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Writing

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

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Sacramental Theology

The Gospel According to the Sacraments, (Part 1)

My first title for this series of posts was “Evangelical Sacramental Ecumenism” – not exactly a clickbait title. But those three words, evangelical, sacramental, and ecumenical, say a lot: The centrality of the gospel; a focus on baptism, bread, and wine; and the quest for visible unity among diverse churches.…

by Michael SpalioneDecember 12, 2017
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Baptism

Baptism and Contextualization, (Part 1)

I can imagine someone reading the title of this essay and saying to himself, "I have two questions. First, what in the world is “contextualization”?" Second, even before hearing the answer to the first question, he may wonder, "what does baptism have to do with such an awkward and vague…

by Ralph Allan SmithDecember 7, 2017
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Deuteronomy

Law of the Rebellious Son

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 My colleague Ralph Smith has recently written on this passage, here . I entirely agree with Ralph's thrust, which is typological, that the passage is ultimately aimed at the entire nation of Israel itself as the rebellious son. But what I am thinking is from another perspective, perhaps…

by Richard BledsoeDecember 5, 2017
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Baptism

Like A Dove (Part 2)

In the previous article in this series, I drew attention to the threefold meaning of the Spirit of God descending as a dove on Jesus at His baptism. On a related note, I also argued that 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Titus 3:3-7 were parallel passages that addressed the same issues…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 30, 2017
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Politics

What’s in a Flag?

The National Anthem protest is misguided. So too the conservative backlash. The Church’s response has been disappointing. I address each in turn. The greatest triumph of the American Civil Rights Movement was its seizing of the moral high ground in American politics. It did so by insisting only on those…

by A. K. ShaukuNovember 28, 2017
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Baptism

Like a Dove

Peter Leithart’s book, The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism , argues that baptism is parallel to and the fulfillment of the old covenant rite of priestly ordination. But this is not something explicitly stated in the New Testament. Why, then, should we believe it? Leithart shows in…

by Ralph Allan SmithNovember 23, 2017

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Eucharistic exhortation

1 Corinthians 10:16: Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? As Pastor Smith has explained to us this morning, in prayer we seek communion with the Triune…

October 21, 2007

Baptismal meditation

Matthew 28: Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all things, whatever I have commanded you. We heard in the sermon this morning about the Name that we invoke…

October 21, 2007
Theology

Exhortation

There are no tricks to prayer. The crucial thing is not the method we use or the pattern we follow. The crucial thing is confidence in the God to whom we pray. Who is that God? He is the eternal God. For us, what’s done is done and what’s done…

October 21, 2007
Literature

Don’t make em like that anymore

At 16, Hugo Grotius published a well-regarded edition of the notoriously difficult Marriage of Philology and Mercury by Martianus Capella.

October 20, 2007
Literature

Don’t make em like that anymore

At 16, Hugo Grotius published a well-regarded edition of the notoriously difficult Marriage of Philology and Mercury by Martianus Capella.

October 20, 2007

Wisdom to scholars

Also from John of Salisbury: He attacks teachers who “sift and scrutinize every syllable,” as well as those bloaty-footnoted types who “compile the opinions of all, even the most miserable.”

October 20, 2007

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