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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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Schmemann’s Journals

The journals of Alexander Schmemann were published in 2000 by St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, and they are simply mesmerizing. The same rich voice ?Ethe same rich soul ?Ethat is evident in Schmemann’s classic published works shines through in these journals. His semi-“outsider” status as an Orthodox Christian in a Protestant…

December 1, 2003

Schmemann’s Journals

The journals of Alexander Schmemann were published in 2000 by St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, and they are simply mesmerizing. The same rich voice ?Ethe same rich soul ?Ethat is evident in Schmemann’s classic published works shines through in these journals. His semi-“outsider” status as an Orthodox Christian in a Protestant…

December 1, 2003

Eucharistic Meditation, November 30

Communion meditation for November 30: We’ve seen in the sermon this morning that the incarnation calls attention to the kind of God we worship and serve. He is not a God who stands aloof and withdrawn when we suffer. Even in the OT, we see that Yahweh is a God…

November 30, 2003

Exhortation, November 30

Exhortation for November 30: Today is the first Sunday in the traditional church season of Advent. Advent means “coming,” and this season is one of preparation for the celebration of the “coming” of God at Christmas. There are four Sundays in Advent, and the readings and prayers of this season…

November 30, 2003
History

Hart on Cowling

In the December 2003 issue of First Things , David B. Hart has an interesting review of the work of Maurice Cowling. Cowling, as hard right as they come in Britain, is also a Christian historian, whose magnum opus traces the decay of Christian culture in Britain. Interestingly, Hart points…

November 26, 2003

Coakley on Norris on Incarnation

Sarah Coakley’s article from a symposium on the incarnation (published by Oxford) analyzes the work of Richard Norris on the Chalcedonian settlement. She finds fault with some of Norris’s historical anlaysis (she sees him importing post-liberal obsessions into his interpretations of the historical evidence, and quite nicely defends the notion…

November 26, 2003

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