In the current issue of The Weekly Standard , Jon A. Shields gives a searing summary of the trial of Kermit Gosnell. He admits, “the liberal position on killing abortion survivors makes a bizarre kind of moral sense,” and then adds: “After all, what is the moral difference between killing an 8-month-old human being in the womb and killing it in the bright light of an operating room? And if there is a difference, can it bear the moral weight... Read more
I offer some thoughts on Ephraim Radner’s powerful A Brutal Unity: The Spiritual Politics of the Christian Church at the main First Things site . Read more
In the closing chapter of Defensio Fidei Catholoicae: De Satisfactione Christi Adversus Faustum Socinum Senensem , Grotius provides a fascinating overview of sacrificial practices outside Israel. He moves from the classical world to India, the Americas, and the Canary Islands. He talks about animal and human sacrifice, and includes the “self-dedications of the Decii” under the heading of sacrifice (p. 265). The argument takes a curious turn. Grotius begins the chapter arguing for the expiatory character of biblical sacrifice. He... Read more
Once upon a time, “the arts” did not exist. Of course, from the beginning people painted figures, shaped rock and wood into statues, played or sang melodies, added decorative flourishes to their homes. But for much of human history, these activities were not thought to be in a separate category called “fine arts.” Anything done or made could be made or done artfully. For much of human history, art has been seen, in Eric Gill’s pithy formula, as “human skill... Read more
Twice in the final chapters of Revelation, John falls before an angel and the angel tells him to get up: “I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God” (19:10; 22:8-9). It seems a simple reaffirmation of monotheism. Of course, no one worships angels. But apparently some did (Colossians 2:18), and apparently at one time it was perfectly OK. Manoah and his wife fall before an angel (Judges 13:20), and so... Read more
Another installment of Pastor Ralph Smith’s studies in Deuteronomy is available at the Trinity House site. Read more
A few theologians leave me breathless, and Sam Wells is one of them. In his latest, Learning to Dream Again: Rediscovering the Heart of God , he discusses the aspects of wisdom that are his theme. One is humility, another joy, but stuck between them is suffering shame. This is different from seeking wisdom from suffering. It’s different from trying “to suppress [suffering] and defeat it,” different too from letting it “make my soul grow and give me wisdom.” Wisdom... Read more
Radner ( A Brutal Unity: The Spiritual Politics of the Christian Church , 181) concludes a rich discussion of the biblical pattern of episcopal ministry with this: “The early Church’s, indeed the whole developed tradition’s, theological discussion of apostolic episcopacy stands generally to the side of discussions of jurisdiction, territorial boundaries, and placement within the interrelated network of ecclesial structures. It is instead almost exclusively concerned with the sanctity associated with the dominical self-expenditure, in the service of God’s life... Read more
Radner ( A Brutal Unity: The Spiritual Politics of the Christian Church , 33-4) analyzes the Rwandan genocide to unmask the church’s role in the bloodshed. Far from heading off potential violence, the deliberate practices of missionaries often created the conditions for a future holocaust. Catholic missionaries, for instance, adopted the method of targeting “young men of Batutsi families associated with the court,” exaggerating existing social divisions. Catholics and Protestants saw Rwanda as a battleground, and in their competition for... Read more
Separation is a result of sin. But Ephraim Radner points out ( A Brutal Unity: The Spiritual Politics of the Christian Church , 428) that “separation also lies at the center of creation: God separates, or literally ‘divides’ light and darkness, waters and earth (firmament), day and night (stars . . . and through this division he creates what is good.” “Separate” is badal , which also names the “distinctive integrity of divine holiness.” Thus, “to live before God is... Read more
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