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Writing

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

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Matthew

Paul Doesn't Care About Universal Individual Sinfulness or General Revelation

One reason readers assume Paul is trying to prove that all human beings are sinful is that they understand him to be arguing that no one can keep the law. That means, they think, his opponents must believe that human nature is potentially sinless. Taking Paul’s statement that, if you…

by Mark HorneJune 17, 2013
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Mission

Dreams and Visions

[Note: This post was written prior to our name changing to Theopolis Institute.] What is Trinity House for? Three things: We aim to advance the reformation of the church and, through the church, to promote the renewal of culture; in furthering reformation, we aspire to be a site of fraternal,…

by Peter LeithartJune 12, 2013
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Deuteronomy

Sons to Yahweh your God!

This is the third in a series of studies of the Third Word, and especially of Deuteronomy 14. In 1979 Stephen Kaufman penned a groundbreaking essay on Deuteronomy, arguing that it was a meticulously structured and carefully composed book. In his view, chapters 12 to 26 in particular follow the…

by Ralph Allan SmithJune 10, 2013
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Romans

How is Wrath Revealed?

A large mistake is made in understanding Romans if one assumes that Paul is concerned with proving the fact that no one can ever live without sin—or that all attempts at obeying God’s commands are at least tainted with human sinfulness. The first problem with such an assumption is that…

by Mark HorneJune 5, 2013
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Deuteronomy

The Third Word

This is the second in a series of studies on the Third Word, and especially on the food laws of Deuteronomy 14. In the second part of this series, I argue that Moses’ reworking of the Ten Words in Deuteronomy 5 includes adding nuance to the Third Word. This prepares…

by Ralph Allan SmithJune 3, 2013
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Culture

Turning Babel into a Beast

Recent months have brought a lively discussion of Christian participation in the culture war. On the one hand, the pro-life movement appears to be making some slow progress on the abortion issue. The trial of abortionist and serial murderer Kermit Gosnell has the potential to awaken those who are nominally…

by Joe RigneyMay 29, 2013

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Seven Stars, Seven Sisters

I explore some of the astral symbolism of the book of Revelation at the Trinity House site .

April 21, 2014

Christian China

Tom Phillips reports in the Telegraph that China is “poised to become not just the world’s number one economy but also its most numerous Christian nation.” According to Purdue’s Fenggang Yang, it will happen in “less than a generation.” Phillips adds, “China’s Protestant community, which had just one million members…

April 21, 2014

Hi-Tech Philosophy

Anthony Gottlieb uses his review of Rebecca Goldstein’s Plato at the Googleplex to speculate on how ancient philosophers might have employed social media and information technology: “The epigrammatic Heraclitus would surely have appreciated the enforced brevity of Twitter. Diogenes the Cynic, who made a spectacle of himself in order to…

April 21, 2014

State v. the Poor

One of the burdens of William Easterly’s The Tyranny of Experts is that the state is one of the great obstacles to development. As Howard French summarizes the argument in the NYTBR , “Easterly’s stories unfailingly reinforce a select number of crucial themes, the boldest being that the people of…

April 21, 2014

The Court Sits

The scene in heaven in Revelation 4 is a temple scene. It’s also the beginning of John’s sky journey among the stars and constellations. But the combination of a throne and throne s indicates another setting: This is a courtroom. That’s what thrones indicate elsewhere in Scripture (Psalm 122:5; Daniel…

April 19, 2014

Open Door

Jesus has to keys to open and close doors (Revelation 3:7-8). That could be a door of mission, but the next chapter of the book shows an open door. It doesn’t stand between church and world but between heaven and earth (4:1). The door Jesus opens to the church in…

April 19, 2014

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