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Writing

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

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Contentment

When Contentment is a Sin

Maybe you have heard it said that you will be content when you learn to empty yourself of all your desire. If you want nothing, you will always be happy with what you have. Maybe this seemed like an extremely godly point of view, and you felt guilty that you…

by Lindsey TollefsonMarch 21, 2023
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Epistemology

Longing to Know Turns 20

I write to mark a milestone and to commend to you an old book: my first philosophy book, Longing to Know: The Philosophy of Knowledge for Ordinary People (Brazos, 2003), has reached its twentieth anniversary. Although two decades have passed, the book continues to be relevant to our affairs in…

by Esther Lightcap MeekMarch 14, 2023
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Discipleship

No Coffee in Israel: Full Spectrum Disciple Making

Consider what we mean today when we talk about “discipling” someone. In a typical evangelical setting, that’s going to mean you grab a cup of coffee for an hour once a week. You’ll talk about life, share some wisdom, pray for each other. There may be Bible reading and Scripture…

by Tim NicholsMarch 7, 2023
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Biblical Studies

Memorizing Scripture

Theopolitan Bible Memorization BINDING THE WORD TO YOUR HEART Memorization has been an important tool for humanity since the beginning. In an age where smart phones are ubiquitous, memorization appears outdated. Why memorize anything that could be looked up on a phone in seconds? This new technology leaves many unable…

by Matthew DarbyMarch 1, 2023
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Theopolis News

Announcement: The James B. Jordan Prize

2022-2023 Prize The Theopolis Institute is pleased to announce the third round of the James B. Jordan Prize to honor outstanding doctoral dissertations in biblical theology. James Jordan is one of the most insightful biblical scholars of our time. The Jordan Prize exists to encourage more of the deep Scriptural…

by Peter LeithartFebruary 27, 2023
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Sex

So What If Gender is a Social Construct?

“Gender is a social construct,” the transgender apologists tell us, thinking with that single stroke they’ve negated gender roles; that they’ve relegated them to the optional, like what kind of cuisine you prefer. Sure, you may be born Italian but that doesn’t mean you’re now bound, by the expectations of…

by John CarpenterFebruary 21, 2023

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In and Out

Roy Gane’s detailed, technical Cult and Character is a sustained response to Jacob Milgrom’s claim that the purification offers of the Torah did not cleanse the worshiper who offered them but the sanctuary. Gane’s overall argument is convincing, and he makes a lot of intriguing exegetical points along the way.…

December 19, 2014

Free and Now

Ben Meyer ( The Aims of Jesus , 132) summarizes Jesus message as consisting of two themes: The kingdom of God is a free gift; and it has come in Jesus’ own ministry. Jesus preaches a kingdom that is free and now . It is a demanding kingdom. The free…

December 19, 2014

Jeroboam in Early Modernity

In a 2006 article in Past & Present , Jonathan Sheehan traces the origins of the modern contrast of sacred and profane to seventeenth-century dispute about idolatry. It’s a story of keen interest, but this particularly caught my eye. He’s talking about the role of the golden calf incident in…

December 18, 2014

Trent and Sacrifice

Like another, better-known Jesuit, Robert Daly has a disarming way about him. What do you do with a Catholic who is as critical of private Masses as most Protestants? A Jesuit who says things like: “It is common to describe lack of contact with tradition as one of the characteristic…

December 18, 2014

Anti-Patriarchal Patriarchs

Nancy Jay’s analysis of the patriarchal narratives in Throughout Your Generations Forever is vitiated (to use a solid old Calvinian term) by her reliance on the documentary hypothesis. P says this, J and E that. P traces smooth sacrificial descent from fathers to sons; J and E reveal a more…

December 18, 2014

Ought We Anoint the Dying?

Anointing the sick, including the dying, is one of the traditional seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. The Reformers denied that the rite qualified as a sacrament. Formally, this was because anointing did not have a direct authorization from Jesus; more theologically, it was not one of the marks that…

December 18, 2014

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