Cooperative venture

Last updated on: June 23, 2012 at 9:27 am By Peter Leithart

In a 1993 article in the Intercollegiate Studies Review , Mark Henrie appeals to Alexander Kojeve to argue that “the differences between social democracy and American liberty are not as great as they may at first appear.” Kojeve also, he says, captures something “which has certainly been missed in much American thinking on the Left and Right”: “the central issue of modern political life is not one of collectivism versus individualism or central planning versus the market; in each of... Read more

Particles

Last updated on: June 23, 2012 at 6:36 am By Peter Leithart

A couple of days ago, I posted a tweet suggesting that the most basic constituents of reality may not be fixed unchanging bits of stuff but sequences of actions, events. (It was more concise when I tweeted it.) Bryan Johnson wrote to say explicitly what I vaguely knew: “your description of fundamental reality describes elementary particles quite well. The lifetime of an elementary particle is a miniscule fraction of a second; its detection in an experiment can be viewed simply... Read more

Memory and Writing

Last updated on: June 22, 2012 at 12:41 pm By Peter Leithart

Plato worried that writing would spoil memory. He should not have. Jack Goody has found that verbatim memorization only appears in literate societies. As summarized by Ian Morris in 1 1986 Classical Antiquity article, Goody concluded that “It is only when mnemonic devices drawn from writing itself become available within a society that rote learning becomes possible; oral societies possess neither the elaborate techniques nor the necessity for such memorization.” Morris elaborates further on: “there is no cultural demand for... Read more

Fulfill all righteousness

Last updated on: June 22, 2012 at 8:46 am By Peter Leithart

Perry Hall offers this intriguing analysis of the chiastic relationship between the prophecy of the servant (Isaiah 42) and the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3): A – “This is My Servant; I strengthen Him, this is My Chosen One; I delight in Him (Is.42:1a). B – “I have put My Spirit on Him” (Is.42:1b). C – “He will bring justice to the nations” (Is.42:1c). C’ – “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all... Read more

Cosmic Genuflection

Last updated on: June 22, 2012 at 6:30 am By Peter Leithart

Mike Bull responds to my recent posts and tweets on the tabernacle furniture and the faces of the cherubim with a riff of his own, reflecting themes he develops at more length in volume III of his Bible Matrix , which will be entitled The House of God . The remainder of this post is from Mike: “If the cruciform shape of the Tabernacle is a Man, then the Incense Altar is the result of the Separation of the Table... Read more

Shared Joy

Last updated on: June 22, 2012 at 6:25 am By Peter Leithart

John Paul also ( Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology Of The Body , p. 161 ) notes that Adam reacts to the appearance of Eve with the first expression of joy: “For the first time, the man (male) shows joy and even exultation, for which he had no reason before, due to the lack of a being similar to himself. Joy for the other human being, for the second ‘I,’ dominates in the words the man (male)... Read more

Bone of Bone

Last updated on: June 22, 2012 at 6:21 am By Peter Leithart

John Paul II offers these observations on Genesis 2’s account of the creation of Eve ( Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology Of The Body , p. 160): “‘Bone from my bones’ can . . . be understood in the relational sense, like ‘being from being.’ ‘Flesh from flesh’ signifies that, although she has different physical characteristics, the woman has the same personhood that the man has.” The allusion to the Nicene language of “God from God” is... Read more

Poet of Summer’s end

Last updated on: June 21, 2012 at 9:28 pm By Peter Leithart

My tribute to the late Ray Bradbury is up at http://www.firstthings.com/ this morning. Read more

Multiplier of Grace

Last updated on: June 21, 2012 at 9:53 am By Peter Leithart

Thanksgiving was clearly a part of the liturgical life of the early Christians. In talking about tongues, Paul says that one who does not know the tongue cannot join in the “Amen” at the eucharistia , since he cannot understand what has been said (1 Corinthians 14:16). Paul uses the word in two places in 2 Corinthians. In chapter 4, Paul speaks of the persecution He endures for Christ’s sake and for the sake of the church. “Death works in... Read more

Royal liturgy

Last updated on: June 21, 2012 at 6:31 am By Peter Leithart

When John first sees the heavenly worship as he ascends to heaven, the four living creatures take the lead with an unceasing Sanctus. The twenty-four elders fall down before the One on the throne, cast their crowns before the throne, and praise God for His glory, honor, and power. They are not singing, only “saying” (Revelation 4:8-11). They have no liturgical equipment or paraphernalia. After the Lamb takes the book, they break out in worship again. The living creatures and... Read more

Which book of the Bible is known as the 'Gospel of Joy'?