Peter J. Leithart

Mark McIntosh, as he often does, puts the well-known very well ( Mysteries of Faith (New Church’s Teaching Series) ): For early Christians “the Trinity was not a divine game of peek-a-boo in which a playful deity peeps out at them from behind different masks (now the ancient fellow with . . . . Continue Reading »

Luigi Gioia ( The Theological Epistemology of Augustine’s De Trinitate ) explains the inseparability of intellect and will in Augustine’s epistemology: “something is recorded by our sensorial activity; this sensation awakens in us a desire to know its cause and to appreciate its . . . . Continue Reading »

Anatolios again: He argues that Augustine’s psychological analogies for the Trinity (memory, intellect, will in one mind, eg) do not represent a retreat from an inter-personal model of the Trinity. He acknowledges that the love of lovers gives a “sight” of the life of the Trinity. . . . . Continue Reading »

Anatolios again, on Augustine’s “analogy of love” from Book 8 of de Trinitate . Contrary to some interpreters, “this trinity of love is not simply a self-standing structure that ‘pictures’ the divine Trinity.” Anatolios insists instead that “it . . . . Continue Reading »

Anything by Khaled Anatolios is an event, worthy of deep and careful reading. From my initial perusal, his recent Retrieving Nicaea: The Development and Meaning of Trinitarian Doctrine is no exception; on the contrary, it has the feel of a masterpiece. Nobody knows Athanasius as Anatolios does, and . . . . Continue Reading »

INTRODUCTION Isaiah’s oracle concerning the “valley of vision” focuses on Jerusalem (vv. 9-10) and specifically on the house of David (vv. 15-25). Though the city is full of confidence, Isaiah sees disaster looming. Like Babylon in the previous oracle, Jerusalem is unprepared to . . . . Continue Reading »

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power,” sing the twenty-four elders and four living creatures in the heavenly throne room (Revelation 4:11). The reason the Lord is worthy of glory, honor, and power is that He created all things (a chiastic clause: . . . . Continue Reading »

Isaiah 21:14: Bring water for the thirsty, O inhabitants of the land of Tema, meet the fugitive with bread. The final oracle in Isaiah 21 concerns Arabia. An unnamed enemy has attacked, and Arabs are in flight, chased by swords, drawn swords, bent bows, weighed down with the weight of battle. . . . . Continue Reading »

In today’s sermon text, Isaiah delivers a cryptic oracle to Edom, the sons of Esau and inhabitants of Mount Seir. But Edom is not called Edom. It is called “Dumah,” a pun on Edom that means “silence.” That pun summarizes the oracle. A voice asks a night watchman the . . . . Continue Reading »

Mann again. He points out that US aid is not typically spent for development purposes but for strategic purposes. Hence, a good deal of it goes to a small number of countries in the Middle East: “A third goes to one of the 20 riches countries in the world - Israel. A fifth goes to Egypt, . . . . Continue Reading »