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

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Biblical Horizons

Entropy and Depravity

What do you think of the way "creation science" uses the "second law of thermodynamics" to argue that human society will become more and more depraved, and that the universe is running down? Creation Science is not monolithic, and so it would be unfair to say that everyone working in…

by James B. JordanOctober 24, 1992
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Deuteronomy

The Firstborn Son’s Double Portion

From time to time we receive questions that are interesting, and that other people would also be interested in. I'll [address] two such questions in this issue [and the next]. I recently made a will which, in the event that my wife does not survive me, grants my eldest son…

by James B. JordanOctober 24, 1992
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Biblical Studies

Meredith G. Kline and the Myth of the Old Testament

As we go from Old Testament chronology to New Testament chronology, it will be a good idea to examine a deep-seated myth that is profoundly intertwined with Biblical Christianity. I have in mind the myth that there is in the Bible such a thing as a collection of books called…

by James B. JordanOctober 24, 1992
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Biblical Studies

Umberto Cassuto and the Documentary Hypothesis

Several years ago, the Wall Street Journal gave prominent recognition to a book called Who Wrote the Bible? The book was a popularization of the famous "Documentary Hypothesis," which claims that the Pentateuch was not the work of Moses, but was a (rather incompetent) pastiche of contradictory sources written much…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 17, 1992
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James

Creation Symbolism in the Epistle of James

The epistle of James has long presented dificulties for New Testament scholars. Its seemingly moralistic tone, its apparent inattention to theological concerns, its defense of "justification by works" all have made it dificult for interpreters to discern its compatibility with other New Testament books. Luther’s dismissal of James as an…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 17, 1992
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Leviticus

The Lamb of God, (Part 2)

Why the Lamb? But why the lamb? We have seen that the bull was the offering for the sins of priests, especially as they represented the nation before God in His house. Wasn’t Christ the greatest of all men? Wasn’t He the Great High Priest? Should He not rather be…

by James B. JordanAugust 24, 1992

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Bhutto’s Legacy

In the London Telegraph, Christopher Hitchens sums up the life of Benazir Bhutto, calling attention to her impressive courage. But Hitchens also notes that the courage had a touch of fanaticism that leaves a dangerous legacy. He recalls that during her terms as Prime Minister she pursued a pro-Taliban policy:…

December 29, 2007
Uncategorized

John’s opponents

In the words of the CBQ reviewer of his book, Terry Griffith “opts for a minority position, though he does so with a growing number of authors (see now a work not yet known to G., Hansjorg Schmid, Gegner im 1. Johannesbrief: Zu Konstruktion und Selbstreferenz im johanneischen Sinnsystem [BWANT…

December 28, 2007
Uncategorized

John’s opponents

In the words of the CBQ reviewer of his book, Terry Griffith “opts for a minority position, though he does so with a growing number of authors (see now a work not yet known to G., Hansjorg Schmid, Gegner im 1. Johannesbrief: Zu Konstruktion und Selbstreferenz im johanneischen Sinnsystem [BWANT…

December 28, 2007

John and Idols

Griffith suggests that John writes a pastoral rather than a polemical letter, one designed to shore up the identity of his church and prevent further apostasy. John achieves this by insisting on faithfulness in the confession of Jesus as Messiah, by an exhortation to communal love, and by a warning…

December 28, 2007

Idols

Terry Griffith argues in his Keep Yourselves from Idols that the odd closing exhortation of 1 John (“little children, guard yourselves from idols”) holds the key to the book as a whole. He also argues that the “Jewish matrix of Johannine tradition has been significantly underplayed.” For the last couple…

December 28, 2007

Structure of 1 John, again

Malcolm Coombes (http://www.bct.edu.au/Arche/Coombes.pdf) notes that John clusters words together, often in threes, throughout his first epistle. “Teach,” for instance, occurs only three times in the letter, all in 1 John 2:26-27. John uses “devil” “only four times: three times in the subunit 3:7–8 and once in the adjacent subunit 3:9–10.…

December 28, 2007

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