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American Religion

Protestantism's Lost Soul

D. G. Hart’s The Lost Soul of American Protestantism vividly clarifies the differences between evangelical and Confessional Protestantism. In part the book is a manifesto for historians of American religion. Hart argues that historians of American Protestantism have operated with a simplistic binary contrast of evangelical/conservative v. liberal/progressive. At best,…

by Peter LeithartAugust 18, 2015
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Books

The Idiot and the Limits of Compassion

Dostoyevsky’s novel, The Idiot , like his other major works, is a complex evaluation of the human condition—a juxtaposition of the innate goodness and innate evil that resides within every human heart. There is much one can say about The Idiot . I am no specialist of Russian literature, or…

by Gerald HiestandAugust 13, 2015
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Homosexuality

If There is “Natural Law” How Can People Believe in Same-Sex Marriage?

At risk of violating some secret handshake agreement on some important nuance to “natural law,” I will sum up what I understand in my own words. As far as I can tell natural law is supposed to be an area of knowledge that all people should be able to agree…

by Mark HorneAugust 11, 2015
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Biblical Studies

Cosmic Language, 2

The first installment of this article may be found here . The Image of Man This brings us to a substitutionary atonement which we do understand, the fulfilment of the cruciform Tabernacle in the cross of Christ. Although Jesus’ execution was Physical and Social, it was primarily Personal . Beginning…

by Mike BullAugust 6, 2015
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Genesis

Every Noise Appalls

The first two essays in this series drew attention to the structure of the first part of Macbeth and to the way Shakespeare incorporates the Garden of Eden into his story. Macbeth , we saw, is a temptation story in which, compared to the Biblical story, the temptation itself is…

by Ralph Allan SmithAugust 4, 2015
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Revelation

The Warrior and the City: A Wedding Homily

Revelation 19:6-9 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For theLord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him,…

by Peter LeithartAugust 3, 2015

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Turkey v. the Church

T urkey's Muslims have used the failed coup attempt last month as an excuse to attack churches. According to a report by Marco Giannengeli in the Express , on the night of the coup “Muslim Sunnis, whipped up to a frenzy, targeted Turkey’s Christian community. In Matalya, a sprawling city…

August 5, 2016

Philosophy Without Tears

R achel Aviv's New Yorker profile of philosopher Martha Nussbaum was shadowed by irony. Entitled “The Philosopher of Feelings,” the article described Nussbaum's work on the philosophy of emotions and her advocacy of human vulnerability. Philosophy itself can provide a protective shield against luck or unluck, and she has studied…

August 5, 2016

Rise and Fall of Growth

E veryone acknowledges that economic growth has stagnated for the past half-century by comparison with the previous century. Robert Gordon ( Rise and Fall of American Growth ) argues that the stagnation is more or less permanent, and the growth of the world economy between 1870 and 1970 is unrepeatable.…

August 5, 2016

He Bears His Iniquity

A ccording to the Protestant doctrine of imputation, Christ’s righteousness is reckoned as righteousness to those who believe. Typically, this creates a double identity: Though we are in ourselves guilty sinners, God sees us in Christ, and therefore regards us and treats us as righteous. It is often objected that…

August 4, 2016

Vipers' Tangle

T he title of Francois Mauriac's 1932 novel, Vipers' Tangle (French, Le Nœud de vipères , The Knot of Vipers ) evokes Jesus' assault on the Pharisees as a “brood of vipers,” spawn of the serpent. It's a fitting allusion, since the novel, mostly an autobiographical epistle written by the…

August 4, 2016

Smooth Stones

D avid meets Goliath with a stick, a sling and five stones. We're told that the stones are “smooth” and that he took them from the brook (1 Samuel 17:40). Why are we told this? When Israel first entered the land, they set stones in the midst of the Jordan…

August 3, 2016

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