

Did Jesus Preach Gospel or Law to the Rich Young Ruler?

When Christ enjoins upon the young man the duty of following him (Mt. 19:23), he does not give a counsel, but a command to all in common because no one can have a hope of salvation unless he follows Christ (2 Pet. 2:21), although from a particular cause it is…

by Mark HorneMay 20, 2002
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New Perspective on Paul

A Short Note on N. T. WRIGHT and His Reformed Critics

This short paper is not an attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis and defense of N. T. Wright, much less the so-called “New Perspective on Paul” as a whole. Indeed, Wright’s theological project has some failings and the New Perspective as a movement must be considered a mixed bag of…

by Rich LuskMay 20, 2002
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Biblical Studies

Leviticus 1:3-4, 10

Leviticus 1:3-13, Translation 3 If his Nearbringing is an Ascension from the herd, a perfect male shall he bring him near. To the forecourt of the Tent of Meeting he shall bring him near, for his acceptance before Yahweh. 4 And he shall lean his hand on the head of…

by James B. JordanAugust 5, 2001

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Freedom Deregulated

I n his Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society , Rusty Reno finds a “false view of freedom as unimpeded choice and self-definition” at the root of many of our political, economic, and social pathologies. In the name of freedom, we have “deregulated” culture, a policy shift with far…

August 12, 2016

The Injustice of Nonjudgmentalism

R usty Reno ( Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society ) summarizes the findings of Charles Murray's 2013 Coming Apart . Murray compares two statistical cohorts - an upper class one that he labels Belmont and a working class cohort called Fishtown. He finds a growing gap not only…

August 12, 2016

Divine Simplicity in a Contested World

N ear the beginning of his Divine Simplicity (xviii-xix), Paul Hinlickey briefly explains the differences between his “weak” account of simplicity and the “strong” accounts of Thomas and others. In many classic treatments, simplicity is “a rationally evident ontological implication that comes about by analysis of the ground of a…

August 12, 2016
Anthropology

Thinking Like An Anthropologist

T he best anthropologists are specialists in difference. They operate on the assumption of distance between the anthropologist and the object of study. The great anthropological sin is to incorporate the different into a variation of the same, to impose the anthropologist's social, philosophical, religious, or political categories on a…

August 12, 2016

Dilbert as Pundit

S ome of the freshest commentary on the 2016 Presidential election has been coming from Dilbert creator Scott Adams. Adams has endorsed Clinton, as he says, “for my own personal safety,” but he has also stated that he doesn't vote. He wants to maintain objective distance from the fray, and…

August 12, 2016
Body

The Mystery of the Body

L uke Timothy Johnson's critique of John Paul II's theology of the body isn't convincing. He complains about the way the Pope uses Scripture, moving from text to exhortation in an “uncritical” way, and failing to rise to the level of “serious theological engagement” ( The Revelatory Body , 25).…

August 12, 2016

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