Barth on Economy and Ontology

Last updated on: March 8, 2016 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

God is, Barth repeatedly insists, as He reveals Himself. But Barth also hesitates about reading the relations expressed in the economic Trinity into the ontological Trinity (Church Dogmatics, I.1, ch. 10). The relations as revealed are comprehensible, but these relations as revealed, precisely insofar as they are comprehensible, “do not signify the last word in the hidden essence of God, and the distinctions in God Himself cannot rest in these distinctions.” In fact, there is only an “analogy” between the... Read more

Barth on Economy and Ontology

Last updated on: March 8, 2016 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

Gethsemane

Last updated on: March 8, 2016 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

The word “Gethsemane” means “wine-press of oil.” It’s built from the same Hebrew root as Gath-Hepher, “the wine-press of the well,” a city in the tribal area of Zebulun, the birthplace of Jonah, and Gath-Rimmon, the “wine-press of the pomegranate,” a town in Dan. One of the five cities of Philistia, the hometown of Goliath and later the home of David in exile, was “Gath,” which means simply “wine-press.” Located among the olive groves of the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane... Read more

Christ and Election

Last updated on: March 7, 2016 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

According to Barth, when the decree loses its Christological focus, a gap emerges between a fundamental decree regarding predestination and reprobation and the “functional” decree to save in Christ. Christ becomes an instrument for carrying out that more basic decree, but He is not identified with the content of that decree. Eventually, the hidden decree, which hovers behind Christ, becomes the real one, and the real God is not the one revealed in Christ Jesus, but a hidden God who... Read more

Christ and Election

Last updated on: March 7, 2016 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

In the Olive Grove

Last updated on: March 7, 2016 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

The Mount of Olives is mentioned by name only twice in the Old Testament, and once it is alluded to as the “mountain east of Jerusalem.” When David abandons Jerusalem during the rebellion of Absalom, he travels east to the Mount of Olives, and then into the wilderness (2 Samuel 15). Ezekiel sees a vision of the glory of Yahweh abandoning the temple; it pauses on the Mount of Olives (11:23) before moving on to join the people of Judah... Read more

Death of American Entrepreneur?

Last updated on: March 7, 2016 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

David Goldman reports that “From 1977 t0 2005, business startups accounted for almost all economic growth and all net job creation. Established firms shrank and new firms grew. After the Great Recession of 2008, the opposite occurred: established firms accounted for all the recovery in employment, and startups contributed nothing to net employment growth. Under the Obama administration, America changed from the world’s most innovative economy to the most static and cartelized.” Why? Goldman identifies several factors: “Economists offer as... Read more

Practical Trinity

Last updated on: March 4, 2016 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

A section of Kant’s Conflict of Faculties lays out “Philosophical Principles of Scriptural Exegesis for Settling the Conflict” of faculties. The first rule is that a scriptural text whose theoretical claims transcend reason and morality “may be interpreted in the interests of practical reason.” If it contradicts practical reason, it “must be interpreted in the interests of practical reason.” The doctrine of the Trinity provides an example: “taken literally, [it] has no practical relevance at all, even if we think... Read more

Parallels in Luke-Acts

Last updated on: March 4, 2016 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

Rebecca Denova(Things Accomplished Among Us) provides a good summary of the complex pattern of parallelism that structures Luke and Acts. She points to the parallels between the gospel and the apostolic history: “The baptism of Jesus with water in Luke 3 is paralleled by the community’s baptism with the Spirit in Acts 2. Jesus’ message is rejected in Nazareth in Luke 4, and the community’s message is rejected in Jerusalem in Acts 3-5. Herod Antipas intends to kill Jesus in... Read more

Parallels in Luke-Acts

Last updated on: March 4, 2016 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

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Who found baby Moses in the river?