Food and Culture

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:41 pm By Peter Leithart

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 coexist with paganism, it was suggested in response that French cuisine is an after-effect of Christian civilization, some kind of leftover of a once-Christian nation. But that doesn’t work: After... Read more

Schmemann’s Journals

Last updated on: November 30, 2003 at 8:56 pm By Peter Leithart

The journals of Alexander Schmemann were published in 2000 by St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, and they are simply mesmerizing. The same rich voice ?Ethe same rich soul ?Ethat is evident in Schmemann’s classic published works shines through in these journals. His semi-“outsider” status as an Orthodox Christian in a Protestant nation gives him a unique perspective on American life (like other Orthodox thinkers; Vigen Guroian is a good example). His long experience as a theology teacher with pastoral responsibilities gives... Read more

Schmemann’s Journals

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:02 am By Peter Leithart

Eucharistic Meditation, November 30

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

Communion meditation for November 30: We’ve seen in the sermon this morning that the incarnation calls attention to the kind of God we worship and serve. He is not a God who stands aloof and withdrawn when we suffer. Even in the OT, we see that Yahweh is a God who suffers with His people, who laments over Israel’s rebellion, who is deeply and passionately involved in the life of the world. The incarnation is a dramatic new thing; but... Read more

Exhortation, November 30

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

Exhortation for November 30: Today is the first Sunday in the traditional church season of Advent. Advent means “coming,” and this season is one of preparation for the celebration of the “coming” of God at Christmas. There are four Sundays in Advent, and the readings and prayers of this season are designed to focus attention on various kinds of “coming.” Even those readings that do not recount the Christmas story have something to do with the Advent of God. Advent... Read more

Hart on Cowling

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:43 pm By Peter Leithart

In the December 2003 issue of First Things , David B. Hart has an interesting review of the work of Maurice Cowling. Cowling, as hard right as they come in Britain, is also a Christian historian, whose magnum opus traces the decay of Christian culture in Britain. Interestingly, Hart points out that his sympathies are sometimes with people on the other end of the political spectrum: “When at the end of his history, he lists the figures he has discussed... Read more

Coakley on Norris on Incarnation

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 10:49 pm By Peter Leithart

Sarah Coakley’s article from a symposium on the incarnation (published by Oxford) analyzes the work of Richard Norris on the Chalcedonian settlement. She finds fault with some of Norris’s historical anlaysis (she sees him importing post-liberal obsessions into his interpretations of the historical evidence, and quite nicely defends the notion that the formulators of Chalcedon thought they were making ontological claims and not merely offering “grammatical” rules for ecclesial life). But she also presents an argument from Norris that is... Read more

Incarnation as Contradiction?

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

Barth ( CD 4.1) attacks the notion that the incarnation is a “contradiction” or “paradox” or “rift” in God on two bases. First, he argues that there cannot be any contradiction in God; God is a God peace, not of confusion. Second, he argues that we only draw this conclusion if we come to Jesus with prior conceptions of a “supreme being” instead of allowing the fact of Jesus to define “deity” for us. This (p 186) summarizes this part... Read more

Root and Milbank on Gift

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:02 am By Peter Leithart

Michael Root raised some pointed questions about Milbank’s views on gift. The most cogent criticism was about Milbank’s view of the atonement, in which he argued that there is no “Godward” move in the atonement for Milbank. Milbank explicitly rejects sacrificial notions of atonement, and by Root’s assessment ends up with a refined moral influence theory of the atonement. Unfortunately, Milbank didn’t quite take up that challenge. I think Root is onto something. But Milbank offered a number of interesting... Read more

Keesmaat on Philippians 2

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

Sylvia Keesmaat’s paper was uneven, beginning with some suggestive observations on Philippians 2 and then descending into self-contradiction. First, the good stuff: She suggested that the Christic “hymn” in Philippians 2 is not merely contrasting Jesus and Adam, but Jesus and the emperor. Jesus attains to imperial status, but does not do so by seizure. “Equality with God” was apparently a Roman imperial claim. Thus, Jesus sets the path toward true imperium, which is the path of suffering service. Keesmaat... Read more