Badiou ( Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism ) gets a lot wrong. Primarily, what he gets wrong is the very modern effort to fit universalize Paul into a herald of “the Event.” Badiou has no interest or belief in the specifics of the gospel Paul preaches, only in the formal . . . . Continue Reading »
Alain Badiou begins his Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism by describing the simultaneous homogenization and fragmentation of late modern civilization. The homogenization he links to the globalization of capitalism economic structures: there is free circulation, but free circulation of . . . . Continue Reading »
Princeton University Press recently launched a new series, “Lives of Great Religious Books.” Each volume examines an important book - Genesis, Augustine’s Confessions , the Bhagavad Gita - and traces the book’s origins, history and uses. They are brief (some are a little . . . . Continue Reading »
A student, Andrew Bittner, takes re’shiyt (beginning) in Genesis 1:1 as “firstfruits,” suggesting a translation along the lines of “As the firstfruits God created the heavens and earth.” The translation is philologically plausible, since the Hebrew word refers to . . . . Continue Reading »
Emily A. Bernard Jackson asks this question concerning Byron in a TLS review of Roderick Beaton’s Byron’s War: Romantic Rebellion, Greek Revolution . It’s a “troublesome” question for Byron scholars: “Byron was certainly political: he maintained a lively interest . . . . Continue Reading »
Ask Eusebius of Caesarea, and he won’t give a straight answer. Ask Jerome, and he knows it was the Arian Eusebius of Nicomedia. Ask anyone between the sixth and the sixteenth century, and they’ll tell you, with great assurance, Sylvester of Rome. Hans Pohlsander ( Emperor Constantine , . . . . Continue Reading »
A few weeks back, the Guardian explained the appeal of The Simpsons to highly intelligent people. It’s full of arcane math jokes. Author Simon Singh recalls his favorite moment: “In ‘The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace’ (1998) . . . Homer tries to become an inventor. In one . . . . Continue Reading »
Fran O’Rourke’s What Happened in and to Moral Philosophy in the Twentieth Century?: Philosophical Essays in Honor of Alasdair MacIntyre is a collection of essays from a 2009 University College Dublin conference assessing and responding to the achievement of Alasdair MacIntyre’s . . . . Continue Reading »
Joshua 24:31 seems like a straightforward theme verse for the book of Joshua: “Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua.” Many contemporary scholars don’t think so. They point to various incidents in the book as examples of unfaithfulness - the spies’ decision to spare . . . . Continue Reading »
This from a wonderful interview with Sam Wells , where he is discussing some of the ideas in his Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics . It’s one of the best answers to “Why liturgy?” that I’ve come across. The remainder of this post is quoted from that interview: . . . . Continue Reading »
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