Zeno of Verona wrote, “As the devil by his implausibility had found a way into the ear of Eve, inflicting a deadly wound, so Christ, entering the ear of Mary, brushes away all the heart’s vices and heals the woman by being born of the Virgin.” . . . . Continue Reading »
For Protestants, one of the best pieces of news in the past century has been the revival of biblical studies among Catholics. It’s been said (by Mark Noll, of all people!) that, with the new Catholic lectionary, more Scripture is read in Catholic worship than in most Protestant denominations. . . . . Continue Reading »
Some reviewers of Michael Lewis’s The Blind Side have complained about the “paternalism” of the Tuohy family who brought Michael Oher into their orbit. Well, tu quoque . Is it just possible that some lost kids, even lost black kids, might actually need a pater ? . . . . Continue Reading »
Mary Douglas has died. She began her career as a cultural anthropologist, writing seminal works on purity, symbols, food, social organization, and other topics. She collaborated with Aaron Wildavsky on a book on risk. But perhaps her greatest contribution has been to theology and biblical studies. . . . . Continue Reading »
According to Tina Cassidy’s recent Birth: A History , birth has been (in the words of the TLS reviewer) a “ripe terrain for fads” and “oftne a vigilante affair.” Not all the fads have been New Ageish; some have been scientific. The reviewer summarizes: “after the . . . . Continue Reading »
Christians find an anchor for life in historical events, centrally in the cross and resurrection of Jesus. We are not the only ones. For some, the Holocaust becomes the key to understanding all subsequent history. For others, the Spanish Civil War. For others, the founding of the US, or the French . . . . Continue Reading »
Reader Angie Brennan writes: Regarding “Prayer and the Lusty Body” . . . I’m not sure I agree with Tyndale that true prayer necessarily gives comfort to the soul—and it certainly isn’t always easy on the body. Prayers offered in the midst of great anguish or despair . . . . Continue Reading »
Defending the prayer book, Hooker cleverly turns the charge of papist back on the non-conformists. According to Targoff’s summary, “By depicting the use of sermons to distribute God’s word as an act of scriptural hoarding, Hooker aims to reverse the ‘papist’ label . . . . Continue Reading »
Tyndale distinguished true and false prayer in part by distinguishing the role of the body in each. False, hypocritical prayer, relies entirely on the body; hypocrites have “turned [prayer] into a bodily labor, to vex the tongue, lips, eyes, and throat with roaring, and to weary all the . . . . Continue Reading »
We blame Descartes for the divided self of modernity, but perhaps we should blame Elizabeth I. In her book on the Book of Common Prayer, Ramie Targoff notes the limits of what Elizabeth demanded of her subjects: “so long as worshippers came to services on Sunday, they were free to believe . . . . Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
