Peter J. Leithart is President of the Theopolis Institute, Birmingham, Alabama, and an adjunct Senior Fellow at New St. Andrews College. He is author, most recently, of Gratitude: An Intellectual History (Baylor).
In The Republic 588d, Plato writes, “words are a more plastic material than wax.” We can construct any manner of phantasmagorical creature in words, but think of how inept any pictorial depiction of Revelation appears, or how bizarre a portrait based on the Song of Songs would be. . . . . Continue Reading »
A couple of weeks back, TNR published a lengthy review of Richard Neuhaus’ latest book that expanded into a warning about the danger that Neuhaus and his fellow theocons pose to American democracy. John Wilson has a lively rebuttal to the TNR piece in the current issue of Books & Culture, and . . . . Continue Reading »
John Webster (in an essay in Volf and Welker, God’s Life in Trinity ) prefers the term “fellowship” to “communion” in describing the way creatures participate in the perfect life of God: “God communicates his absolute life. This communication does not mean that . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION If “gift” has become a major category of recent thought, it is largely because of the influence of anthropology. Marcel Mauss’ The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies is the single most important work in this regard, and we’ll spend some . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you?” asked the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar to the stranger who offered her living water. By His death and resurrection, Jesus answers that question: He is the true Israel, greater than Jacob. THE TEXT “Then . . . . Continue Reading »
A web article on structuralism contrasts the objectivity of structuralism with the subjectivism of the existentialism that preceded it: “So while Existentialism emphasizes subjectivity, Structuralism embraces an objectivity so impersonal that it tends to dispense with the individual . . . . Continue Reading »
Gal 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. In this morning’s sermon, we have been trying to understand how our . . . . Continue Reading »
What is the cross? For Mark, the cross is not so much Jesus’ passive suffering as His last great act of power. While Matthew shows Jesus as the great teacher of Israel, Mark shows Jesus as a man of action. In the first verse of his gospel, he identifies Jesus by the royal title “Son of God,” . . . . Continue Reading »
R. R. Reno helpfully explains the attractions of Continental philosophy to theologians by suggesting that Continental philosophy has “become a form of theology.” More elaborately: “As an intellecutal practice, this branch of modern philosophy organizes itself around the task of . . . . Continue Reading »
Why should there be a final judgment when God judges in time? Aquinas answers: “Judgment on something changeable cannot be rendered fully before its consummation. Thus judgment cannot be rendered fully regarding the quality of any action before its completion, both in itself and its results, . . . . Continue Reading »
America's most
influential
journal of
religion and
public life
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
influential
journal of
religion and
public life
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
