The phrase “art of living” can have an aestheticist ring to it. Life becomes a “work of art,” a self-conscious dramatization. Someone concerned about the “art of living” may well forget to be concerned with living itself. Of course, self-forgetfulness is part of . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus predicted the rise of postmodernism. In Luke 21:27, He says that after the tribulation there will be “distress of nations, with APORIA.” Derrida didn’t catch Jesus by surprise. Nossir. But this does put dispensational premils at a disadvantage, since it implies that . . . . Continue Reading »
Sacra doctrina, for Aquinas, involves the stripping of idols. So says Fergus Kerr: “Step by step, once we learn to read the text in this way, one idolatrous temptation after another is stripped away. The apophatic theology is designed to liberate us of the pictures of God that only too easily . . . . Continue Reading »
Denys Turner considers tradition and faith in the January 2004 issue of the IJST , but the more obvious subject is Derrida and the tradition of negative theology, particularly as expressed in Pseudo-Denys (no relation) and Eckhart. Turner deftly disposes of Derrida’s dictum that ” tout . . . . Continue Reading »
Robert Jenson continues his series of essays on Christ as Culture in the January 2004 issue of IJST , arguing that “Christ is Art.” Here are a few of the highlights: 1) Jenson defines art as experimentation with possible worlds. One of his examples is Mondrian: “Mondrian and his . . . . Continue Reading »
J. M. Coetzee, the South African novelist who won the Nobel Prize for literature last year, offers an intriguing exchange concerning the classics and faith in his novel, Elizabeth Costello (I can’t read that without thinking “Elvis.”) Costello is a highly successful novelist now . . . . Continue Reading »
It would seem that non-Trinitarian ontologies cannot secure a notion of beauty, and this seems to be the case because of the tragic ontologies that dominate non-Christian thought. 1) Beauty is fittingness, a matter of harmonics. Thus, beauty requires that there be plurality. Need at least two for . . . . Continue Reading »
Thursday was Ascension Day. It is celebrated to mark Jesus’ ascent to heaven that occurred forty days after His death and resurrection at the time of Passover. Though Ascension Day is rarely emphasized in the church calendar, it is essential to the whole of Jesus?Elife and ministry and to the . . . . Continue Reading »
In his remarkable book, Ascension and Ecclesia , Douglas Farrow points to the common modern conflation of resurrection with ascension, and points to some of the theological consequences of this conflation: “First of all, it puts in jeopardy the continuity between our present world and the . . . . Continue Reading »
The ascension is one of the key issues in historical discussions about the Lord?s Supper. The question posed by many has been: How can Jesus, who has ascended into heaven, still be with us at this table, and feed us His flesh and blood? Many answers have been given, some of which I believe are . . . . Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
