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Epistemology

A Cheer for the Mystics

Mystical theologians are often unguarded, extreme, un-nuanced, pressing to the edges of heresy, sometimes beyond. Still, the mystics are worthy of study. Why? Many reasons. Unlike some late medieval and post-Reformation dogmaticians, mystical theologians are often instinctively and richly Trinitarian. Historical-critical approaches to Scripture left mystical theologians virtually untouched; mystics…

by Peter LeithartSeptember 2, 2013
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Literature

Shadow and Substance in Shakespeare's Venice

Portia of Belmont is a “lady richly left,” as Bassanio says of her in the first Act of The Merchant of Venice . Plus, she’s beautiful and wise. Suitors clamber to Belmont in hope. Her father knew it would be so, and in his will set up a fairy-tale test…

by Peter LeithartAugust 28, 2013
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Liturgy

Liturgy Traps

[fve]http://vimeo.com/72195198[/fve]

by James B. JordanAugust 26, 2013
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Deuteronomy

Victory Food

In the nature of the case, “the” Christian meditation on Deuteronomy 14:1-21 cannot be written. Meditation offers too many possibilities, opens too many doors. There is not one and only one correct set of associations for a Christian to consider when thinking of Deuteronomy 14:1-21. We could, for example, consider…

by Ralph Allan SmithAugust 21, 2013
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Romans

David's Sin and Israel's Salvation, Part I

Having retold the story of the cumulative sin of Israel leading to the great atonement on the cross, Paul then reemphasizes that, just as both Jew and Gentiles were locked into sin and judgment, now they are both justified by faith: Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded.…

by Mark HorneAugust 20, 2013
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Deuteronomy

You are what you eat

Deuteronomy 14 is full of allusions to events of Israel’s history and other portions of Scripture. What would an Israelite learn by mediation on these allusions? The answer, I believe, is at least fourfold. Faith, Worship, War For the ancient Israelite first hearing Moses’ sermon, or perhaps hearing it read…

by Ralph Allan SmithAugust 15, 2013

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Da Vinci Code

Ben Witherington III has an excellent review of the errors of Dan Brown ‘s The Da Vinci Code in the May/June 2004 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review . Brown’s book would be comparatively harmless fiction but for the fact that he begins the book with the claim that “all descriptions…

May 3, 2004

What Kind of Religion Is Islam?

French historian Alain Besancon raises this question in a fine article in Commentary . He suggests that religions can be classified as either revealed or natural, and asks whether Christians and Jews can regard Islam as either of these. Christians and Jews cannot consider Islam a revealed religion, he claims,…

May 3, 2004

Richard Clarke

Joshua Muravchik has a devastating analysis of Richard Clarke and his book in the May 2004 issue of Commentary . He compares Clarke’s book to a comic book, with Clinton playing SuperPresident and the Bush administration as the enemy of the people. The most amusing note in the article is…

May 3, 2004

Gay Marriage

New Republic legal correspondent Jeffrey Rosen argues that there are built-in brakes on the spread of gay marriage from Massachusetts to the rest of the country. Opponents of gay marriage fear that gay couples will flock to Massachusetts, get married, and return home to demand that their marriages be recognized…

May 3, 2004

Kerry’s Strategy

Ryan Lizza describes Kerry’s current campaign strategy as a version of Muhammed Ali’s old “rope-a-dope” technique. While Bush hammers away with hooks and uppercuts, Kerry just stays on the robes and takes a beating. Meanwhile, he has been raising tons of money, which he can save to use after Bush…

May 3, 2004

Kerry’s Strategy

Ryan Lizza describes Kerry’s current campaign strategy as a version of Muhammed Ali’s old “rope-a-dope” technique. While Bush hammers away with hooks and uppercuts, Kerry just stays on the robes and takes a beating. Meanwhile, he has been raising tons of money, which he can save to use after Bush…

May 3, 2004

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