Peter J. Leithart

A gloss on my comments on Matthew 27 earlier today: Judas is indeed an ironic version shepherd of Zechariah 11.  He is hired by the merchant-shepherds for thirty pieces of silver (drawing again on Sweeney on Zechariah).  Judas delivers up a lamb, the Lamb, to the priests to slaughter. . . . . Continue Reading »

Jesus’ condemnation of the temple as a “den of brigands” is drawn from Jeremiah’s temple speech.  Because of the idolatries, injustices, and bloodthirstiness of the temple authorities, the temple is going to be destroyed. But the text might also hold a fainter allusion . . . . Continue Reading »

The best I can make, at this point, of Matthew’s strange conflated quotation of Jeremiah 18-19/Zechariah 11 in Matthew 27:9-10. Judas took thirty pieces of silver from the Jewish leaders to betray Jesus.  Reading this in the light of Zechariah 11, we know that this expresses the contempt . . . . Continue Reading »

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness , by Richard Thaler and Cass Sustein is about choice architecture: “A choice architect has the responsibility for organizing the context in which people make decisions . . . . If you design the ballot voters use to choose . . . . Continue Reading »

PROVERBS 28:20 This proverb, like many, is structured in parallel: The man of faithfulnesses is great with blessings But the one haste to be rich shall not be pure. The contrasts are revealing.  Faithfulness is contrasted not with obvious terms like “disobedient” or . . . . Continue Reading »

A week ago, the First Things web site published a piece of mine on global warming.  See it here: http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2010/02/climate-of-skepticism . . . . Continue Reading »

PROVERBS 28:17 The Proverb can be translated this, woodenly, in this way: “A man oppresses with the blood of the soul unto the pit he flees. Let no man hold him back.” Again, the proverb uses the word adam , and again we are put in mind of the sin of the first man.  Adam’s sin . . . . Continue Reading »

As soon as Matthew mentions Judas as the one who will “betray” or “hand over” ( paradidomi ) Jesus (10:4), he records a fair bit about handing over and betrayal.  Often, Jesus warns that the disciples will be handed over (10:17, 19, 21; 24:9-10), but after chapter 17, . . . . Continue Reading »

Novels arise with secularism.  Citing Lukacs, Rowan William says that novels appear “when it is no longer possible to plot the significance of human lives against the unquestioned backdrop of what is agreed to be the one universal narrative,” which leads writers “to create . . . . Continue Reading »

In his discussion of The Idiot , Rowan Williams makes this profound psychological and pastoral observation: “To see the truth in someone is not only to penetrate behind appearances to some hidden static reality.  It also has to be, if it is not to be destructive, a grasp of the processes . . . . Continue Reading »