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

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Baptism

Water, Spirit, and Fire, (Part 1)

John the Baptist says, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt. 3:11).” Much debate surrounds the nature of this statement and what exactly it prophesies. Sacramental, baptistic, and charismatic Christians…

by Adam McIntoshAugust 16, 2016
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Pastoral Ministry

Cruciform Pastoral Care

First Corinthians is not considered one of the Pastoral Epistles, but there is much to learn from Paul about pastoring a congregation by the way he writes to the Corinthians. Briefly, 1 Corinthians is an exposition of the cross and resurrection. In the first fourteen chapters, Paul gives an exposition…

by Bill SmithAugust 11, 2016
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Atonement

Bearing Sin

Fredrik Hagglund ( Isaiah 53 in the Light of Homecoming After Exile (Forschungen Zum Alten Testament) ) argues against the common notion that Isaiah 53 is about the atoning suffering of Yahweh’s Servant. The Servant’s suffering is vicarious (i.e., he suffers for the sins of others) but it is not…

by Peter LeithartAugust 9, 2016
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Biblical Theology

Brexit and the Binding of Satan: Part 2

With the inheritance of Canaan and the dividing up of this priestly territory among the tribes, Israel became a microcosm of the nations of the world. This division between Israel and the nations as a substitutionary “land and sea” would prevent another global rebellion, and thus another global judgment. ((For…

by Mike BullAugust 4, 2016
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Romans

Paul and James on the Meaning of Genesis 15:6

One of the more revealing aspects of Paul and James’ soteriology is the different ways they both use Genesis 15:6 (“And Abraham believed God and it was counted for him as righteousness,”) as a proof text to defend their comments about the gospel. The key observation to make is that…

by Gerald HiestandAugust 2, 2016
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Biblical Theology

Brexit and the Binding of Satan: Part 1

The disintegration of the EU is not the end of the world. It is a sign that the end of the world is anything but nigh. Western culture as we know it is dying at the hands of usurpers, traitors and prodigals. Even the worst rulers throughout Christian history at…

by Mike BullJuly 28, 2016

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Architectural Justice

J ames Jordan has often called attention to Ezekiel 43:10-11, where the Lord explains the purpose of the elaborate temple vision that He has shown the prophet. When Israel hears the design and plans of the temple, its entrances and exits, it straight lines and its corners, they will “be…

March 17, 2017

Protestantism and Nature

L awrence Feingold doesn't much like de Lubac's work on the natural desire to see God . He doesn't think the neo-Thomist distinction of natural and supernatural is responsible for the rise of atheism and naturalism. On the contrary, the distinction is necessary to combat naturalism. Feingold writes, “the Thomistic…

March 17, 2017

Odysseus and Dialectics of Environment

N ear the beginning of their Dialectic of Enlightenment , Max Horkheimer and Theodore Adorno “allegorize” on an episode in the Odyssey , in which Odysseus takes his ship past the Sirens who entice mariners toward the dangerous shoals of their island with their sweet singing. Odysseus wants to hear…

March 17, 2017

Talking Trees

T rees are slow, like Ents. The electrical impulses that pass through trees travel at a rate of one-third of an inch per second. Why do trees need electricity? According to Peter Wollheben ( The Hidden Life of Trees ), they need electricity to talk to each other. He's not…

March 17, 2017

Indirect Subject

S lavoj Zizek ( Mythology, Madness, and Laughter ) explains Hegel's sublation of Kantian transcendentalism by noting that Hegel accepts Kant's root insight, the “the subjective constitution of reality, the split that separates the subject from the in-itself.” Yet Hegel doesn't stop with this acceptance: “this very split is transposed…

March 17, 2017

God the Temple

T he Bible is a narrative of architecture and city planning. The Creator is a divine architect and builder. On earth, He is first a landscape architect, designing and planning a garden, then a designer of tents and temples, finally an architect of people who builds a church of living…

March 17, 2017

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