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Writing

Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Theopolis News

Constantine the Pious

Trinity House President Peter Leithart will deliver a lecture on "Constantine the Pious" at Oregon State University, Wednesday, October 30, at 7:00 PM.

by Peter LeithartOctober 29, 2013
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Modernity

We Have Never Been Modern

In his rich study, We Have Never Been Modern (Harvard 1993), Bruno Latour describes modernity in terms of a dual process of “purification” and “hybridization.” Purification involves the clean construction of a nature (and science) separated off from society and the self, while hybridization involves mixtures of nature and culture.…

by Peter LeithartOctober 28, 2013
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Books

Conservatives on the Cutting Edge

In James K.A. Smith’s excellent book, Introducing Radical Orthodoxy: Mapping a Post-secular Theology , he explains recent developments in theology and philosophy among mostly post-liberal (some Catholic) theologians. As with everything Dr. Smith writes, his prose is accessible, and written with clarity and precision as he describes the contribution made…

by Troy GreeneOctober 23, 2013
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Biblical Theology

The Creator in Creation, (Part 3)

This is the last of a three-part series. 1:14-19 – The Lights in the Firmament The fourth day is the first day where God sets out His mediators and rulers. In the celestial bodies, God sets out His mediators and rulers in the same single class of created beings. We…

by Andrew BittnerOctober 22, 2013
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Theopolis News

Revealing Revelation

Trinity House President Peter Leithart will be in Chicago this weekend lecturing on Revelation. Sign up here .

by Peter LeithartOctober 17, 2013
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Theopolis News

In the Beginning

Only two more weeks to register for the Trinity House Advent class on the book of Genesis. Register before the late fees kick in!

by Peter LeithartOctober 17, 2013

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Product not sum

Saussure argues that syntagmatic relations are more like multiplication than addition. Adding - eux to desir is not putting together “independent units”; rather the two “form a product, a combination of interdependent elements, their value deriving solely from their mutual contributions within a higher unit.” At another level, we can…

March 27, 2008

Meaning and value

Would Saussure have agreed with Barr’s challenge to the notion that there is a difference between Greek and Hebraic mentalities evident in the differences between the languages? Barr appeals to Saussure at one or two points in his book ( Semantics ), and his project as a whole is reliant…

March 27, 2008
History

“Religion” in England

The English civil war, that is. Peter Harrison ( ‘Religion’ and the Religions in the English Enlightenment ) traces the notion of comparative religious study to the confessional disputes in England, and the “diachronic pluralism” of the English monarchy: “As Locke put it, the kings and queens of post-Reformation England…

March 27, 2008

Segmenting sounds

At a couple of points in his Course , Saussure suggests that the “primary characteristic of the spoken sequence is its linearity.” It is a “chain,” a “line.” I find this questionable, but he makes interesting use of the image: “In itself, it is merely a line, a continuous ribbon…

March 26, 2008

Chemical reaction

A “sign” in Saussure’s terminology consists of a signification (a concept or idea) and a signal (the “sound pattern” associated with the idea). He suggests some analogies: “This unified duality has often been compared with that of the human being, comprising body and soul. But the parallel is unsatisfactory. A…

March 26, 2008

Linguistic system

Saussure associates langue with collective social realities; it is the system created by society and existing, almost identically, in every member of a linguisitic community. He associates parole , in turn, with individual expressions within the system. The system is impervious to change: “changes are never made to the system…

March 26, 2008

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