Evangelicals and Catholics

Last updated on: June 18, 2015 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

Before Roe, before the culture wars, before the 60s, Will Herberg was observing social dynamics that, he argued, would initially put Protestants and Catholics more sharply at odds but eventually push them together. The key shift was the move of Catholics into the mainstream of American middle-class life. At the time he wrote, there had been no dramatic spike in Catholic immigration, yet Protestants felt that Catholics were suddenly invading. They were, and Protestants experienced the invasion as a loss... Read more

Notes Toward a Theology of Works

Last updated on: June 18, 2015 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

Discussions of the place of good works (erga) in the Christian life often focus on Pauline sources. Johannine texts are equally important, and there are few passages richer in resources for a theology of works (perhaps a theology of human action) than the letters to the churches of Asia (Revelation 2–3). A few notes to begin: 1) Deeds are linked with toil, perseverance, and intolerance of evil. Good deeds means testing and discerning the claims of false apostles (2:2). 2)... Read more

Denominationalism Is Secularization

Last updated on: June 17, 2015 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

“Denominational pluralism, on the American plan,” wrote Will Herberg, “means thoroughgoing secularization” (36). By “secularization,” Herberg meant a gap between “conventional” and “operational” religion. Conventional religion is that practiced by religious adherents – Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists. Operational religion is the set of beliefs, rituals, and values that shapes public life. Societies need a common religion to hold together. In traditional societies, the common operational religion is a conventional one; Christian communities can be “churches” in the Troeltschian sense... Read more

Race in the American Church

Last updated on: June 17, 2015 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

It was not uncommon in the early 19th century for blacks and whites to worship together. As Niebuhr observes, they “did not enjoy complete fellowship” and there was certainly not equality between them, yet “they participated in the same services and were members of the same denominations. . . . Domestic servants, if not plantation slaves, often shared with their masters and mistresses the ministrations of the same pastors and communed at the same Lord’s table. The Anglican Church was... Read more

Preaching Repentance

Last updated on: June 17, 2015 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

John (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3) and Jesus (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15) come preaching repentance. Over time, though, it becomes clear that the Jews are not repenting, and Jesus begins to denounce the cities that don’t respond to His message of repentance (Matthew 11:20-21; 12:41; Luke 10:13; 11:32). Jesus’ lurid predictions of judgment are a response to that failure to repent, and in response the Jewish leaders seal their impenitence by demanding that Jesus be crucified. Revelation’s use of the verb... Read more

Update from Theopolis