Peter Winch argues that any comparison of social realities across cultures is self-contradictory (The Idea of a Social Science, 108).We say X is a social fact, that it is what it is only because of the way social actors use and evaluate it. The “natives” deny that X is anything like what . . . . Continue Reading »
Bard Eirik Hallesby Norheim summarizes what Practicing Baptismmeans.It is “about letting oneself to be made a receiver, a beggar over and over again (204).It is about renunciation, the call to give up our lives to gain them (205).Baptism is practiced well only if it is practiced as . . . . Continue Reading »
George Friedman doesn’t think so. Putin’s posturing over Ukraine continues his strategy of expanding Russian power and, just as importantly, of projecting the image of Russian power: “The Russians cannot simply allow [Ukrainian independence] to stand. Not only does it . . . . Continue Reading »
Each of the seven letters in Revelation 2-3 corresponds to a period of Israel’s history. Jesus’ identification, the assessment of the church, and the promised reward all link together in a complex Old Testament scheme.Believe me for now, because I’m not going to try to prove it. . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus judges everyone according to his works (Revelation 2:23), and the letters to the churches present a refined assessment of works.In Ephesus, they do their works but they (or at least the angel) has left his first love. Repentance means returning to the works that they did at the beginning . . . . Continue Reading »
What sort of religious vision animates the novels of Cormac McCarthy? That’s the question Todd Edmonson examines in a comparative study of McCarthy and Wendell Berry, Priest, Prophet, Pilgrim.It’s not an easy question to answer, given McCarthy’s famous reticence about himself . . . . Continue Reading »
In her book on The Jews under Roman Rule(225-6), Mary Smallwood observes that the Jews of Alexandria sought to retain their cohesion not only by synagogues but through formation into quasi-civic organizations known as politeumata: “A polieteuma was a recognized, formally constituted . . . . Continue Reading »
Pastor Rich Lusk observed in a sermon that the name “Jairus” (Mark 5) means “Yah awakens” (yah ‘ur). Others have suggested an etymology that connects ”-rus” with the verb “to give light - “Yah illumines.”Both fit with the baptismal . . . . Continue Reading »
Yahweh makes water in the wilderness, and where there is water there is a city (Psalm 107:33-38).Water may not seem a very stable foundation for urbanization, but it is the necessary basis for the life of any human community. Without water, people can’t live, their livestock won’t . . . . Continue Reading »
Near the end of his The Great Degeneration, Niall Ferguson quotes Geoffrey West’s analysis of the increasing economies of scale that come with urbanization. West argues,“the bigger the city, the more wages you can expect, the more educational institutions in principle, [the] more . . . . Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
