Leithart
I am informed by a correspondent that Andrew Hoffecker of RTS Jackson is writing a biography of Hodge that will be published in 2006 by P&R. Read more
I am informed by a correspondent that Andrew Hoffecker of RTS Jackson is writing a biography of Hodge that will be published in 2006 by P&R. Read more
A review of the recent collection of essays on Charles Hodge claims that no biography of Hodge has appeared since his son’s 1880 account. This is fairly astonishing, given Hodge’s importance even to this day. It’s a gap in the Reformed past that needs to be filled. Read more
In the December 12, 2003 issue of the TLS , Jerry Fodor reviews a book by Brian Ellis on “the new essentialism.” In a nutshell, the new essentialism challenges an important feature of modern accounts of knowledge and reality. As Fodor puts it, modern philosophy has assumed there are two kinds of facts ?Econtingent and necessary ?Eand that two ways that propositions can be true correspond to that: “in virtue of what it means, or in virtue of how the... Read more
In the December 12, 2003 issue of the TLS , Jerry Fodor reviews a book by Brian Ellis on “the new essentialism.” In a nutshell, the new essentialism challenges an important feature of modern accounts of knowledge and reality. As Fodor puts it, modern philosophy has assumed there are two kinds of facts ?Econtingent and necessary ?Eand that two ways that propositions can be true correspond to that: “in virtue of what it means, or in virtue of how the... Read more
Joseph Epstein goes to town pricking the inflated reputation of George Steiner in the Feb 16 issue of the Weekly Standard . Among his jibes: “I once, in print, referred to Harold Bloom as George Steiner without the sense of humor, which was, as Senator Claghorn used to say, ‘A joke, I say, that’s a joke, son,’ because more humorless than Steiner human beings do not come.” And, “Steiner’s pretensions are to polymathy. He claims just about all knowledge as... Read more
Richard John Neuhaus wants to defend the theological prowess of our current President, defending his statement that “Muslims worship the same Almighty” as Christians. Neuhaus has some jolly fun at the expense of “official of the Southern Baptist Convention” and the NAE, reducing the arguments to: “we got a competition between gods going here, with our God (upper case) being much nicer than their god, as revealed, so to speak, in the superior niceness of those of us who serve... Read more
Philip Jenkins has a superb review of Charles Murray’s Human Accomplishment in the Feb issue of First Things . Jenkins challenges Murray’s basic method, which involved a process of selecting eminent persons in science and culture by attending to their role and presence in standard reference works. Murray discovers by this process that the leading figures in world science, literature, and art, are overwhelmingly Western, and he attributes much of this eminence to the influence of Christianity. Jenkins suggests that... Read more
George Weigel has a characteristically clear-headed and insightful analysis of the “Europe problem” in the February issue of First Things. Weigel uses Robert Kagan’s Paradise and Power as a jumping off point, but claims that he does not press the argument deep enough, especially into cultural and religious issues. He asks a number of questions that point to a widespread European malaise: the tepid condemnation of communism following the collapse of the Soviet bloc; the increasing bureaucratization of European life... Read more
George Weigel has a characteristically clear-headed and insightful analysis of the “Europe problem” in the February issue of First Things. Weigel uses Robert Kagan’s Paradise and Power as a jumping off point, but claims that he does not press the argument deep enough, especially into cultural and religious issues. He asks a number of questions that point to a widespread European malaise: the tepid condemnation of communism following the collapse of the Soviet bloc; the increasing bureaucratization of European life... Read more
One of the oddities of Paul’s use of Genesis 15:6 is that this passage is clearly NOT about Abraham’s conversion. Abraham has already set up altars on at least two occasions (12:7-8), and he is calling on the name of the Lord (13:3-4). Even if that is unconvincing, Hebrews 11 makes it clear that Abraham responded in faith to the Lord’s call, recorded originally in Genesis 12 (Heb 11:8). Despite this, many Protestant commentators interpret Romans 4 as a discussion... Read more
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