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Writing

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

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Biblical Studies

The Beatitudes and Woes

Mrs. Marguerite Lane of Grand Rapids writes to ask if I have ever noticed a correlation between the eight beatitudes of Matthew 5 and the eight woes of Matthew 23. I confess that I have not. A glance at various commentators reveals that such a correspondence does not seem to…

by James B. JordanMay 15, 1989
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Proverbs

Advice From a Sojourner, Part 1

1. The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, the burden. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal: 2. Surely I am more stupid than any other man, And I do not have the understanding of a man. 3. And I have not learned wisdom, But I have…

by James B. JordanMay 15, 1989
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Biblical Studies

The Problem of Psalm 137

Psalm 137 is widely regarded as one of the meanest of the imprecatory psalms. Certainly as we read it it is seems to be a song of pure vengeance. The exiles in Babylon, in grief over the judgment that Babylon has brought upon them, pray for the destruction of that…

by James B. JordanApril 15, 1989
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Biblical Studies

The Thigh of the Peace Offering

In the Levitical law, the priests received two particular portions of each peace offering: the "wave offering" of the breast and the "heave offering" (or better, "contribution") of the right thigh. The purpose of this essay is to attempt to determine the reason why the second of these, the thigh,…

by Peter LeithartApril 13, 1989
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Biblical Studies

The Son of Joseph

The story of Jesus’ visit, early in His ministry, to the synagogue in His home town of Nazareth is recorded for us in Luke 4:16-30. You may remember that Jesus read from Isaiah about how the Messiah would preach the gospel, care for the poor, work miracles, and bring in…

by James B. JordanApril 12, 1989
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Biblical Horizons

"Do This!"

(The essay that follows concerns a rather touchy subject: how the Lord’s Supper is to be done. I am not writing to insult or offend, but to challenge. To that end I have not "held back" but have "gone ahead" and said what I think needs to be said —…

by James B. JordanMarch 12, 1989
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Mapping Time

“Typology is the map of time.” Pastor Rich Bledsoe discusses typology and time at the Trinity House web site.

April 1, 2013

Law and History

The latest in Pastor Ralph Smith’s essays on Deuteronomy is available at the Trinity House web site.

April 1, 2013

Easter Homily, Isaiah 55

Let us pray. Father, You raised Your Son from the dead and installed Him as Lord and Christ. Fill us with the Spirit of His resurrection, that we present ourselves to You as those alive from the dead and our members as instruments of righteousness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ.…

March 31, 2013

Holy Saturday Homily, Isaiah 54

Let us pray. Father, we gather this night in hope that You will dispel our every darkness by the glorious resurrection of Jesus Your Son. Raise us and make us shine with the brightness of Your glory. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you…

March 31, 2013
History

Carnival and cruelty

Bauman ( Life in Fragments: Essays in Postmodern Morality , 148-50 ) notes that in the past public executions and blood sports “were rare, festive and party-like occasions,” within the realm of Bakhtin’s “carnival culture - the periodical spectacular reversals of the daily norms” that underscored “the binding routine of…

March 30, 2013
History

Pure Profanity

Modernity, says Zygmunt Bauman ( Life in Fragments: Essays in Postmodern Morality , 139-40), is a “civilization of transgression .” Citing Krzysztof Pomian, he says that in modernity “borders are there sole to be transgressed” and “does not just tolerate transgressions as far as they remain marginal; it provokes them.”…

March 30, 2013

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