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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The November 22 Science News reports on the work of Pawan Sinha, a neuroscientist at MIT who has observed the effects of cataract surgery on youngsters born blind. One of the interesting findings is that correcting the cataracts does not immediately mean that the children are capable of what we…
Another student on Sir Gawain suggests that it represents a sort of Platonized protest against courtly love. Gawain lies passively in bed while the woman tries to seduce him, yielding only a chaste kiss. And his great fault was his love of physical, earthly life. A very plausible thesis.
Another student suggests that the three temptations at the center of Sir Gawain show that Gawain is a Christ figure, tempted in bed as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. Perhaps the analogies could be pressed, but it looks doubtful. Gawain as a Christ figure is less obvious than Gawain…
Another student suggests that the three temptations at the center of Sir Gawain show that Gawain is a Christ figure, tempted in bed as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. Perhaps the analogies could be pressed, but it looks doubtful. Gawain as a Christ figure is less obvious than Gawain…
A student paper on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight suggests that in accepting the green girdle from the lady of the castle, Sir Gawain is changing his “lady” from the Virgin Mary to the green lady. That works at several levels: Sir Gawain has Mary’s portrait on the inside…
A recent discussion concerning food and culture with some friends provokes the following thoughts: One of the points of the discussion was whether or not high quality food, attention to artistry in making food, is a product of Christian culture. When I cited France to illustrate that good food can…
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