Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
screen-shot-2020-07-28-at-7-12-05-am
Wisdom

iMago Moi

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27 In an ever-increasing barrage of self-obsession and tailor-made realities, how does the Christian navigate the waters of being someone who experiences life in the first person…

by Garrett SoucySeptember 29, 2020
img_4726-copy
Economics

Theses on Church Music and Economics

American church music is in a slump. To get out of the slump, we need a 10-year plan, a 50-year plan, and a 100-year plan. Many are doing extraordinary work on reforming church music in the near-term, and a few in the mid-term. What is desperately needed is the 100-year…

by John AhernSeptember 22, 2020
lazarus-2-2
Parables

The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man

The following is an excerpt from The Maker Versus the Takers: What Jesus Really Said About Social Justice and Economics ¸ by Jerry Bowyer (New York, Fidelis Books, Post Hill Press, 2020), release date Sept. 15 th . The section below argues that the ‘Rich Man’ in the parable refers…

by Jerry BowyerSeptember 15, 2020
absaloms_death
Biblical Studies

Death on a Tree: Absalom as Jesus-Type

Could Absalom be a Christ-type? If you know much about the Bible, you likely have an immediate aversion to even the possibility of answering this question in the affirmative. Absalom was third among David’s sons, while Amnon—his brother from another mother—was first (2 Sam. 3:2-3). As Absalom’s story begins, it…

by Eric RobinsonSeptember 8, 2020
giveusbarabbas
Biblical Studies

Barabbas

All four Gospels not only associate Barabbas and Jesus quite unabashedly, they do so emphatically and with a deep theological message. The scene is well-known. In His trial before Pontius Pilate, though Jesus had been declared innocent more than once, there seemed to be no hope of releasing Him. Pilate…

by Ralph Allan SmithSeptember 1, 2020
jim-jordan-teaching-2
Theopolis News

Announcement: The James B. Jordan Prize

The Theopolis Institute is pleased to announce the second round of the James B. Jordan Prize to honor outstanding doctoral dissertations in biblical theology. James Jordan is one of the most insightful biblical scholars of our time. The Jordan Prize exists to encourage more of the deep Scriptural investigation of…

by TheopolisAugust 31, 2020

Showing page 63 of 309

See all
See all
History

God’s Spy

Malcolm Moore reports this morning in the London Telegraph on Mikhail Gorbachev’s visit to the tomb of St. Francis, and Gorbachev’s public confession of Christian faith. Moore writes in part: “Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Communist leader of the Soviet Union, has acknowledged his Christian faith for the first time, paying…

March 20, 2008

Hiding meaning

John Ciardi writes ( How Does A Poem Mean? ) about poets who delight in hiding away meanings, often etymological, in the words they use: “they do not insist that every reader respond to them; it is enough that such touches delight the writer and are ready to delight the…

March 19, 2008

Street Hebrew

With papyrological evidence, there’s some grounds for saying that there’s considerable overlap between the vocabulary and syntax of NT Greek and “street Greek.” Barr, though, thinks the same about Hebrew: “In Israel at any rate much of the biblical language is unspecialized, for the religious structure is roughly coincident with…

March 19, 2008

BAG

James Barr directs most of his critical and rhetorical power at Kittel, but he’s got some criticisms of Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich too. Specifically, BAG “is too content to give semantic indications which presuppose, and are intelligible only in terms of, a more modern intellectual and cultural Weltanschauung than that…

March 19, 2008

What ekklesia means

James Barr is a famous enemy of “illegitimate totality transfer,” but he freely acknowledges that there’s a proper kind of totality. Using the word “ekklesia,” he lists some NT statements about the church (the church is body of Christ, bride, first installment of kingdom, etc.), and says that “the ‘meaning…

March 19, 2008

Obama at church

Drudge has a full transcript of Obama’s speech concerning race, which includes this statement about his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, that impressively combines sharp criticism with affection for Wright and his church: “I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some,…

March 18, 2008

Showing page 1550 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.