In City of God 5.11, Augustine rhapsodizes concerning the works of God the Triune Creator. His works are works of gift-giving. Three times Augustine uses the verb “gave” ( dedit ), and the gifts go from angels to men to animals to seeds to stones, and include intellectual gifts, beauty, health, fruitfulness, sensation, memory, desire. And none has he left in dissonance: From heaven to the smallest creatures God has given everything “a harmony and, as it were, a peace... Read more
In his contribution to In the Shadow of Empire: Reclaiming the Bible as a History of Faithful Resistance , Richard Horsley notes that “the temple-state had been set up in Jerusalem in the sixth century by the Persian imperial regime,” and that through the Roman period the Jerusalem temple-state was “a key institution in the imperial order.” That certainly has some historical basis: Herod, who built or refurbished the temple, was a Roman client, and the Romans had plenty of... Read more
Some scattered notes on Books 1-5 of City of God , dependent to a large degree on Gerard O’Daly’s Augustine’s City of God: A Reader’s Guide . 1) Book 1 is the book most focused on the particular circumstances of the fall of Rome and the sufferings of Christians in that event. By the following books, Augustine has moved on to a more wide-ranging critique of Roman civilization, an expansion that already made its appearance in Book 1. 2) In... Read more
I wrote this early this morning and forgot to press “Publish,” First Things posted an exchange between Christian Smith and me on the topic of biblicisim: http://www.firstthings.com/ Read more
Garments cover nakedness for the Laodiceans (Revelation 3:18). The only other place in the book where garments and nakedness are mentioned together is 16:15, where Jesus warns that He is coming like a thief and will surprise the sleeping and those who are found naked. The Laodiceans buy garments in preparation for the Lord’s Advent. If they purchase garments, and keep their pants on, they will not be ashamed when Jesus comes like a thief. Read more
The Laodiceans are invited to buy gold, garments, and ointment, preparations for a wedding. They are also invited to buy the equipment to rule. White raiment is worn by the elders who sit enthroned in heaven at the beginning of Revelation. They are also wearing gold crowns (Revelation 4:4). The Laodiceans are being invited to share in that heavenly rule, where they will wear white and gold crowns and see clearly with anointed eyes. Since eyes are organs of judgment,... Read more
Jesus tells the church at Laodicea to go shopping (Revelation 3:18). They’re supposed to buy purified gold, white clothing to cover their nakedness, and eye salve to anoint their eyes. Why these particular items? Because they are the necessaries as Laodicea prepares to be the bride for the coming of her husband. That becomes clear when we look at the OT background to Jesus’ exhortation to purchase eye salve to “anoint” ( egchrio ) the eyes ( ophthalmos ). The... Read more
Fairbairn gets patristic interpretation exactly right: He admits they were “overly exuberant,” but argues that they were excessively excited about the right thing: “They correctly understood that the key to good interpretation is discerning the whole message of Scripture well, and they correctly saw that the Bible as a whole is fundamentally about Christ.” For that reason, following their example is safer than following modern methods: “it is less dangerous to discern the Bible’s central message clearly but read that... Read more
Donald Fairbairn’s Life in the Trinity: An Introduction to Theology with the Help of the Church Fathers is superb in many respects. He shows the intimate connection between theology proper and soteriology (theology and economy) in the church fathers and urges contemporary Christians to learn from them how theosis unites theology and practice. His biblical exposition is careful and exciting, and he fills the book with judicious selections from the church fathers. The book is pastorally rich. Fairbairn writes very... Read more
Isaiah says more about the uniqueness of God than any other Old Testament writer (especially Isaiah 43-45). Why did Yahweh wait so long to say this? Did he perhaps have to set up empires, deliver His people into exile, and then send them back before He could persuade the world that there was One Lord, Savior, Lawgiver? Was the exile and restoration somehow the first real proof of monotheism? Read more
Leithart
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