Henri Lefebvre was a firm believer in the Marxist dictum that “the criticism of religion is the premise of all criticism,” though he dissented from Marx’s prior claim that the criticism of religion is essentially complete. He includes a vicious, sarcastic diatribe against the Catholicism of his youth in the first volume of his Critique of Everyday Life (3-volume Set) , but along the way he gives a thick portrait of “traditional society” that reminded me of portions of Charles... Read more
When Yahweh chastens, Israel is helpless. She can only seek the Lord, whisper a desperate prayer, lot her doors and hide in her room (Isaiah 26:16, 20-21). She writhes like a pregnant woman, but instead of bearing a child she gives birth only to wind (Heb. ruach ; 26:18). Nothing that Israel can produce will help. She is completely in Yahweh’s hands, at His mercy. And in particular, Israel confesses “we could not accomplish deliverance in the earth.” Israel writhes... Read more
My friend, Ralph Smith, has published several excellent books on the Trinity ( Paradox and Truth: Rethinking Van Til on the Trinity ; Eternal Covenant: How the Trinity Reshapes Covenant Theology ; and Trinity & Reality: An Introduction to the Christian Faith ), and most recently has written a superb monograph on Deuteronomy, Hear, My Son (available here: www.athanasiuspress.org/product/books/hear-my-son-examination-fatherhood-yahweh-deuteronomy). Ralph aims to show that this most “legal” of books is in fact instruction from Father Yahweh to Son Israel. He... Read more
Nehemiah ends the first chapter of his memoir with the statement “Now I was cupbearer to the king” (Nehemiah 1:11). What position is this? The next verses indicate that he actually served wine to the king (2:1). As that scene progresses, Nehemiah acts with a boldness that suggests his position is something more than this. Would even a highly favored butler be bold enough to ask for letters of passage, permission to use wood from the king’s forest, and permission... Read more
Yahweh describes only a handful of people as “My servant” – Abraham, Moses, and David. In 1-2 Kings, the title is almost exclusively reserved for David, and in almost every case the title is used in places where the Lord is reminding a king that His care for Israel is because of David (1 Kings 11:13, 32, 34, 36) or negatively comparing a king to the faithful David (1 Kings 11:38; 14:8). Once, toward the end of Kings, MOses is... Read more
I have been charged with deviating from Reformed orthodoxy for claiming that, strictly speaking, what is imputed to us in justification is the verdict that the Father pronounced in raising His Son from the dead. This verdict assumes that Jesus obeyed the law completely and died in obedience to His Father, but Jesus’ “active” and “passive” obedience are imputed only indirectly. The Father raised Jesus, and that was the Father’s enacted declaration that the Son is just; we are joined... Read more
What is the literal sense? In the current issue of the IJST , R. R. Reno suggests that it involves attending to the text: “We want to bring out minds and hearts into obedience to God’s Word rather than to float in a spiritual world of our imaginings . . . . If we are to believe what the Bible says, then we must attend to what the Bible says.” Attending to the text is not, however, what classic Protestant... Read more
What is the literal sense? In the current issue of the IJST , R. R. Reno suggests that it involves attending to the text: “We want to bring out minds and hearts into obedience to God’s Word rather than to float in a spiritual world of our imaginings . . . . If we are to believe what the Bible says, then we must attend to what the Bible says.” Attending to the text is not, however, what classic Protestant... Read more
For those of you who have not purchased or at least ordered your copy of The Glory of Kings: A Festschrift for James B. Jordan (and shame, shame if you haven’t), the folks at First Things have put up a teaser, R. R. Reno’s wonderful Foreword to the book. It’s available here: http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2011/10/13/james-b-jordan-and-the-glory-of-kings/ . Read more
In Book 10 of the Nicomachean Ethics , Aristotle ponders the nature of happiness, concluding from philosophical arguments that happiness consists in contemplation. He adds a theological argument: “We assume the gods to be above all other beings blessed and happy; but what sort of actions must we assign to them? Acts of justice? Will not the gods seem absurd if they make contracts and return deposits, and so on? Acts of a brave man, then, confronting dangers and running... Read more
Leithart
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In