Traditionally, “Arian” was believed to apply to a homogenous and well-organized heretical movement that arose in the fourth century, which took its theological cues from Arius. Recent scholars doubt most of that. Arius was a conservative, not a deviant. Arius was a lesser . . . . Continue Reading »
Like many other fathers, Athanasius described heretics as Jews - in his case, the Arians. He had, as I read Athanasius, biblical and theological reasons for saying so. When Newman repeats the link between Judaism and Arianism in his book on the Arians, the emphasis is racial. Jews are a . . . . Continue Reading »
Michael Fox writes that “The equality of the lovers and the equality of their love, rather than the Song’s earthly sensuality, are what makes their union an inappropriate analogy for the bond between God and Israel.” That would be persuasive, but for the massive reality of the . . . . Continue Reading »
As Zizek explains Hegel’s answer to the Anselmian question, it is a political question: “why cannot we conceive a direct passage from In-itself to For-itself, from God as full Substance existing in itself, beyond human history, to the Holy Spirit as spiritual-virtual substance, as the . . . . Continue Reading »
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, John says. We often think that the Word is concealed behind His flesh. But that is the opposite of the truth. In the Old Testament, Yahweh was hidden within the temple veils, but in the incarnation He comes out of hiding. This is what John . . . . Continue Reading »
Christ is the “living will” of the Father, says Athanasius. Rowan Williams glosses this with: “since Scripture makes clear that the Word is the understanding and purpose of the Father, then to claim that the Son exists by an act of will is absurd: he is the Father’s . . . . Continue Reading »
God does not have accidents, says Augustine, and virtually every other theologian since. It’s the corollary of God’s simplicity: He always is what He is, nothing added or taken away. God cannot lost any attribute without losing His being as God. But then along comes the . . . . Continue Reading »
This night is different, O Lord, from all nights. On this night, You opened the womb of the virgin Mary, so that she brought forth the seed of the woman, the new Isaac, the firstborn of Israel, David’s Son, Immanuel. On this night, Your Word, the eternal Light that lightens every . . . . Continue Reading »
In the early twentieth century, the virgin birth became a litmus test of orthodoxy. Fundamentalists affirmed the virgin birth; modernists denied it. The debate was about miracles: Fundamentalists believe that God can alter the normal pattern of creation and make things work differently. . . . . Continue Reading »
A. N. S. Lane summarizes some themes of Barth’s treatment of the virgin birth: “Barth saw in the virgin birth the expression of a wider truth that is fundamental to his theology. It shows that ‘human nature possesses no capacity for becoming the human nature of Jesus . . . . Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
