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

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Authority

Eldership and Maturity, (Part 2)

(continued from previous issue) Between 30 and 50 What did the Levites do between age 30 and 50? Numbers 4 shows us that they carried the house of God on their shoulders. Lifting up the Lord is an image of worship in the Bible, and David’s restructuring of the Levites…

by James B. JordanJuly 8, 1995
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Romans

The Great Hangover, Parts 1-2

When God created the world, He created two lands: the Throne-land of Eden (entered through the sanctuary-garden, the Garden of Eden), and the Outlying Lands, such as the lands of Havilah and Cush. This essentially bi-polar world is the world of the Old Creation, and it continued to exist until…

by James B. JordanJuly 5, 1995
Architecture

Concerning Colors, Architecture, and Sacraments

Color is inescapable, except for those who are color blind. In our church architecture, we either employ color schemes that are helpful to worship, or we employ color schemes that are not helpful. Of course, this assertion merely begs the question: What color schemes are most helpful. God showed interest…

by James B. JordanJuly 4, 1995
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Baptism

Jesus’ Baptism Into Priesthood

As I noted in an earlier article in Rite Reasons , the Church Fathers Tertullian, Ambrose, and Augustine all claimed that baptism inducts the baptized person into membership in the royal priesthood of the church, and Thomas Aquinas said that baptism, by imprinting an indelible “character” on the soul, confers…

by Peter LeithartMay 26, 1995
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Baptism

Renewing Circumcision

When the Aaronic priests were ordained, the blood of the ram of "filling” was placed on the lobe of the right ear, the right thumb, and the right big toe (Lev. 8:22-24). Similarly, the cleansing rite for a leper included smearing the right ear lobe, thumb, and big toe with…

by Peter LeithartMay 14, 1995
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Daniel

A Correction on Daniel 7

In my Preliminary Commentary on Daniel , which many of you have obtained, I argued in chapter 13 that the four monsters called up from the sea by the evangelistic work of the four winds (the saints) represented the deep hatred of God that evangelistic work brings to the fore…

by James B. JordanMay 7, 1995

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EcclesiologyTheology

The Theopolitan Vision

The following is excerpted from The Theopolitan Vision, the first volume of The Theopolis Fundamentals Series, available from Athanasius Press . I’m going to call you Theo or Thea. “Theo” is the name we use at the Theopolis Institute to describe the kind of man who can most benefit from…

August 5, 2019
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Trinitarian Ontology

In a 2014 essay in Theological Research , Giulio Maspero compares the “ontology of the First Principle” in classical Greek metaphysics and in Trinitarian theology. Both traditions link “being” with life, but Trinitarian theology deepens the connection by making “relation” essential to the “First Principle” in a way that ultimately…

July 29, 2019

Homosexuality in the Church

The church faces two major challenges to traditional understandings of biblical sexuality. First, many churches are in the middle of all-out war over basics of Christian sexual morality, especially homosexuality. Revisionists re-read Scripture and conveniently discover that the Bible doesn’t really condemn homosexual acts; or if it does, it’s because…

July 22, 2019

Welcome

As you can see, we've updated and upgraded our web site. For the first time in a long time, we've got a place where you can explore all things Theopolis. Our web articles are here, including Conversations, Theopolis blog articles, and thousands of my old blog posts. All our podcast…

July 18, 2019
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Holy City

An old Biblical Horizons essay, first published in 1993 . Calling Jerusalem the "holy city" comes so naturally to Christians that it comes as something of a surprise to realize how infrequently the phrase is used in Scripture. Not only is Jerusalem rarely called holy, but in the Old Testament…

July 3, 2019
depression

Alienated America

The past few years have seen a lot of analyses of what’s wrong with America. Few are more insightful or satisfying than Timothy Carney’s Alienated America , published earlier this year. An editor of the conservative Washington Examiner and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Carney sets out to…

June 26, 2019

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In Medias Res

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