Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I grew up on the north side of Chicago. My parents were evangelicals and I was raised in the faith. I graduated from a large public high school in which practicing Christians were very few and very far between (though nominal Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox were in abundance), which…
During the recent round table discussion on the future of Protestantism , Peter Leithart advocated a much greater degree of unity in the Church than we presently enjoy. Another participant in the discussion wondered aloud how Leithart's vision would be different from the ministerial associations that presently exist in many…
"But he, wanting to justify himself, said, 'And who is my neighbor?' And Jesus said to him, 'First, your neighbors are the people in your church, then the ones with whom you enjoy greatest doctrinal or ecclesiastical commonality, then those with whom you enjoy less commonality.'" -Said Jesus... never Since…
A number of years ago, I came across something in the Puritan Thomas Goodwin in regard to John 17:22. Goodwin points out that Jesus prays that they (the disciples) might be given the glory of the Father as a means to an end. The end is unity, and the means…
In her prize-winning book, Gilead , Marilynne Robinson uses the pastoral settings of Iowa to challenge ministers to live up to their high callings. One of the most powerful themes in the novel is the pastor’s power to “bless.” The tension in the novel builds as we watch Rev. Ames…
One of the few glaring errors of the Protestant Reformers was the failure to welcome children back to the Lord's Table. Something that seems to go along with this was the exclusion of other kinds of Christians, primarily Roman Catholics, from Holy Communion in Protestant churches. Exclusion of Roman Catholics…
Showing page 174 of 309
Showing page 1 of 43
1 Chronicles 22:6–16 records David's hortatory speech to Solomon about building the temple. It is divided into two large sections, both marked by the phrase “my son” (22:7, 11). The first section repeats Yahweh's oracle to David explaining why he would not build the house and promising that David's son…
S ince the Son is incarnate, argues Aaron Riches in his Ecce Homo , “we must speak of unum esse simpliciter ,” yet Constantinople II determined that the Son is persona composita . Thus, in the words of Aquinas, “there is another being of this suppositum . . . insofar…
W hen King Nahash of Ammon dies, David sends his condolences to his son Hanun (1 Chronicles 19). Nahash had shown love-and-loyalty ( hesed ) to David, so David returns hesed (v. 2). Hanun doesn't believe it, and the princes (apparently young advisors) stoke up his suspicions (v. 3). David…
N icholas Barber gets Sherlock just right. Benedict Cumberbatch has the intensity to kill the title role, and, puppyish though he is, Martin Freeman's Dr. Watson is a credible sidekick. The production is slick, the characters compelling, the rapport sharp and often witty. It's hugely entertaining. Then they go and…
S ummarizing a line of argument from Aquinas, Robert Spaemann ( Essays in Anthropology ) notes that Thomas acknowledges that “By nature animals are sufficiently equipped to attain their own end” (15). The question is: Are human beings? And if the end of human beings is union with God, how…
J esus is the Lion of Judah. This is no random metaphor, according to the medieval bestiary, the verse Physiologus attributed to the 11th-century writer Theobaldus. Lions have various habits, all of which point to Christ. For instance: “As the Lion dwells on the high mountain, so Christ the spiritual…
Showing page 214 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
