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

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abortion
Abortion

Letters on Abortion, (Part 1)

What is below is fairly self-explanatory. This is an exchange I had with a local liberal clergyman on the subject of abortion. The circumstances of the debate are included in the text itself. I initially e-mailed this out to a list of clergy in our city after a local (and…

by Richard BledsoeNovember 17, 2015
wall-2
Ezra

The Perfumed Butler and the Wisdom of Civil Obedience

The seemingly humdrum parts of the Bible often hide overlooked wisdom. Take, for example, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Their stories aren't exactly the most gripping or memorable. They are far less concrete than, say, the story of the Exodus. No one in Ezra is stricken blind or devoured…

by Christian LeithartNovember 10, 2015
sparkler
Happiness

"Happy! Happy! Happy!" Authentic Happiness and Its Knock-Offs

For most of the past century, philosophical perspectives on life in the western world have been overtly grim and pessimistic. The optimism of the Enlightenment, generated by confidence in the scientific method and the potential of an increasingly civilized humanity to redress the evils of the world, was shattered by…

by Bill DeJongNovember 5, 2015
aaron-burden-1ebsmyrau-s-unsplash
Hermeneutics

How Does a Chiasm Mean?

Chiastic structures are found all over the Bible, and in recent decades commentators have become more adept at spotting them. But identifying these literary structures is only part of the challenge. There remains the challenge of understanding what they mean. Part of the answer is found in the recognition that…

by Steve JefferyNovember 3, 2015
last-supper
Eucharist

How To Change the World, (Part 2)

Part 1 can be found HERE . Clearly, more than just getting worship right is important in changing the world, but since worship is the central act of God’s people, performed on the first day of the week at the center of the world before the very face of God,…

by James B. JordanOctober 29, 2015
solomonsidolatry
Biblical Theology

Big Love: A History of Stolen Fruit

“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed.” ( Luke 11:27 ) Arguing for Christian morality in a secular society is difficult. A culture which accepts evolutionary dogma has no intellectual place — or inherent desire — for absolute morality, since it believes morality…

by Mike BullOctober 27, 2015

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Glory and Unity

Pastor Rich Bledsoe explores the connections of glory and unity at the Trinity House site .

May 14, 2014

Double Imputation

For some today, double imputation alone grounds the gospel. If Christ’s passive obedience (death on the cross) alone is imputed, then we are forgiven but not positively righteous. We need to have Christ’s active obedience (in life) imputed if we are to be counted positively as law-keepers, as righteous in…

May 14, 2014

Ascended Lamb

A Lamb arrives in heaven to take the book from the Enthroned One (Revelation 5). Why a Lamb? We think of the “Lamb” in association with Passover, but Passover is not the only time when a lamb has to be offered. In fact, Passover doesn’t even requires a lamb but…

May 13, 2014
Trinity

New-Old Debate

One of the virtues of Steven Studebaker’s Jonathan Edwards’ Social Augustinian Trinitarianism is his attention to forgotten debates. Our contemporary debates are not as cutting-edge as we think. We - and I do include myself in we - only think so because of our ignorance and amnesia. He traces social…

May 13, 2014

Johannine Atonement

In a fascinating 2009 JETS article, Nicholas Lunn shows that John’s account of Jesus’ death and resurrection follows the pattern of the day of atonement. He begins from the common observation that the tomb of Jesus, with its flanking angels and discarded linens, is analogous to the ark of the…

May 13, 2014

What Is Sacrifice?

Geerhardus Vos nicely synthesizes different moments of sacrifice: “to the prospherein , ‘offering,’ belongs more than the self-surrender in death; its culminating part is the self-presentation in heaven. It is not merely necessary that a sacrifice be slain; it is equally necessary that the sacrifice be brought into the immediate…

May 13, 2014

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