Peter J. Leithart

In his farewell letter to the PCA, Jason Stellman says that he has concluded that “the teaching that sinners are justified by a once-for-all declaration of acquittal on God’s part, based upon the imputation of Christ’s righteousness received by faith alone, is not reflective of . . . . Continue Reading »

In a treatment of envy and gratitude, Visser ( The Gift of Thanks: The Roots and Rituals of Gratitude , p. 362-3) notes that the Latin invidia comes from videre and means “‘seeing with intensity,’ paying meticulous and malevolent attention, eyeing in order to measure and compare . . . . Continue Reading »

What follows is an oblique contribution to a debate between my friends Doug Wilson and James Jordan. Doug has recently addressed an issue - regeneration - on which he and Jim have disagreed for a number of years. I hope that the brief discussion below will untangle the debate somewhat. In my view, . . . . Continue Reading »

Isaiah 41:17: The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst; I, Yahweh, will answer them Myself. As the God of Israel I will not forsake them. Three times in this chapter Yahweh reassures Israel. Do not fear, do not fear, do not fear. . . . . Continue Reading »

In the sermon text, Yahweh addresses His people with three names: Israel, Jacob, and seed of Abraham. Israel is a corporate and political name; as Israel, the people are Yahweh’s servant with a task. The name Jacob is more personal, and as Jacob the people has been chosen. But Yahweh reaches . . . . Continue Reading »

Rawls ( Political Liberalism: Expanded Edition (Columbia Classics in Philosophy) ) admits that the ideal of public reason doesn’t pertain in “private” settings like churches and universities. But, he insists, it “does hold for citizens when they engage in political advocacy . . . . Continue Reading »

In Divided Christendom;: A Catholic study of the problem of reunion , Yves Congar gives a careful, charitable explanation of the reasoning behind Catholic refusal of intercommunion with Protestants. asks about the status of separated brothers, whether Orthodox or Protestant. He writes that if a . . . . Continue Reading »

Walsh summarizes his structural analysis of Isaiah 41:1-20 as follows: A. introduction (vv. 1-4) ?. idolaters: partisans of Yahweh’s rivals (vv. 5-7) C. Yahweh consoles Israel (vv. 8-12) D “I, Yahweh, am your God” (v. 13) C’. Yahweh consoles Israel (vv. 14-16) B’. the . . . . Continue Reading »

Walsh makes this helpful point concerning the trees of ISaiah 41:19: “Vv. 18-19 depict the transformation of the desert into a lush land well supplied with water and a wide variety of trees. The identifications of the trees range from fairly certain to very tentative. To the extent that they . . . . Continue Reading »

In an article in VT from 1993, Jerome Walsh analyzes the strructure of Isaiah 41:8-9 as follows: A. Israel A’. My servant B. Jacob B’. You whom I have chosen C. Seed of my beloved Abraham C’. You whom I have held firm and called. But then he notes that the cycle starts over: . . . . Continue Reading »