Theopolis Logo

Writing

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

See all
david-with-goliaths-head-and-soldiers-crop

David, Goliath, and the Body of Moses, Part 1

In the Bible, all the world is a stage, but like the Tabernacle, that stage moves around a lot. David’s defeat of Goliath can only be fully understood as liturgy fulfilled in history. Liturgy, as a sacrifice of praise, is the step-by-step process of resolving a conflict. It relinquishes all…

by Mike BullAugust 22, 2019
andrew-welch-eozrev7i3pi-unsplash
Aristotle

On Friendship

Aristotle isn’t fundamentally wrong about friendship, nor is the long tradition that follows him. But you might not gather that by reading some of the more pointed critics of the classical conception of friendship. I think, however, that the classical view is not only viable but taken up and fulfilled…

by Jack FranicevichAugust 20, 2019
jachan-devol-xdplirqchx8-unsplash
Epistemology

Integration: Putting the Pieces Together

#13 in Theopolis Papers, Seeking Integration in a Fragmented World It is time for me to “cast off” integration, the way a knitter removes a completed scarf from the needles. I want to bring my quest concerning integration to a decent closure, though my happy quest for reality continues. With…

by Esther Lightcap MeekAugust 13, 2019
nebuchadnezzar
Revelation

Nebuchadnezzar’s Unfinished Symphony

Below are some notes on a particular sub-theme of Daniel 3, namely the downfall of Babylon’s liturgy. First up, a few words on our text’s literary construction. One of the most conspicuous features of Dan. 3 is its author’s love of lists . Personnel are listed (vs. 2, 3, 27),…

by James BejonAugust 6, 2019
e99a0657
Prayer

Praying for God's Good Name

Few things in Scripture, few things in the Christian life, are more familiar than the Lord’s Prayer. Sunday after Sunday, we pray these words together with our brothers and sisters. At home, alone or with our families, we pray this prayer daily, as Jesus taught us (Luke 11:2: “When you…

by John BarachJuly 30, 2019
catholicity_1
Culture

The Head, the Heart, and the “Gay Christian” Movement

At the 2019 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, the denominational delegates considered a number of official overtures (requests for action from the regional parts of the denomination) relating to issues of gender and sexuality. The PCA is conservative. As evidence of this, the assembly passed a resolution…

by Jonathan BarlowJuly 23, 2019

Showing page 76 of 309

See all
See all

Freedom Deregulated

I n his Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society , Rusty Reno finds a “false view of freedom as unimpeded choice and self-definition” at the root of many of our political, economic, and social pathologies. In the name of freedom, we have “deregulated” culture, a policy shift with far…

August 12, 2016

The Injustice of Nonjudgmentalism

R usty Reno ( Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society ) summarizes the findings of Charles Murray's 2013 Coming Apart . Murray compares two statistical cohorts - an upper class one that he labels Belmont and a working class cohort called Fishtown. He finds a growing gap not only…

August 12, 2016

Divine Simplicity in a Contested World

N ear the beginning of his Divine Simplicity (xviii-xix), Paul Hinlickey briefly explains the differences between his “weak” account of simplicity and the “strong” accounts of Thomas and others. In many classic treatments, simplicity is “a rationally evident ontological implication that comes about by analysis of the ground of a…

August 12, 2016
Anthropology

Thinking Like An Anthropologist

T he best anthropologists are specialists in difference. They operate on the assumption of distance between the anthropologist and the object of study. The great anthropological sin is to incorporate the different into a variation of the same, to impose the anthropologist's social, philosophical, religious, or political categories on a…

August 12, 2016

Dilbert as Pundit

S ome of the freshest commentary on the 2016 Presidential election has been coming from Dilbert creator Scott Adams. Adams has endorsed Clinton, as he says, “for my own personal safety,” but he has also stated that he doesn't vote. He wants to maintain objective distance from the fray, and…

August 12, 2016
Body

The Mystery of the Body

L uke Timothy Johnson's critique of John Paul II's theology of the body isn't convincing. He complains about the way the Pope uses Scripture, moving from text to exhortation in an “uncritical” way, and failing to rise to the level of “serious theological engagement” ( The Revelatory Body , 25).…

August 12, 2016

Showing page 265 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.