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

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Romans

Notes on Scary Stuff in Romans 9

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on…

by Mark HorneFebruary 5, 2015
lunch-counter
American Politics

Covenants of Exclusion

A hundred years ago, William Warley signed a contract to buy a house in Louisville, Kentucky from Charles Buchanan, a white man. Before closing the sale, Warley, who was black, learned that the lot was subject to a city ordinance barring blacks from occupying the premises if most of the…

by Brendan O'DonnellFebruary 3, 2015
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Literature

The Bard and the Book

I concluded the first essay on this topic by saying that I would introduce three books about Shakespeare and the Bible, but I decided to introduce four instead. The three books become four are: Naseeb Shaheen, Biblical References in Shakespeare’s Plays (London: Associated University Presses, 1999) ; Hannibal Hamlin, The…

by Ralph Allan SmithJanuary 29, 2015
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Augustine

Augustine on Pagan Virtue

My children attend a classical Christian school, situated in the independent “free church” evangelical tradition. Over the past few years they have been growing in their acquaintance with the world of Homer, Plato, Virgil, and Livy. They enjoy it, and I envy it. The school is a great school. My…

by Gerald HiestandJanuary 27, 2015
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Atonement

The Prodigal and the Cross

The Prodigal Son parable (Luke 15) has been a favorite of liberal theologians for a couple of centuries. It seems to be a parable designed for liberal sensibilities: An indulgent, accepting Father; forgiveness extended without a cross; a surly older brother who might represent the "conservative" face of religion who…

by Peter LeithartJanuary 22, 2015
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Ascension

Underground Man, Ascended Man

“I want now to tell you, gentlemen, whether you care to hear it or not, why I could not even become an insect. I tell you solemnly, that I have many times tried to become an insect. But I was not equal even to that. I swear, gentlemen, that to…

by Richard BledsoeJanuary 20, 2015

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From Freedom to Fascism

Robert Kuttner's NYRB review of Gareth Dale's Karl Polanyi: A Life on the Left highlights Polanyi's relevance to contemporary global politics and economics. Kuttner observes that the "period between the two world wars, free-market liberals governing Britain, France, and the US tried to restore the pre–World War I laissez-faire system.…

January 5, 2018

Scattering and Gathering

The Chronicler gathers all Israel - indeed, a cross section of ancient humanity - on the opening pages of his chronicle. The genealogy is a great, inter-generational qahal (assembly), and the Chronicler is the Qoheleth, the Gatherer. As soon as his story starts, though, Israel is being dispersed. Israel flees…

January 4, 2018

Left Behind

In his forthcoming The Left Behind , Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow tries to penetrate past the headlines and stereotypes to discover the truth about, his subtitle has it, decline and rage in rural America. Wuthnow didn't drop into flyover country for a long weekend of hanging with local pundits at…

January 4, 2018

Conservatives on Globalization

James R. Rogers offers a useful taxonomy of contemporary conservative critiques of globalization. He defines globalization as "decreasing costs to capital and labor mobility. Mobility across, but also within, national borders." Alternatively, it could be defined as "the process of incorporating new regions of the world into a unified market…

January 3, 2018

Free Theocracy

In his Religious Philosophy of Vladimir Solovyov , Jonathan Sutton lays out Solovyov's (Solovyev; Soloviev) conception of "free theocracy." For Solovyov, "the realization of the Kingdom of God on earth is presented as an ordering of all aspects of life (individual and communal life) according to Christian principles. Furthermore, this…

January 2, 2018

Gentiles in Chronicles

In a contribution to The Chronicler as Author , Ehud Ben Zvi reviews five statements about Israel from foreigners in the book of Chronicles. The foreigners are Huram of Tyre, the Queen of Sheba, Sennacherib, Neco king of Egypt, and Cyrus the Persian. The first and last two are positive…

January 2, 2018

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