Peter J. Leithart

From Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ (Penguin Classics) , ch 54: “Nature indeed is wily and betrays many through its deceits and crafty ways, and has always self as its end. Nature always looks to its own advantage, considering what gain it can derive from another. But grace is not . . . . Continue Reading »

Back in May 2012, Joel Rosenberg reported at his blog : “’Iran’s ayatollahs are showing frustration with Iranians leaving Islam for Christianity in large numbers despite the threat of execution for apostasy,’ reports Reza Khalili on The Daily Calle r website . . . . “A . . . . Continue Reading »

In a December 2012 article in Charisma Magazine , Audrey Lee reports on the Christian revival taking place among Muslims in Iraq and Iran: “Mission researchers estimate more Muslims have committed to follow Christ in the last 10 years than in the last 15 centuries of Islam. Yet Islamic . . . . Continue Reading »

Though Kurt Stasiak is a Roman Catholic and a Benedictine, much of what he writes in Sacramental Theology: Means of Grace, Way of Life (Catholic Basics: A Pastoral Ministry Series) is catholic in another sense. He points out (18) that sacraments are not a “sacred parenthesis,” a slice . . . . Continue Reading »

In their history of zoos ( Zoo: A History of Zoological Gardens in the West ), Eric Baratay and Elisabeth Hardouin-Fugier note a connection between Crusades and the development of European zoos. Romans maintained seraglios for the animals used in combats, and these were continued in Byzantium until . . . . Continue Reading »

Some nuggets from Thomas. The first from his commentary on the Sentences (XLIV, 1, 2): “They reason falsely [who say that] since an angel is better than a stone, therefore two angels are better than one angel and a stone . . . . Although an angel, considered absolutely is better than a stone, . . . . Continue Reading »

It’s odd to describe a book with a title like Life, the Universe, and Everything: An Aristotelian Philosophy for a Scientific Age as “delightful” and “charming,” but that’s what Ric Machuga’s book is. Besides “clear,” “rigorous” and . . . . Continue Reading »

In his Christianity and History (94), Herbert Butterfield gives this wonderful musical analogy of history: “We might say that this human story is like a piece of orchestra music that we are playing over for the first time. In our presumption we may act as though we were the composer of the . . . . Continue Reading »

In his just-published Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works (Cultural Liturgies) , James KA Smith quotes this remarkable passage from a speech by David Foster Wallace: “In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. . . . . Continue Reading »

AJ Bandstra ( The Law and The Elementa of The World An Exegetical Study In Aspects of Pauls Teaching ) takes Paul’s distinguishes “heir” and “slave” in Galatians 4:1, the first referring to Jews and the second to Gentiles. Chapter 3 ends with Paul’s ringing . . . . Continue Reading »