Is truth universal? Is the only alternative to an idea of the universalism of all truth an affirmation of the relativism of all truth? This seems to be a false dichotomy from the beginning. Upon a moment’s reflection, it seems clear that the truth is that some truths are relative and some are universal, some are relatively true in one sense and universally true in another. And those are universal truths, for those keeping score. (more…) Read more
Featherstone suggests that postmodernism is in part a “loss of confidence on the part of the intellectuals in the universal potential of their project.” Thus, postmodern theory is marked by “tendencies toward indeterminacies , the recognition of openness, pluralism, randomness, eclecticism, incoherence, paralogism, intertextuality, the primacy of the many over the one,” as well as ” immanences , the acknowledgement of our innerworldliness, our own opaque symbolic self-constitution, our entrapment in a dissemination and diffusion of signs that derealize history... Read more
In a recent First Things review, Gilbert Meilander summarized Oliver O’Donovan’s theory of punishment as follows: “anything called punishment must be ‘backward-looking’ and hence, in some sense, retributive. But he is not persuaded by any account of retribution that things of it as a simple exchange – in which the offender receives something rather like the wrong he inflicted. Instead, O’Donovan suggests that we should think of punishment as attributive rather than retributive. What the offender gets back ‘in return’... Read more
INTRODUCTION It is often said that fourth acts in Shakespeare plays are weak. Action slows down, the principal character is sometimes off stage, and the drama seems to dissipate before the final catastrophe. Act 4 of Macbeth begins with Macbeth’s renewed contact with the witches, but then trails off in a lengthy conversation between Malcolm and Macduff that appears to have little to do with the play. Act 4 of Julius Caesar includes another long conversation, this mainly between Brutus... Read more
Noah Feldman has a challenging review of Jay Sekulow’s book on the religion of the Supreme Court in the Feb 20 issue of TNR. He argues that the Constitution’s prohibition of religious oaths means a subordination of religious to political conviction: “To move beyond Locke, the Framers had to do more than embrace the idea of a formal distinction between religion and government. They also had to accept the hypothesis that men swearing an oath to support the Constitution would... Read more
The Romans were deeply anti-semitic, as a number of studies have shown. So, when they dress Jesus up in purple, press a crown of thorns on his head, genuflect before Him, they are mocking the Jews as much as they are mocking Jesus: Here’s the best that the Jews can offer, the King of the Jews. Oddly, this is all lost on the Jews. They play right along, as if Pilate is in earnest when he says “What? Shall I... Read more
The Romans were deeply anti-semitic, as a number of studies have shown. So, when they dress Jesus up in purple, press a crown of thorns on his head, genuflect before Him, they are mocking the Jews as much as they are mocking Jesus: Here’s the best that the Jews can offer, the King of the Jews. Oddly, this is all lost on the Jews. They play right along, as if Pilate is in earnest when he says “What? Shall I... Read more
A number of students point out the contrast between Simon of Cyrene, who takes up Jesus’ cross and follows Him, and Simon Peter, who denies Jesus out of fear. The Gentile Simon proves a more faithful disciple, in this moment of crisis, than the Jewish Simon. Read more
I’m sure the point has been made elsewhere, perhaps by Wright, but the substitution of Jesus for Barabbas is not only a sign of a generalized substitutionary atonement (though it is that); it is also a sign that Jesus is specifically substituting for Israel. He is the true faithful Israelite giving Himself for Israel, the “son of the Father” (Bar-abbas) that has turned brigand. Read more
INTRODUCTION The Omride dynasty had a long-lasting impact on both the Northern and Southern kingdoms. Though the two kingdoms are no longer ruled by a single dynasty, they are very similar, twin prostitutes, as Ezekiel 23 describes it. THE TEXT “In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD . .... Read more
Leithart
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