Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
noahs-ark-genesis
Biblical Horizons

Who Rules the Land? The Meaning of the Noahic Covenant, Part 1

It is commonly held in Reformed thought that the Noahic Covenant is given to all men equally. The Noahic Covenant concerns "man," not simply "church," and establishes civil government as an institution among "mankind" — that is the theory. Sometimes the Noahic Covenant is regarded as a "covenant of common…

by James B. JordanNovember 23, 1990
tanner-mardis-xuxghzhibn4-unsplash-1-2
Daniel

The Babylonian Connection

The Fall of Jerusalem we have dated (provisionally) at 3426 Anno Mundi. In current B.C. dates this is 586 B.C. From this point forward in Biblical chronology we are required to make use of prophetic numbers rather than historical ones. Jeremiah prophesied that the captivity would last 70 years, but…

by James B. JordanNovember 16, 1990
screen-shot-2021-08-12-at-2-57-54-pm
Biblical Horizons

Taking the Situation Seriously

Evangelicals have in recent years become more interested in looking into their Bibles for wisdom to deal with modern problems. This is undoubtedly a welcome development, after many years of neglect. But there are dangers and costs as well. One of these is the tendency to fall into a modern…

by Peter LeithartOctober 19, 1990
carlo-alberto-burato-smdx3gleu_m-unsplash
Hermeneutics

The Unseen Things

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). The famous definition of faith with which the eleventh chapter of Hebrews opens has received a number of different interpretations. The crux of the problem is the interpretation of the words translated in…

by Peter LeithartOctober 19, 1990
49980-nicolas_poussin_-_the_judgment_of_solomon_-_wga18330-800w-tn
Proverbs

Advice From a Sojourner, Part 8

15. The leech has two daughters, "Give," "Give." There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, "Enough": 16. Sheol, And the barren womb, Earth, that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, "Enough." We are assuming, at least for the purposes…

by James B. JordanOctober 16, 1990
tanner-mardis-xuxghzhibn4-unsplash-1-2
Biblical Chronology

Confusion Among the Kings

As we have seen in previous installments in this series, the Old Testament is quite concerned with chronology, and carefully records chronological data for our use. For this reason, we can assume when we come to the chronology of the kings of Judah and Israel that the writers of the…

by James B. JordanOctober 2, 1990

Showing page 301 of 309

See all
See all
Economics

Markets and People, II

Reader Jay Horne writes in response to my earlier post quoting Charles Morris, “After working on mechanical trading systems for the past several years (and having some success), I would suggest that it is the lumpiness, the human factors, that exactly create the opportunity for success with a mathematical system.…

April 5, 2008
History

Moon to Sun

Barbara Adam ( Time ) summarizes the work of archaeoastronomists who have studied the astronomical design of ancient buildings around the world. She says, “Evidence from across the world suggests that the moon was the earliest planetary source of cultural forms of time reckoning and associated rhythmic practices that integrated…

April 5, 2008

Contentious wife

Proverbs 21:9 and 19 both speak of the difficulties of living with a contentious woman. Both put me in mind of the post-exodus conduct of Israel, when Yahweh’s bride acted like a contentious woman, grumbling about her good Husband’s provision and care. In response, Yahweh threatened to do what the…

April 5, 2008

Nature and Grace in Galatia

During a student presentation on Dunn’s article on the New Perspective on Paul, it struck me that there’s a nature/grace debate going on in Galatians and in the Judaizer conflict. Judaizers say that grace has come, but the “cultural” or “natural” (cf. Gal 2:16) form of covenant life remains the…

April 4, 2008

Exercise in interpretation

On the first page of Arthur Phillips recent “ghost story,” Angelica , we read: “The burst of morning sunlight started the golden dust off the enfolded crimson drapery and drew fine black veins at the edges of the walnut-brown sill. The casement wants repainting, she thought. The distant irregular trills…

April 4, 2008
Literature

Coming of Age

Tom Perrotta has written some popular coming of age novels, not quite innocence-to-experience (since no one is quite innocent even at the beginning) but from experience to greater experience, from adolescent confusions to greater clarity. Everyone seems wiser and calmer at the end. But the comic trajectory is cheaply bought.…

April 4, 2008

Showing page 1539 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.