In his Gift and the Unity of Being, Antonio Lopez claims that “Christ’s kenotic gift of self restores unity with God. The redemption of the gift allows man to see that unity with God is possible and that it generates a whole that is greater than its parts. St. Paul’s discourse on the different gifts, according to which God calls some to be apostles, others pastors, other prophets, etc., shows the church in Corinth that the unity of participating in the... Read more
The emphasis on chastity, virginity, and lack of defilement from women does not have to do with misogyny or asceticism. In biblical perspective, it means that this is both a liturgical and a military assembly. When Israel arrived at Sinai, the men had to keep themselves from women so as not to be defiled when Yahweh arrived to initiate a covenant ceremony. This gets institutionalized in Leviticus 15, which prohibits anyone who has had sexual relations from entering the presence... Read more
Music has profound effects on our moods and minds. If we believe the ancient wisdom, this is because the harmonies, movements, and melodies of music move and mold the soul. Music can ravish or terrify us, and a constant died of music terror will leave us skittish as rabbits. Technology has made it possible for us to be surrounded by music 24/7, and if music has the psychic effects suggested above, our saturation in music should catch the attention of... Read more
Trevor Hart (Between the Image and the Word, 62-74) describes the de-sacramentalizing shift in Barth’s theology. He traces the shift to the work of Barth’s son Markus, who convinced his father that the notion of “sacrament” isn’t a biblical one. In his later work, Barth argued that the sacraments are not divine actions or mysteries, but simply acts done as a response of faith to the prior act of God: “With all that the community of Jesus Christ and its... Read more
One of the central virtues of Lector Ludens, Michael Scham’s study of games and play in Cervantes, is Scham’s thorough review of the early modern literature on play, games, and leisure. Scham is not innocent of cultural theory, but instead of imposing a contemporary framework on his subject, he uncovers an extensive, and quite wondrous, tradition of reflection on games. Some treatises on play are, as one would expect, moralistic. Unexpectedly, many aren’t, and see play as socially beneficial, expressive of human... Read more
John sees 144,000 assembles with the Lamb on Zion. He hears music, a fourfold voice from heaven – like the voice of waters, the voice of thunder, the voice of harpists harping harps (Revelation 14:2). As James Jordan has pointed out, the three descriptions match the three things before which the singers sing (v. 3): Voice of waters before throne Great thunder before living creatures Harps before 24 elders The voice of the waters comes from the throne, the thunder... Read more
The world enters our worship, it is brought into the King’s palace and made part of the King’s worship, so that it can be transformed, so that it can reach its telos. Worship is a microcosm, or, as Jordan puts it, a “microchron.” What is brought into worship? Our sins. Christian worship is not based on the pretense that the world is fine, bright, and thoroughly cheery. Near the very beginning of most historical liturgies, there is an acknowledgement that... Read more
Gary Cross and Robert Proctor describe the changes in technology, marketing, consumption, and habits that followed the packaging revolution. In Packaged Pleasures, they examine how our tastes have been affected by the replacement of fruits and vegetables with packaged candy bars; by the packaging of cigarettes; by the packaging of fun with packaged, traveling amusement parks; sounds and sights were packaged by cameras and audio recordings. The theme is partly the democratization of pleasure: “Access to pleasure has long been an... Read more
The 144,000 from the 12 tribes are sealed in Revelation 7, but we don’t learn the contents of the seal until they reappear in 14:1. There we’re told that they are sealed with “His Name” and the “Name of His Father.” In the Great Commission (Matthew 28), the singular “Name” into which one is baptized is Father, Son, and Spirit. By contrast, the 144,000 are sealed with a double name – the Name of the Lamb and the Name of... Read more
John sees great signs in heaven (Revelation 12:1-4). After sweeping the stars from the sky, the dragon stands ready to devour the child that the woman bears. To “stand before” another is a liturgical position. Priests stand before the Lord. That is the position of the dragon in relation to the woman, but this is a false liturgy. It’s not a false liturgy primarily because a child is about to get eaten. The sacrificial system of Israel is all about... Read more
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