Peter J. Leithart

The fourth of Jesus’ messages to the seven churches of Asia, to Thyatira, is arranged in a neat chiasm. A. Jesus the Son of God, v 18 B. Love, Faith, Service, Perseverance, v 19 C. Jezebel, vv 20 D. Tribulation for adulteresses, v 21-22 C’. Children with pestilence, v 23 B’. To . . . . Continue Reading »

In response to some comments by Richard Neuhaus about immigration that I posted a few days ago, Jim Rogers of Texas A&M offers this alternative scenario: “My prediction is that within 20 years, if not sooner, the U.S. will be begging Mexicans, and others, to immigrate to the U.S., perhaps . . . . Continue Reading »

In Psalm 40, David says that Yahweh has “dug” or “pierced” or “opened” his ear. He is referring to the ritual for permanent slaves, according to which the slave’s ear is pierced at the doorway of the house to symbolize that his ear is open to one master. . . . . Continue Reading »

Some musings of mine on the dynamics and tensions of America’s role in the world was published this morning at http://www.firstthings.com/ . . . . . Continue Reading »

Modern American Presidents have a rare predilection for crusades. Wilson sent American troops into World War I to “make the world safe for democracy,” and a few days after 9/11 George Bush outbid Wilson by declaring that history calls us to “rid the world of evil.” British Prime Ministers warn darkly of iron curtains and bolster the nation with stiff-lip realism about defending civilization. That’s too modest for American Presidents, who give their military engagements apocalyptic labels like “Operation Infinite Justice,” the original name for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. … Continue Reading »

Near the beginning of The Puritan Origins of American Patriotism , George McKenna observes how the slavery issue put pressure on Southern evangelicals to adopt a more privatized piety: “Southern evangelical Protestantism had always been more personal and individualistic than that of the . . . . Continue Reading »

Wilson was the first sitting American President ever to venture out of the Western Hemisphere. He left the U.S. on December 4, 1918 to conclude the treaty that ended World War 1 in person. He got a hero’s welcome. Beinart writes: “When Wilson disembarked, Europe’s battered masses . . . . Continue Reading »

In his The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris , Peter Beinart describes a Wilson-era American action that sounds vaguely familiar. Wilson was convinced that what Latin Americans wanted was identical to what he wanted for themselves, but he was happy to let them choose, so long as they . . . . Continue Reading »

Isaiah 14:11 describes the king of Egypt descending to Sheol to speel on a bed of maggots and cover himself with worms. I’ve commented in a previous post on the connection of worms with ancient dyeing techniques, but there’s another aspect to this. Robes are a “Day 5” . . . . Continue Reading »

Between Time Toward Home and his last book, American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile , Neuhaus converted to Catholicism. Whether as cause or result or some of each, the latter book gives ecclesiology a much higher and more satisfying profile. Neuhaus’s final work is marked by a recurring . . . . Continue Reading »