David Warren examines Edward Said ‘s Orientalism and the more recent Occidentalism by Ian Buruma “and Avishai Margalit in the April issue of Commentary . His critique of Said is devastating and he also finds the Buruma/Margalit volume unsatisfying, but the most interesting bit in the . . . . Continue Reading »
Christians have sometimes suggested that homosexual practice is universally condemned. In Homosexuality and Civilization , Louis Crompton, Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Nebraska and a longtime gay activist, shows that homosexuality was common and accepted in various forms in . . . . Continue Reading »
In the late twelfth century, the English writer Nigel Wireker produced the Speculum Stultorum , the ?Mirror of Dunces.?EIn this story, an ass, Brunellus, dissatisfied with his short tail, leaves home to visit the famous physician Galen to get a prescription for a longer tail. Galen sends him to . . . . Continue Reading »
I am informed by a correspondent that Andrew Hoffecker of RTS Jackson is writing a biography of Hodge that will be published in 2006 by P&R. . . . . Continue Reading »
A review of the recent collection of essays on Charles Hodge claims that no biography of Hodge has appeared since his son’s 1880 account. This is fairly astonishing, given Hodge’s importance even to this day. It’s a gap in the Reformed past that needs to be filled. . . . . Continue Reading »
Philip Jenkins has a superb review of Charles Murray’s Human Accomplishment in the Feb issue of First Things . Jenkins challenges Murray’s basic method, which involved a process of selecting eminent persons in science and culture by attending to their role and presence in standard . . . . Continue Reading »
Here’s an ouline for a lecture on Renaissance and Modernity: Renaissance and Modernity Credenda/Agenda History Conference Pre-Conference Lecture February 5, 2004 Peter J. Leithart I. Assessments of the Renaissance and modernity. A. What is “modernity”? Slavoj Zizek in The Puppet . . . . Continue Reading »
Part of the Renaissance recovery of history was an emphasis on mutability and change. Few themes so dominate the poetry of Spenser or the sonnets of Shakespeare as the fear that Time will gobble up everything good. This was continuous with ancient (and medieval) conceptions of the world, since . . . . Continue Reading »
A potpourri of interesting reviews in Books & Culture : 1) Gerald McDermott reviews several recent evangelical books on Christianity’s relation to non-Christian religions. He is critical of attempts (Paul Heim, e.g.) to root a pluralist or inclusivist view of other religions in the doctrine . . . . Continue Reading »
As I suspected, Dollimore gives Christianity’s cultural influence short shrift. He has a lot of insightful things to say about the ancients, but then he sees almost total continuity through early Christianity ?Ethe same links of desire and death, the same kind of anguish in the face of . . . . Continue Reading »
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