Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
hebrew-manuscript-2
Hermeneutics

The Complexity of Biblical Allusion

There is no question about the fact that the book of Deuteronomy is full of literary allusion. But there is a serious problem, even a paradox, of understanding how that allusion works. To begin with, if we assume that Deuteronomy was written by Moses — with some editorial emendations added…

by Ralph Allan SmithJanuary 23, 2018
bladerunner
Culture

The Artificial Resurrection

Genesis and Genetics in Blade Runner 2049 The power of science fiction, and what’s positive about it, is that you’re able to experience the worst-case scenario without actually having to live it. (Actor Ryan Gosling, who plays Officer “K”) (Warning: The following analysis contains spoilers for both Blade Runner films.)…

by Mike BullJanuary 18, 2018
sixteen-miles-out-d40gdcd_-he-unsplash
Biblical Studies

The Battle of Gog and Magog

The battle of Gog and Magog is found in Ezekiel 38-39. My purpose in this brief essay is to propound an explanation for this passage that I have not encountered in any of my commentaries, but that makes more sense to me than any other. I offer it here in…

by James B. JordanJanuary 16, 2018
resurrection

Deep Hope

I. Varlam Shalamov in Kolyma Tales describes his experience of the Gulag, where he spent more than a dozen of years. In a story titled The Life of Engineer Kipreev Shalamov reflects on the theme of hope in the life of a prisoner: “Hope always shackles the convict. Hope is…

by Bogumil JarmulakJanuary 11, 2018
abraham-defeats-kings-g-jollain-2
Biblical Theology

Abram’s 318 Men

Genesis 14:14 says that Abram mustered his trained men, “born in his house,” to rescue Lot, and gives their number as 318. It is clear that the precise number is provided for some reason, but what is it? S. Gevirtz notes that 318 is the sum of all the prime…

by James B. JordanJanuary 9, 2018
tanner-mardis-xuxghzhibn4-unsplash-1
Biblical Studies

The Flying Scroll

And he said to me, "What do you see?" And I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits" (Zechariah 5:2). Immediately following his vision of the outpouring of the Spirit upon the restoration community (4:1-14), Zechariah saw a flying scroll. The…

by Peter LeithartJanuary 4, 2018

Showing page 100 of 309

See all
See all
Uncategorized

Things

Daniel Miller’s The Comfort of Things begins from the premise that our relationship to things is not opposed to relationship with people but rather that “the closer our relationships are with objects, the closer our relationship are with people.” Visiting the Clarke family at Christian (as summed up by the…

September 23, 2008

Cross and Kingdom

Joel Marcus has an intriguing article on the Markan crucifixion account in JBL (2006). He points out that Mark reserves the title “king” until chapter 15, where Jesus is called king six times. As in the other gospels, Mark presents the crucifixion as an exaltation. Old news, that. Where Marcus…

September 22, 2008

Sermon notes

INTRODUCTION In this “divided kingdom” portion of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus sets out the way of life and the government for His church. THE TEXT “When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?’ He…

September 22, 2008

Ordination exhortation

Matthew 17:19-20: Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, Why could we not cast out the demon? Jesus said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain,…

September 21, 2008

Baptismal meditation

Malachi 4:5-6: Behold I am going to send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of Yahweh. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land…

September 21, 2008
Politics

Shock Doctrine

Jonathan Chait - no Bush-loving right-winger he - doesn’t at all like Naomi Klein’s popular Shock Doctrine . Her thesis is that Milton Friedman is the evil genius behind the history of global economics and politics in the last three decades. The idea is to disorient the public by “wars,…

September 21, 2008

Showing page 1468 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.