Broken Windows Pastoral Practice

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 10:48 pm By Peter Leithart

One of James Q. Wilson’s well-known contributions to public policy discussions is his “broken windows” policing policy (outlined in the March 1982 issue of The Atlantic ). He argued that allowing minor infractions ?Epublic pissing, jay-walking ?Eand minor public defacements of a neighborhood ?Egraffiti, broken windows ?Ecreated an atmosphere of disorder where crime flourished. When police begin to crack down on these minor infractions, serious crime declines significantly. Pastoral policing would seem to benefit from a similar approach. Rather than... Read more

Imputation of Sin

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:44 pm By Peter Leithart

Paul’s argument in Romans 5:12-14 seems to be this: 1. Through one man, death entered the world, and death spread. 2. Yet, sin is not imputed where there is no law. That is, sin is not liable to punishment when there is no law. This is a basic principle of legality, it would appear. Certain human actons are not liable to punishment, though they may be morally evil, until a law is promulgated forbidding the action. 3. Implicitly, Paul raises... Read more

Eucharistic Meditation, July 4

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:39 pm By Peter Leithart

Leviticus 10:8-11 This morning?s sermon emphasized that in the New Covenant we are invited to draw near to God in the heavenly sanctuary, where God offers the hidden gifts to us. One of these gifts is the gift of food, the meal that we celebrate here at this table. But there is another sign of our inclusion in a New Covenant that brings better promises than the old. That is, we not only eat the bread of heaven, the bread... Read more

Exhortation, July 4

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:40 pm By Peter Leithart

Today we celebrate two hundred and twenty-eight years of American history, and it is a good time to assess, briefly, how we stand as a nation. Reflecting over the past two centuries, it is obvious that this nation is a strikingly different place than it was after the smoke of the War of Independence had cleared. There have been many, many profound changes, but one of the most historically significant is the role that America has assumed in the world.... Read more

Wedding Sermon, June 2

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:48 pm By Peter Leithart

Isaiah 62:1-5 For Zion?s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem?s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning. And the nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of Yahweh will designate. You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Yahweh, and a royal diadem... Read more

Eros and Agape Again

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:36 pm By Peter Leithart

A purely disinterested agapic love, if it is even possible, is not selfless but the opposite. A purely disinterested love, one that does not communicate a desire for love in return, is an act of power. A man who loves but refuses to receive love is claiming a right that he denies to all others. He is claiming the right to love and to give, but refusing to acknowledge that others have the right to love and give to him.... Read more

Ishmael and Isaac

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:45 pm By Peter Leithart

In his fascinating book, Divine Symmetries , Victor Wilson points to a series of parallels between Ishmael’s banishment from Abraham’s camp (Gen 21) and the sacrifice of Isaac (Gen 22): 1. Yahweh’s command, 21:10; 22:2: “cast out this . . . son”; “take your son” 2. Early rising, 21:14; 22:3: “Abraham rose early” 3. Journey, 21:14; 22:3-4 4. Burden, 21:14; 22:6: “Abraham took bread and a skin of water . . . putting it on her shoulder”; “Abraham took the... Read more

God and Eros

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:42 pm By Peter Leithart

So, here?s the problem: 1. Eros is desire and love for beauty, evoked by and responding to beauty in the object of desire. 2. God loves us in spite of our ugliness. 3. Therefore, God?s love for us is not erotic. He does not desire us; we cannot shoot any arrows that penetrate His eye. 4. BUT: If this is the case, what does that say about the analogy between Christ/church and husband/wife? Should a husband’s love for his wife... Read more

Lewis on Sex

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:46 pm By Peter Leithart

C. S. Lewis has some wise words about sex in the Eros chapter of The Four Loves : “our advertisements, at their sexiest, paint the whole business in terms of the rapt, the intense, the swoony-devout; seldom a hint of gaiety. And the psychologists have so bedevilled us with the infinite importance of complete sexual adjustment and the all but impossibility of achieving it, that I could believe some young couples now go to it with the complete works of... Read more

Gesture

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:42 pm By Peter Leithart

Eve Sweetser of UC Berkeley has a review of a book by Susan Goldin-Meadow in the June 10 issue of Nature . The book is entitled Hearing Gesture and it seeks to answer several questions about the cognitive role of gesture: “is gesture really a window on thought? If it is, do most people (as opposed to just researchers) read gesture? Does gesture also help the speaker’s own cognitive processes ?Eand if so, how? And finally, what are the differences... Read more