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Writing

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

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Biblical Horizons

Liturgical Man, Liturgical Woman, Part II

Click HERE for an audio version of this article. For part 1 of this series, click HERE . The New Covenant changes none of this. There is nothing new or odd about Mary’s sitting at Jesus’ feet, nothing strange about various “deaconesses” serving the Incarnate Tabernacle. Paul affirms that in…

by James B. JordanJune 5, 2004
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Apologetics

God in Control?

An Introduction Despite my rather hectic schedule as a father and pastor, I’ve become more and more concerned that a tract defending God’s sovereignty and fore-ordination of all things would be a helpful tool for the Reformed pastor–one converstational in tone and persuasive in style. I have decided to undertake…

by Mark HorneJune 4, 2004
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Baptism

Trying to be Objective: A Short Test For Those Concerned About An Alleged “Baptismal Regeneration” Teaching

There has been a great deal of controversy in the various conservative Reformed microdenominations in North America. Since I am a pastor in one of these and have been advocating a return to the historic Protestant and Confessional view over again the baptistic mutation that is now prevalent in our…

by Mark HorneJune 3, 2004
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Eucharist

The Meal that Kills: The Danger of Privatized Communion

I have recently written on justification as a covenant status and justification and adoption , understood as joining with Christ and his family at the Lord’s Supper . I write about things like this because it seems quite common in America to denigrate the need for community in one’s commitment…

by Mark HorneJune 3, 2004
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Baptism

Samuel Miller, Baptism, & Covenant Theology

Samuel Miller was one of the early professors at Princeton Theological Seminary. As a Presbyterian he wrote a book that defended infant baptism . Miller’s book was fine, but his appendix on baptismal regeneration seems problematic. Of course, his initial attack on superstition is quite warranted, but I am speaking…

by Mark HorneJune 3, 2004
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Baptism

Baptism, Evangelism, & the Quest for a "Converting Ordinance"

Awhile back I wrote the following, first quoting from the author of the excellent book, A Baptism That Saves : The sacramental view [of baptism] most accords with the idea of God’s initiating a covenant by his sovereign decree in election–effecting this through effectual calling. This is because, instead of…

by Mark HorneJune 3, 2004

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Literature

Inevitable worship

In his just-published Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works (Cultural Liturgies) , James KA Smith quotes this remarkable passage from a speech by David Foster Wallace: “In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships.…

January 30, 2013

Slaves and heirs

AJ Bandstra ( The Law and The Elementa of The World An Exegetical Study In Aspects of Pauls Teaching ) takes Paul’s distinguishes “heir” and “slave” in Galatians 4:1, the first referring to Jews and the second to Gentiles. Chapter 3 ends with Paul’s ringing declaration that those who are…

January 29, 2013
History

Torah among Gentiles

In his Life of Moses (II.20-23) Philo notes the difference between the law of the Jews and the laws of other peoples. Scythians don’t keep Egyptian laws, nor Egyptians Scythian, Asians and Europeans keep to their own laws. But it’s different with the laws of Moses: “They lead after them…

January 29, 2013

Paul and AD 70

NT Wright has long emphasized the centrality of the prophecy of the temple’s destruction to Jesus’ ministry and teaching. But that has not been as prominent a theme in Wright’s Paul work. In Paul: In Fresh Perspective (56), he makes it clear that he believes “Paul is aware . .…

January 29, 2013

What Paul Wrote

In his Paul: In Fresh Perspective (19), NT Wright notes that even scholars who have largely abandoned old methods and approaches to Paul cling to old conclusions about Paul. This is evident in their assumptions about the Pauline canon: “The extremely marked stylistic difference between 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians…

January 29, 2013

Eros in the Foxhole

Mackubin Thomas Owens doesn’t think mixing men and women on the front lines is a good idea: “The glue of unit cohesion is what the Greeks called philia —friendship, comradeship, or brotherly love. In The Warriors: Reflections on Men in Battle , J. Glenn Gray described the importance of philia…

January 29, 2013

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