Peter J. Leithart

In his new Being with God , Aristotle Papanikolaou points to differences between Vladimir Lossky and John Zizioulas on the issue of divine energies. For Lossky, the doctrine of divine energies is designed to “protect the real character of communion with God” in theosis while also . . . . Continue Reading »

Thanks to my student Brent McLean for the following quotation from Schmemann’s Journals: “I reflect, while writing my Eucharist, about Communion, on the strange, mysterious alienation from it in the Church (on Mt. Athos - they didn’t regularly take Communion; in our churches, . . . . Continue Reading »

Stephen Jaeger’s wonderful Ennobling Love (1999) sets up some bizarre juxtapositions. On the one hand, here is Anselm of Bec writing to two novices about the join the monastic community: “My eyes eagerly long to see your face, most beloved; my arms stretch out to your embraces. My lips . . . . Continue Reading »

INTRODUCTION Our discussion of Mauss brought us to the verge of talking about postmodernism and the gift. We will do this primarily by examining Derrida, but to understand Derrida we need to spend some time with Levinas, one of the chief influences on Derrida’s thought. After examining some . . . . Continue Reading »

The following points are responses to the Report of the Committee to Study the Doctrine of Justification of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. I hope I will be excused for responding mainly to those portions of the recent OPC report on the Federal Vision and the New Perspective that pertain to my . . . . Continue Reading »

This summary of Wright’s views on justification is taken from passages in his new Paul in Fresh Perspective . 1) Covenant and apocalyptic. Unlike some contemporary scholars, Wright insists that covenant and apocalyptic are not opposed to one another, but joined in Paul’s teaching. By . . . . Continue Reading »

John Bossy notes in an article on the social functions of the medieval mass that the mass dividedthe human race into living and dead, friends and enemies. Various sorts of prayers for enemies were included: “Even the post-Reformation Roman ritual followed its set of collects ‘for our . . . . Continue Reading »

Jim Rogers of Texas A&M sent along the following discussion of polygamy in the OT in response to some reflections I posted last week on the typology of Rachel and Leah. I’m reproducing it here with Jim’s permission. Why is polygamy tolerated in the OT (Ex 21.10, Dt 21.15-17) but not in . . . . Continue Reading »

INTRODUCTION During the reign of wicked Ahaz, Judah moves closer to Israelite and Gentile idolatry. Ahaz foolishly jumps onboard the ship of Israel just as it begins to sink. THE TEXT “In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. . . . . Continue Reading »

Genesis 29:10b-11: Jacob went up, and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted his voice and wept. Caesarius, bishop of Arles in Southern France in the fifth century, said that the patriarchs of . . . . Continue Reading »