Post-Feudal Taste

Walter Ong ( The Presence of the Word: Some Prolegomena for Cultural and Religious History (The Terry Lectures Series) ) takes note of the much-remarked primacy of taste in eighteenth-century European culture, but Ong offers an explanation: “The sense of taste is basically a discriminatory . . . . Continue Reading »

Founding Pirates

Not long after independence, the US faced “its first acute foreign threat,” writes Michael Oren in Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present . Not from Britain or France, but from North Africa. John Paul Jones complained that “The Algerians are . . . . Continue Reading »

Dangerous Nation

Robert Kagan opens his Dangerous Nation: America’s Foreign Policy from Its Earliest Days to the Dawn of the Twentieth Century (Vintage) by observing the contrast between the worries of the world and the self-perception of Americans: “Americans have cherished an image of themselves as by . . . . Continue Reading »

Mystery of God

Beale helpfully notes the links between Revelation 10:6-7 and 6:11, both of which speak of the time being fulfilled. 6:11 speaks of the completion of the suffering of the saints, while 10:6-7 says that the time is no longer (that is, there is no more delay) and that the mystery of God is fulfilled. . . . . Continue Reading »

Rainbows

Another strong angel descends to John with the rainbow around his head (10:1). The previous reference to rainbow said it surrounded the heavenly throne (4:3) Hence: The angel’s head = the heavenly throne. The angel descends from heaven, but he is gargantuan, able to place a foot in the sea . . . . Continue Reading »

Wrightean ambiguities

Famously and controversially, Wright argues that justification involves two dimensions, which he says were, for Paul, the same thing: the declaration that someone is in the right and forgiven, and the declaration that a person is a member of the covenant community. This formulation helpfully . . . . Continue Reading »

Union with Christ

Vanhoozer’s lecture and now article on Wright emphasizes the central importance of union with Christ in understanding justification. He suggests the term “incorporated righteousness” as a way of getting at Calvin’s focus on union with Christ and the double grace that flows . . . . Continue Reading »