Peter J. Leithart

The name John in Revelation 1:1 links the seer up with John the Baptist, the messenger who came from God to announce the coming of Christ. Some (JM Ford,Revelation (The Anchor Bible, Vol. 38)) have suggested that this points to John the Baptist and his circle as the source of the gospel. Thats . . . . Continue Reading »

Cyril O’Regan (Theology and the Spaces of Apocalyptic, 60)summarizes Bulgakov’s cautions about turning justice into the master theme of Christian witness. Bulgakov is “sensitive to the horrors that have been committed in the name of justice throughout history and proximally in the . . . . Continue Reading »

Liberal Protestants and orthodox Protestant both tell the story of modern Protestantism as the opposition of liberalism and orthodoxy. Already in the 19th century, FC Baur doubted this scheme, and suggested there was a third form of Protestantism - a gnostic Protestantism.Cyril O’Regan’s . . . . Continue Reading »

Jenson makes the remarkable claim that God is Himself culture (in a contribution to God, Truth, and Witness: Engaging Stanley Hauerwas, 160-1):“What it is to be God is given in the Father’s eternal begetting of the Son and enlivening through the Spirit, in the Spirit’s eternal . . . . Continue Reading »

Joshua Davis gives a deft summary of J. Louis Martyn’s understanding of Pauline theology in the introduction to Apocalyptic and the Future of Theology: With and Beyond J. Louis Martyn, which Davis co-edited with Douglas Harinck.Building on but going beyond Kasemann, Martyn attempts to . . . . Continue Reading »

The Sacrificial Body And the Day of Doom: Alchemy And Apocalyptic Discourse in the Protestant Reformationby Urszula Szulakowska links together early modern alchemy with Reformation sacramental theology, art, and interpretations of Revelation. At the center she places Stefan Michelspacher’s . . . . Continue Reading »

Isaiah 60:19-20 is a Celtic knot of a text. The obvious structure is a parallelism:\A. No longer sun for lightB. Nor moon for brightnessC. Yahweh will be everlasting lightD. Your God for your beautyA’. Your sun will not set any moreB’. Nor will the moon waneC’. For Yahweh will be . . . . Continue Reading »

Isaiah 60 forms a distinct unit, with a generally chiastic structure:A. Light has come and the glory of Yahweh, vv 1-3B. Caravans of kings will be treasures to Zion, vv 4-9 (including gold and silver, vv 6, 9)C.Foreigners build walls and gates open, v 10-11aD.Kings will serve you, vv 11b-14E. From . . . . Continue Reading »

Yahweh promises to upgrade Israel: In place of their bronze, iron, wood, and stones He will give gold, silver, bronze, and iron (Isaiah 60:17). It’s a myth of decline in reverse, with the golden age following rather than preceding the bronze (see Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, & Hope In . . . . Continue Reading »

Christopher R. Smith’s After Chapters & Versesis a systematic critique of the current format of the Bible, its division into chapters and verses, its book divisions, and its ordering of books within the canon. He wants to erase the chapter and verse markings, and put the books into a . . . . Continue Reading »