As 2019 begins, Theopolis is launching Theopolis Conversations as a regular feature on our web site.  Each Theopolis Conversation will begin with a lengthy piece on some topic, often linked with an upcoming Theopolis course or conference. Over the course of a month, we’ll post a response to the initial article each week, and at […]

A. Introduction and Argument What follows simply presents a list of topics and propositions relating to psychoanalysis, the Desert Fathers, Zen Buddhism, the self, breathing, silence, the unconscious, discipleship, counseling, and our deep and unsatisfied desire to be like Christ.  It is intended, however, that the list also serves as an argument in support of […]

Genesis 2:5 says that no shrub yet existed in the earth and no field plant had sprouted for two reasons. The first is that “Yahweh God had not caused rain upon the earth,” and the second is that “there was no man to serve the soil.” Then v. 6 explains that “a spring used to […]

This hymn was written by Brian Daigle and is based on the Epiphany lectionary readings. It follows the tune of “We Three Kings.” Brian is the priest and rector of Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church. He is also Headmaster and teacher at Sequitur Classical Academy and Director of Chesterton College. Brian lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, […]

As a rite of command performance worship, danced before the throne of God for His pleasure, the Church Year is a form of covenant recital or covenant rehearsal. The recital of the covenant in Scripture takes two forms. The first is the recounting of the great acts of redemption that God has wrought on behalf […]

The recent developments of the #metoo and #churchtoo movements has shed new light on sexual assault in the United States. Its impact has been felt at the highest court in the country. Amid this, a new statement distinguishing the gospel from social justice was published by some within conservative evangelicalism. They are seeking to defend […]

Why there is more to Jephthah than meets than eye It was not that long ago that I realized the Jephthah-story and the Jesus-story were basically the same story. Sounds crazy, I know. But here is a one-paragraph synopsis of both: The people of God have gone their own way, chasing after other gods, and […]

G.K. Chesterton famously said that the Gospels don’t reveal Jesus’ mirth. It’s true we never catch Jesus laughing. But can we believe He never did? I don’t think so. Laughter is human, and Jesus was fully human. Jesus promised that those who mourned would laugh. He mourned; would He not also have laughed? Jesus spent […]

Matthew 2 has all the elements of an exodus story. There’s a murderous king, who slaughters Jewish babies. There’s a infant who will be Israel’s future deliverer, saved from the murderous king so He can later return to save His people and lead them to the Promised land. There’s an exodus from the land of […]

The calendar of Israel was primarily theological, centered on commemorating the salvific acts of God, but also agricultural, celebrating the creation-restoring effects of those salvific acts. The feasts of the first month celebrated the reviving of the world in the Spring, and typified the cutting off of the Savior in his youth. The feasts of […]

The chiastic shape corresponds to the shape of human life. This should not surprise us, because we are made in the image of God, and God is manifest in Word and Spirit. If we are living epistles, our lives will look a bit like the literary shape of the books and book-sections (pericopes) of the […]

Back in January, Venkatesh Rao wrote a fascinating post on the Ribbonfarm blog, discussing different forms of models of narrative. Engaging with Ursula LeGuin’s talk ‘The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction’, Rao explores her contrast between the (male) ‘hero narrative’ and the (female) ‘carrier-bag story’, and suggests a third model: the ‘boat story’. The male hero […]

John 18, 19: Latter Prophets and the Writings John 18 and 19 record the arrest, trial, torture, and death of Jesus as laid out in detail in Isaiah 53.  After the Roman soldier pierces Jesus’ side, John quotes Zechariah: “They shall look at him whom they pierced” (Zech 12:10). In terms of historical scope, the […]

John 12.12 – John 17: Latter Prophets In the Hebrew Scriptures, Kings is followed by the Latter Prophets. John 12:15 quotes Zechariah 9:9 as having prophesied Jesus’ triumphal entry: “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”[1] N.T. Wright sees, beside Zechariah, the fulfillment of […]

John 6.16-70: Joshua The book of Joshua documents the nation of Israel entering the Promised Land. Consider the order of events: (1) Israel is still receiving the daily miracle of manna; (2) Israel miraculously crosses the Jordan on dry foot; (3) The day after Passover, Israel eats produce of the Promised Land, and the manna […]

Since my educational and professional training have revolved around story and narrative structure, I approach John’s Gospel from a literary and narrative perspective. In doing so, I have noticed structural story patterns and followed them where they seem to lead: the Gospel of John parallels the ordering of the books of the Tanakh. Although John’s […]

The Mt. Sinai Hospital was neolithic on the black hill of Hollow, New Hampshire. Winter dampened the trees and the wind bit at the sparse branches, the sidewalks and stairs were perilous with soggy leaves, and the dim yellow light cast a pallor upon the milky stone building. Ambling inside the halls of determined walks […]

The Revelation can only be understood in the light of Old Testament symbols and sequences. The same is true of the epistle of Jude, which serves as a blistering hors d’oeuvre to John’s fiery feast. Possibly written by the apostle Judas Thaddaeus (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13; John 14:22), the epistle is an encyclical exhortation rather […]

Christians get sex wrong when we start from the wrong end. We start from human desires, passions, biological drives and “needs.” These are treated as givens, as the base-line natural reality of human sexuality. Then we come to the Bible and find, to our surprise, that God places all kinds of restrictions on how we […]

Why isn’t Proverbs better known as the Bible’s book on “manliness”? I use quotation marks because the term almost seems archaic in our present culture, along with “manhood.” Perhaps the Church is too embarrassed to admit the Bible addresses that much attention to the topic. But another reason can be found in Proverbs itself. Solomon […]