Greek Temple Architecture

Last updated on: May 4, 2018 at 3:45 am By Peter Leithart

Mary Emerson’s Greek Sanctuaries and Temple Architecture is a concise, informative introduction to her topic. After introductory chapters explaining the meaning, uses, architecture and artistic adornments of sanctuaries in the Greek world, Emerson devotes a chapter to the major cultic sites of Greece – Delphi, Athens, the sanctuary of Apollo at Bassae, the temple of Olympian Zeus on Sicily. The book is richly illustrated with diagrams and black-and-white photos, some of which show the stunning settings of these Greek temples. Emerson’s... Read more

Abstraction and Image

Last updated on: May 3, 2018 at 7:29 pm By Peter Leithart

In his recently published Lewis on the Christian Life, Joe Rigney devotes a few pages to expounding Lewis’s understanding of the relation between abstract theological statements and the images of Scripture. He endorses the abstractions as a caution against false inferences that might be drawn from the images, but he warns that the abstractions aren’t to be taken as “literal” truth or as data of revelation. Thus, for instance, Rigney presents two theological statements: “A. When God is angry, smoke... Read more

Law of Liberty

Last updated on: April 29, 2018 at 5:39 pm By Peter Leithart

Many complain today about the negativity of the Ten Words. Sure, there are a few positive commandments – remember the Sabbath day, honor your Father and mother. Mostly, though, it’s a list of “Don’ts.” Don’t have other gods, don’t serve images, don’t bear My name lightly, don’t kill, steal, commit adultery, bear false witness, covet. Don’t, don’t, don’t. It inhibits my freedom. God says He brought Israel from slavery, but it seems He just substituted a different form of slavery,... Read more

Father-Son at Sinai

Last updated on: April 29, 2018 at 5:43 pm By Peter Leithart

Israel has been in the wilderness for three months when they arrive at Sinai (Exodus 19:1). Behind them are the ruins of Egypt, devastated by plagues. They have passed through the sea, received manna and water in the wilderness. They have grumbled and rebelled. And now they come to the mount of God. The God who unveiled His name to Moses on this mountain is about to unveil Himself to Israel. It’s the third month, and the third day of... Read more

Coherence in Social Science

Last updated on: April 28, 2018 at 7:06 pm By Peter Leithart

David Powlison investigates how the social sciences, especially psychology, can coherently hold together the moral demand for personal responsibility, the fact of social conditioning, and the experience that we are victims of forces beyond our control. As he puts the question: I am responsible for my sins: ‘Johnny is a bad boy.’ My will is in bondage: ‘Johnny can’t help it.’ I am deceived and led about by others: ‘Johnny got in with a bad crowd.’ How can these be simultaneously... Read more

Exodus and Idolatry

Last updated on: April 28, 2018 at 12:53 am By Peter Leithart

Edward L. Greenstein’s contribution to The Decalogue in Jewish and Christian Tradition examines the rhetoric of the Ten Words. He raises the question of the order of the first two commandments. Traditions differ. “In the later Jewish tradition, ‘I am YHWH your God’ is the first commandment, and ‘You are not to have any other gods’ and ‘You are not to make yourself a carved image’ are both part of the second. In the Samaritan, some early Jewish traditions, and... Read more

Fruitful Eunuchs

Last updated on: April 30, 2018 at 7:27 pm By Peter Leithart

In Acts 8, Luke offers the first glimpse of the international scope of the gospel. Its setting in Acts is significant. Everything in Luke’s Gospel moves toward Jerusalem. The “infancy” narratives conclude with twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple, listening and teaching (Luke 2:41-51). Between Luke 9 and 19, Jesus marches relentlessly toward Jerusalem, from the mount of transfiguration to the Mount of Olives where He will be crucified. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus return to Jerusalem once... Read more

Sacramentum and Typos

Last updated on: April 27, 2018 at 4:13 pm By Peter Leithart

Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) argues that the “Catholic concept” of sacrament arises from an understanding of the Bible, especially of the relation of the Old and New (Theology of the Liturgy, 177-8). He writes, “the Catholic concept of sacramentum is based on the ‘typological’ interpretation of Scripture – an interpretation in terms of parallels to Christ. This concept loses its mainstay when this interpretation is completely lost.” The connection is there, even if “Catholic” doesn’t mean “Roman Catholic.” A Christian... Read more

Mummified Concepts

Last updated on: April 26, 2018 at 8:56 pm By Peter Leithart

From Nietzsche’s Twilight of the Idols, on “reason” in philosophy: “You ask me what all idiosyncrasy is in philosophers? . . . For instance their lack of the historical sense, their hatred even of the idea of Becoming, their Egyptianism. They imagine that they do honour to a thing by divorcing it from history sub specie æterni,—when they make a mummy of it. All the ideas that philosophers have treated for thousands of years, have been mummied concepts; nothing real has... Read more

Rebellion at Sinai

Last updated on: April 26, 2018 at 7:18 pm By Peter Leithart

Martin Hauge’s Descent from the Mountain draws attention to the parallels between Israel’s reaction to Yahweh’s direct revelation of the Ten Words (Exodus 20:18-21) and the golden calf incident and its aftermath (Exodus 32-34). The two episodes are introduced similarly: “the formal contacts of 20.18 and 32.1 [are] possible signs of a referential relationship. While 20.18a represents an expansion of the visio motif in participle form and an extended description of what was seen, the sentence wayyar’ ha’am in 18.b is... Read more