Freeman’s colossal misconceptions come out on every page. Under that patient persecution by the Romans, some Christians saw the light and offered sacrifice, but others “resisted to the point of martyrdom.” Not that it mattered much; they were eager to die, since they preferred “their reward in heaven . . . to a life in the misery of the material world.” I’ve got to stop reading this book. Read more
Two instances of Freeman’s distortions (these from The Closing of the Western Mind ). First, he has a couple of pictures of the Riace warrior statue from Delphi, which “represents man at his most heroic, almost a god in his own right.” On the facing page he says “By the fourth century A.D., such confidence has faded and human beings have become overwhelmed by forces over which they have little control.” To illustrate, he reproduces Grunewald’s depiction of St Anthony... Read more
Charles Freeman notes that the sarcophagus of the Roman aristocrat Junius Bassus depicts Jesus “entering Jerusalem as if he was an emperor entering a city, and above this image he is shown sitting in glory on an imperial throne set above a representation of heaven.” He cites Sabine MacCormack’s comment that “Once an image of majesty had been applied to Christ it was impossible to apply it again to the emperor,” and claims that this is an illustration of “the... Read more
Bavinck says that, in order to distinguish the “knowledge” that was essential to saving faith from the “assent” of Catholic definitions of faith, the Refoemrs insisted that “the knowledge of saving faith [is] a matter of the heart rather than of the intellect.” On this point, then, Pietists are doing nothing more than recovering the Reformation when they protest the re-Catholicization of Orthodoxy. Bavinck’s comment also suggests an internal conenction between the Reformation and Romanticisms of various kinds. Plus, he... Read more
In a 1994 article in the South Atlantic Review , John Cunningham proposes to read Great Expectations as a baptismal allegory. In the first half of the novel, baptismal imagery is inverted, but as the book progresses everything turns rightside up: ” Great Expectations attains a comic resolution as the perverted figures of baptism discussed hitherto are metamorphosed into true ones and as regenerations open onto new lives. Despite the almost pervasive presence of death in the novel, evidence of... Read more
Karl Jaspers summarizes Cusa’s argument for an infinite cosmos: “Because the cosmos is an image, it is infinite, but its infinity is of the imitative kind, which denotes endlessness, the possibility of always going further. In time, eternity is endless duration. In space, the infinite is the endless; in the division of matter, it is the impossibility of ever arriving at the smallest particle. Neither the greatest nor the smallest, neither the most distant boundary in space nor the smallest... Read more
INTRODUCTION In Colossians 2-3, Paul unfolds the implications of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We were “buried with Him in baptism” ( 2:12 ), and we have also been raised with Him (3:1). Our participation in Good Friday and Easter determines the shape our lives take. THE TEXT “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on... Read more
Paul says that in the circumcision made without hands, the “body of the flesh” is stripped off by the “circumcision of Christ” (Colossians 2:11). I take “circumcision of Christ” to to be a reference to Jesus’ death. He is the seed of Abraham according to flesh, and so He has to be “circumcised.” On the cross the flesh of Abraham is removed once and for all. On the cross, the Father condemned sin in the flesh. But why a “body”... Read more
Hauwerwas tells Shortt: “Some think the just war is a series of exceptions to from the general Christian commitment to non-violence, but I think the stronger justification of just war involves claiming that it is what is required if you are to do justice. Accordingly, justice requires punishment; it will even require armies. I take that as a very serious position. And I just want to see if you can pull it off.” Read more
David Martin, responding to Shortt’s question about the link between his sociological work and his political theology: “The crux is the necessity of authority, which is a ‘functional pre-requisite’ of social organization, let alone civility, and includes a settled claim to power and the legitimate use of violence. Whatever the contemporary decline in deference and respect, and the proper fear 0f authoritarian ism , authority is the key to everything worthwhile, indeed the key to any reform. Just think of... Read more
Leithart
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