Peter J. Leithart

Not classics deconstructed by postmodern theorists, but the classics themselves deconstructing inherited materials. There is a deconstructive element in much of our great fiction and drama. So argues John Gardner in his classic The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers : Shakespeare does . . . . Continue Reading »

Was “religion” in the First Amendment implicitly understood to mean “Christian denominations” or “Christianity”? Not by everyone. During the debates over disestablishment in Virginia in 1785, Jefferson explained that the vote on one amendment proved that . . . . Continue Reading »

Like our interpretations of ancient rabbinic debates, our interpretations of church historical debates often deal with theological content abstracted from the political circumstances that actually gave rise to the content. In his classic The Puritan Origins of the American Self , Sacvan Bercovitch . . . . Continue Reading »

In his book, A Christian America , Robert Handy describes some of the debate concerning the First Amendment: “The religious question was given considerable attention during the debate over the First Amendment. Madison apparently would have liked to have the remaining establishments in the . . . . Continue Reading »

In 1500, Europe had five hundred independent political units. Four centuries later, it had twenty-something. How did this happen? According to Charles Tilley ( The Formation of National States in Western Europe ), this was the result of deliberate efforts at state-building. He writes, . . . . Continue Reading »

Sheldon Wolin ( Politics and Vision: Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought ) lays great emphasis on the way Christianity “revitalized” political thought and life, yet he argues too that in the end the church failed to transform political ideas: “The supreme irony . . . . Continue Reading »

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25: Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I? Vapor of vapors, Solomon writes. All is vapor. Wise man and . . . . Continue Reading »

We confess our sins every week, and we need to. But like anything, it can become a formality, so we need to remind ourselves regularly why we do it. Confession is exposure. Confession brings hidden sin into the open. We avoid real confession because confession brings shame. We’d rather keep . . . . Continue Reading »

In a 1998 essay, “Is America an Experiment?” Wilfred McClay notes that, for all our supposed materialism and pragmaticism, Americans are “a remarkably introspective people,” with an “incorrigible” habit of trying to divine the meaning of our country. McClay lists . . . . Continue Reading »

According to Revelation 2, the false prophetess Jezebel has children, her disciples. And these too are going to suffer the judgment of Jesus. Jesus is going to “kill them with death” (apokteno en thanato). The doubling is for emphasis, and reminds us of the “dying you will . . . . Continue Reading »