In today’s Jerusalem Post , Caroline Glick ponders the strange disinteret in the rapid expulsion of Christians from the Middle East. She notes, “at the time of Lebanese independence from France in 1946 the majority of Lebanese were Christians. Today less than 30% of Lebanese are . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION From the opening chapters of Genesis, the Bible tells the story of two peoples, two cities, which are characterized by radically different desires and aims. They are the dead who never rise (Isaiah 26:14) and the dead-and-risen, who will be reborn from the earth (26:19). THE TEXT . . . . Continue Reading »
It’s a couple of days old, but you can find my reflections on this cutting-edge scientific question at http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2011/10/does-the-sun-rise/peter-j-leithart . And don’t miss the fun discussion that ensued in the comments. . . . . Continue Reading »
My friend and former student Stephen Long sends along this quotation from Augustine and brief analysis that follows. The excerpt is from Augustine’s Sermon 187, a Christmas sermon. The portion in quotation marks is from Augustine, the paragraph at the end from Stephen. “When he took . . . . Continue Reading »
In place of the arborescent systems of modernity, Deleuze and Guattari rhizomic models. Herman Rapaport explains ( The Literary Theory Toolkit: A Compendium of Concepts and Methods ): “Traditionally, organic metaphors were used to suggest the coherence and closure of forms, since life forms . . . . Continue Reading »
“Cosmetic” comes from the Greek kosmos , which typically means “world,” and from techne , which means “art” or even “technique.” The etymology throws lines in several directions. A kosmos is an adorned, arranged, and beautified world. In the Genesis . . . . Continue Reading »
When the Philistines capture the mighty Samson, he seems tame enough. They mock and abuse him until the Spirit of Yah returns and Samson pulls down the house. When the Philistines learn that the ark of God is in the Israelite camp, they’re terrified that “mighty gods” contend with . . . . Continue Reading »
Herman Rapaport’s The Literary Theory Toolkit: A Compendium of Concepts and Methods is an impressive achievement. In less than 300 pages, he gives deft and up-to-the minute summaries of literary theories, describes available literary tools for analyzing narrative, poetry, drama, and for . . . . Continue Reading »
Bavinck affirms that evil is a privatio boni , but is not satisfied to leave it there: “Sin is a no-thing , can only be a privation or corruption of the good. Sin is a defect, a deprivation, an absence of the good, or a weakness, imbalance, just as blindness is a deprivation of sight. The . . . . Continue Reading »
Bavinck notes the traditional division of providence into preservation, concurrence, and governance, but then adds: “These do not divide the work of providence into materially and temporally distinct and successive parts for they are always integrally connected. From the very beginning, . . . . Continue Reading »
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