Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
When a certain Samaritan village refused Jesus’ attempt to visit, James and John asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven upon it. The allusion to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is evident, but, as the story shows, James’ and John’s thinking was entirely warped. Jesus rebuked…
In the first part of this essay, I considered paideia (formation)and mimesis (imitation) in the context of Aristotle’s virtue ethics and that of the New Testament. The overall concern is to realize how relevant is Aristotle’s ethics both to diagnosing our current malaise and to enculturing our children, though we…
In these posts I am inviting you into my philosophical reflection about integration , the absence of which we feel palpably in our fragmented world. My hope is for us to understand it more deeply, and to be ourselves reintegrated in the process. At this point in this extended inquiry…
It’s hard to imagine someone, centuries from now, mistaking our culture for a moral highpoint in the history of the West. Increasingly the news is dominated by school shootings, abusive policing, sexploitation of women, and increasing rates of suicide, addiction, and divorce. In response, the Left calls for regulations, surveillance,…
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Ps. 34:17-18) God is listening. He is listening when we ask Him for financial provision,…
The allusions to Mt. Sinai in the transfiguration story point to Jesus as a new Moses and even more as Yahweh, the God who met Moses and Elijah on the mountain. The fact that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah spoke of Jesus’ “exodus” suggests that the mountain of transfiguration was intended…
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On his website, Andrew Sullivan quotes the following statement from the recently published letters of Ronald Reagan: I guess what I am trying to say is that I oppose the dogmas of some organized religions who accept marital relationship only as a “‘tolerated” sin for the purpose of conceiving children…
Deus ex machina has a bad rap, but perhaps it’s undeserved. What is the gospel but the supreme instance of a deus ex machina ?
Virgil calls Rome an imperium sine fine . Can he be serious? Every other city that appears in the epic — Troy, Carthage, Latium — is doomed. How can Rome escape? How has the world changed to make a permanent city possible? Perhaps I’m looking for too much philosophy from…
Irenaeus’s claim that the Son and Spirit are the “hands” of God can sound subordinationist, but with due qualification it contains an important insight. A monadic god can only stand over-against the world as a ruling and commanding power. Anything that goes out from such a god is necessarily lesser…
The whole ancient world is tragic because the only way to bring happiness and peace is through imposition of power. Aeneas is the hero of pietas , which includes the meaning of pity; he conquers with tears in his eyes because he knows what his conquests cost. His motto is…
Definition: “Uninterrupted day”: a) Day in which there are no interruptions; b) (more common) day in which there is no day because the whole thing consists of interruptions.
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