Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
sixteen-miles-out-al48tflf4e8-unsplash
Hermeneutics

Everything Concerning Himself, (Part 1)

I begin with a proposition: The Old Testament is not so much a collection of biographies as a biography. The Old Testament is the biography of Jesus, the Son of God. And as such, the Old Testament is the biography of God. This is what Jesus Himself says about the…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 16, 2013
markus-winkler-aid-xyrtlec-unsplash
Theopolis News

Conference in Ukraine

Trinity House Institute joins with the Alliance of the Reformed Churches in Ukraine to co-sponsor a conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 19-20. Peter Leithart, President of Trinity House, will deliver a series of lectures on hermeneutics. He will also deliver several lectures at Ostrog Academy on September 18.

by Peter LeithartSeptember 16, 2013
trnava-university-beeyeib-am8-unsplash
Books

If There Is Something To Desire

Vera Pavlova (b. 1963) has published over a dozen collections of poems in Russian. She came rather late to poetry. In her youth, she studied music and began writing poetry in her early 20s while she was in the maternity ward after giving birth to her first child. Her first…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 12, 2013
markus-winkler-aid-xyrtlec-unsplash
Theopolis News

Book of Beginnings (Course Announcement)

Registration is now open for the Advent class at Trinity. James Jordan will lecture on the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings, December 16-20. There will be a kickoff welcome on December 15, and classes will be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church . Registration is open until November 1.

by Peter LeithartSeptember 9, 2013
channel-82-urfja47nuhu-unsplash
History

Idolatry and the Reformation

In 1533, Hugh Latimer, already well-known in the city of Bristol, preached a series of sermons attacking “pylgremages, worshyppying of seyntes, wurshypyng off ymages, off purgatory, &c. yn the whyche he dyd vehemently perswade towarde the contrary.” The writer of this account went on to say that “the people ware…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 9, 2013
jehyun-sung-6u5aemqiajg-unsplash
Authority

Authority That Gives

Even if Adam had never sinned, there would have been structures of authority, and authority would have been invested in particular men and women. Authority is not a postlapsarian rescue operation; it’s essential to the good of human life. Unfallen Cain might have wanted to build his new home on…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 4, 2013

Showing page 188 of 309

See all
See all

Product not sum

Saussure argues that syntagmatic relations are more like multiplication than addition. Adding - eux to desir is not putting together “independent units”; rather the two “form a product, a combination of interdependent elements, their value deriving solely from their mutual contributions within a higher unit.” At another level, we can…

March 27, 2008

Meaning and value

Would Saussure have agreed with Barr’s challenge to the notion that there is a difference between Greek and Hebraic mentalities evident in the differences between the languages? Barr appeals to Saussure at one or two points in his book ( Semantics ), and his project as a whole is reliant…

March 27, 2008
History

“Religion” in England

The English civil war, that is. Peter Harrison ( ‘Religion’ and the Religions in the English Enlightenment ) traces the notion of comparative religious study to the confessional disputes in England, and the “diachronic pluralism” of the English monarchy: “As Locke put it, the kings and queens of post-Reformation England…

March 27, 2008

Segmenting sounds

At a couple of points in his Course , Saussure suggests that the “primary characteristic of the spoken sequence is its linearity.” It is a “chain,” a “line.” I find this questionable, but he makes interesting use of the image: “In itself, it is merely a line, a continuous ribbon…

March 26, 2008

Chemical reaction

A “sign” in Saussure’s terminology consists of a signification (a concept or idea) and a signal (the “sound pattern” associated with the idea). He suggests some analogies: “This unified duality has often been compared with that of the human being, comprising body and soul. But the parallel is unsatisfactory. A…

March 26, 2008

Linguistic system

Saussure associates langue with collective social realities; it is the system created by society and existing, almost identically, in every member of a linguisitic community. He associates parole , in turn, with individual expressions within the system. The system is impervious to change: “changes are never made to the system…

March 26, 2008

Showing page 1545 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.