Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
aaron-burden-1ebsmyrau-s-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

An Older Essay on the Gospel Order

I thought it might be good to put this up here, since it is 14 years old, and itself reflects earlier discussion. From this you can see that we at BH have been considering this notion for quite some time. Clearly, the last word has not been said. — James…

by James B. JordanFebruary 14, 2008
aaron-burden-qjdzyt_k8xg-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

Chiasms in James

Hopefully, my commentary on James will be out later this year. But here are a few chiasms for your consideration. I think the James 5 chiasm orginally came from Doug Jordan. The entire book of James is focused on how the pastors and leaders (“brothers”) of the church use their…

by Jeff MeyersFebruary 14, 2008
screenshot-2023-08-30-at-11-50-23-am
Job

Parables | (Part 2)

In my first post I noted that the parables of Jesus were not simply illustrative stories. They are really nothing like the kind of simple, homely illustrations that preachers often use to explain difficult concepts to their congregations. Just to be clear: there’s nothing wrong with illustrating one’s sermonic statements.…

by Jeff MeyersFebruary 14, 2008
skyler-gerald-akljfvj5ym4-unsplash
Ephesians

The Praise Precedes the Indicative

Ephesians is often treated as a pure type example of the Pauline method that “the indicative preceds the imperative.” But what Paul does first is pray . Simply reading verse 3 and following involves readers in a prayer of thanksgiving to God–and much more so for those listening to the…

by Mark HorneFebruary 14, 2008
aaron-burden-qjdzyt_k8xg-unsplash
Luke

"I Came Not to Call the Righteous, but Sinners"

Yesterday, I took part with my oldest son in a church-sponsored city outreach project (not because I’m especially prone to such behavior but because my son has a Boy Scout requirement that this would help him meet). Before we were sent out on our various jobs, the leader gave a…

by Mark HorneFebruary 11, 2008
aaron-burden-1ebsmyrau-s-unsplash
Biblical Studies

The Sequence of the Four Gospels

There is a scene in Prince Caspian , the second in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia that helps explain why it is we have four Gospels, that is four accounts of the Good News of Jesus Christ—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is the account of Lucy’s longed-for experience…

by Jeff MeyersFebruary 9, 2008

Showing page 215 of 309

See all
See all

Haltet das fasten

My article from First Things is now available in German at: http://www.freikirchen.at/2009/03/haltet-das-fasten-feiert-das-fest/

March 17, 2009

Continuing Exile and Canon

NT Wright has long argued that first-century Jews considered themselves to be in a continuing exile. The canon of the Hebrew Bible suggests as much. If we take our arrangement (the LXX arrangement), the Hebrew Bible ends with Malachi, who certainly doesn’t see a gloriously restored Israel when he looks…

March 17, 2009

Triune Holiness

An essay of mine on “Triune Holiness” is posted here, along with other essays on the Trinity: http://rdtwot.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/2009-trinity-blogging-summit/

March 17, 2009

Spirit and Law

Paul’s teaching concerning the relation of the Spirit to law is often understood this way: The law sets out God’s demands for His people; we can’t keep those demands; the Spirit enables us to conform to the law. That’s one way of putting it. It is the way that Jeremiah…

March 17, 2009
Uncategorized

Keep the Fast

A version of my Ash Wednesday homily is posted today on the First Things web site (firstthings.com).

March 17, 2009

Cosmic liturgy

Alexander Schmemann notes in his Introduction to Liturgical Theology that “Liturgical historians have taken insufficient notice of the fact that the persecutions, conflicts, sufferings and isolation of Christians are almost completely unmentioned in the prayers and liturgical texts of early Christianity. The worship of the early Church was not merely…

March 17, 2009

Showing page 1405 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.