Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
aaron-burden-1ebsmyrau-s-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

An Older Essay on the Gospel Order

I thought it might be good to put this up here, since it is 14 years old, and itself reflects earlier discussion. From this you can see that we at BH have been considering this notion for quite some time. Clearly, the last word has not been said. — James…

by James B. JordanFebruary 14, 2008
aaron-burden-qjdzyt_k8xg-unsplash
Biblical Horizons

Chiasms in James

Hopefully, my commentary on James will be out later this year. But here are a few chiasms for your consideration. I think the James 5 chiasm orginally came from Doug Jordan. The entire book of James is focused on how the pastors and leaders (“brothers”) of the church use their…

by Jeff MeyersFebruary 14, 2008
screenshot-2023-08-30-at-11-50-23-am
Job

Parables | (Part 2)

In my first post I noted that the parables of Jesus were not simply illustrative stories. They are really nothing like the kind of simple, homely illustrations that preachers often use to explain difficult concepts to their congregations. Just to be clear: there’s nothing wrong with illustrating one’s sermonic statements.…

by Jeff MeyersFebruary 14, 2008
skyler-gerald-akljfvj5ym4-unsplash
Ephesians

The Praise Precedes the Indicative

Ephesians is often treated as a pure type example of the Pauline method that “the indicative preceds the imperative.” But what Paul does first is pray . Simply reading verse 3 and following involves readers in a prayer of thanksgiving to God–and much more so for those listening to the…

by Mark HorneFebruary 14, 2008
aaron-burden-qjdzyt_k8xg-unsplash
Luke

"I Came Not to Call the Righteous, but Sinners"

Yesterday, I took part with my oldest son in a church-sponsored city outreach project (not because I’m especially prone to such behavior but because my son has a Boy Scout requirement that this would help him meet). Before we were sent out on our various jobs, the leader gave a…

by Mark HorneFebruary 11, 2008
aaron-burden-1ebsmyrau-s-unsplash
Biblical Studies

The Sequence of the Four Gospels

There is a scene in Prince Caspian , the second in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia that helps explain why it is we have four Gospels, that is four accounts of the Good News of Jesus Christ—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is the account of Lucy’s longed-for experience…

by Jeff MeyersFebruary 9, 2008

Showing page 215 of 309

See all
See all

Scriptural Use of “Justification”

James White (in The God Who Justifies )issues this important caution in his treatment of the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek word-groups for justification and righteousness: “there are obvious instances in which the biblical term speaks of a moral or ethical quality when it speaks of someone being righteous.…

November 26, 2004

Scriptural Use of “Justification”

James White (in The God Who Justifies )issues this important caution in his treatment of the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek word-groups for justification and righteousness: “there are obvious instances in which the biblical term speaks of a moral or ethical quality when it speaks of someone being righteous.…

November 26, 2004

Incredibles

I’m not the first one to notice, by any means, but let me chime in: The Incredibles is an overt attack on egalitarianism. All the bad guys in the movie want to flatten out the differences between “supers” and everyone else - the litigious people who are injured during rescues,…

November 25, 2004
Theology

Reno on Genesis

Rusty Reno had some sharp observations on the importance of creatio ex nihilo in a paper giving a preview of his theological commentary on Genesis. He said that it fit with the overall Scriptural polemic against idolatry, and demonstrates that idolatry is fundamentally nihilism ?Edevotion to nothing, what does not…

November 25, 2004

Written or Oral?

Does the OT show signs of being a product of long oral tradition? In his 2004 book Biblical Narrative and the Death of the Rhapsode (Indiana University Press), Robert S. Kawashima argues that it does not. He believes that the Bible manifests a very different narrative art from the epic…

November 25, 2004

Gathercole on Sin in Romans

Simon Gathercole had some interesting points in his paper on “Jewish and Gentile sin in Paul.” He wanted to show that the “history of sin” was revelatory of God’s character, and had an integral role in the work of redemption. He defended this thesis by examining parallels between Romans 1:18-32…

November 25, 2004

Showing page 2035 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.