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

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Biblical Horizons

Twelve Fundamental Avenues of Revelation, Part 2

Theophanic revelation is historically progressive, or eschatological, in character. First of all, in Genesis 1:2, the Spirit appeared inside the creation, sent by the Father. After the creation of man, the Spirit worked and works with humanity to bring us to maturity, from Daughter to Bride to fruitful Mother. He…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997
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Biblical Studies

The Calf of the Purification Offering

On the eighth day of the rite of "filling the hand," Aaron began his service at the altar. His first offering was a "calf" (Heb. `egel ), which served as a purification offering for himself and (apparently) his household (Leviticus 9:2, 8). This is striking for a couple of reasons.…

by Peter LeithartFebruary 27, 1997
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Exodus

A Blossom of Yahweh’s Garden

One of the distinctive items of the high priest’s clothing was the "golden plate" inscribed with the words "Holy to Yahweh" (Exodus 28:36-38). The word translated as "plate" is tsits , which literally means "flower." The verbal and noun forms are both used in Numbers 17:8, which describes Aaron’s rod…

by Peter LeithartFebruary 27, 1997
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Biblical Horizons

Squaring Off and Crossing Up

The square, rectangle, and cross shapes appear all over the sanctuaries God reveals in the Bible: Tabernacle, Solomon’s Temple, Ezekiel’s Temple, New Jerusalem. One thing that can be said right away about these designs, and the occasional perfect circle (the lavers), is that they do not occur in nature. They…

by James B. JordanJanuary 28, 1997
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Biblical Studies

In the Fish: The Church as Tomb

"For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40). Some reflections on Jonah’s Big Fish have led to the following essay. Let me…

by James B. JordanJanuary 28, 1997
Hermeneutics

God Most High

Citing Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18-20, James Jordan has written that "the name of God in use among the nations was God Most High’" (Hebrew, `el `elyon ; in Through New Eyes , p. 176). In addition to Melchizedek, one could cite the example of Balaam, who invokes the Lord both…

by Peter LeithartJanuary 27, 1997

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Literature

Wilder the Critic

Robert Gottleib reviews Penelope Niven’s Thornton Wilder: A Life in the January 7 issue of The New Yorker . The most interesting bits are selections from Wilder the epistolary literary and cultural critic. There’s this from a 1937 letter talking about the Astaire-Rogers film Swing Time , which Wilder saw…

December 31, 2012

Heroic Hobbits?

At the Real Clear Religion web site, Jeffrey Weiss nails the problem with Peter Jackson’s rendition of Tolkein. Summing up the climax of the Lord of the Rings , Weiss writes: “In book and film, Frodo has heroically carried the Ring to the one spot where it can be destroyed.…

December 30, 2012

Eucharistic meditation

Matthew 7: What man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your…

December 30, 2012

Exhortation

“Unless you are converted and become like little children, you cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” Jesus says. To enter His kingdom, we must be needy, eager, dependent, watching the world with wonder. Jesus fills His kingdom with children. But the world and our own flesh makes it difficult to…

December 30, 2012
Literature

Father of the Man

When Lear subjects himself to his daughters, his Fool remarks that he might has well pull down his britches and let his daughters whip him. He is no longer acting like a father; he has become a child in the hands of Goneril and Regan. At the end of the…

December 30, 2012

Trinity House: Matthew Levering Says…

I first discovered Peter Leithart’s writings in the pages of Pro Ecclesia and First Things . Even his earliest writings are striking for their creative engagement with the Christian tradition and for their superb rhetorical power. When I turned to his books, I found a sacramental and political theologian for…

December 29, 2012

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