Austen and her successors

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 10:46 pm By Peter Leithart

In “What’s Wrong With the World,” Chesterton commented on the differences between eighteenth and nineteenth century fiction. Essentially, the eighteenth century was from Mars, the nineteenth from Venus. Austen developed her tastes and sensibilities in the eighteenth century, unfortunately often read as one from the nineteenth. “The Novel of the nineteenth century was female; as fully as the novel of the eighteenth century was male. . . . The strength and subtlety of woman had certainly sunk deep into English... Read more

Jane Austen enters heaven

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:45 pm By Peter Leithart

Kipling was a Janeite, writing not only a short story about British soldiers forming a secret Janeite society in the trenches but also several poems. Here is one called “Jane’s Marriage.” JANE went to Paradise: That was only fair. Good Sir Walter met her first, And led her up the stair. Henry and Tobias, And Miguel of Spain, Stood with Shakespeare at the top To welcome Jane — Then the Three Archangels Offered out of hand, Anything in Heaven’s gift... Read more

Sermon notes

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:02 am By Peter Leithart

INTRODUCTION Jesus ends the central teaching section of the sermon on the mount with warnings against hypocritical judgment and trusting in power. He again assures us of our Father’s kindness. THE TEXT “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you . . . .” (Matthew 7:1-12). (more…) Read more

Spring, River, Lake

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

Anselm compared the Trinity to the Nile. Water arises from a spring, travels as a river, and empties into the lake. As Dennis Ngien summarizes, “The spring is not the river nor is the lake; the lake is not the spring nor is the river. Yet the spring is the Nile; the river is the Nile; and the lake is the Nile.” Not only is there a like/unlike duality here that captures some aspects of the Trinity, but for Anselm... Read more

Solitary God

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

Richard poses a dilemma to unitarians: “if we say that in true Divinity there exists only one person, just as there is only one substance, then without doubt according to this He will not have anyone with whom He could share that infinite abundance of His fullness.” This lack might have one of two sources: Either God is incapable or unwilling to have Another: “Would it be because even though he wished to, He could not have one who would... Read more

Wasted love

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:50 pm By Peter Leithart

Richard of St. Victor presents an argument for the Trinity that starts with human love. Self-love is not the highest form of love; perfected love is self-transcending love, and ultimately the love of two directed toward a third, who returns love. A God who is love must therefore be Triune. Along the way, he argues that only an infinite object of love is worthy of the Father’s love. As Edmund Hill explains it, “God cannot love his creature objectively as... Read more

Essentialist and personalist

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:36 pm By Peter Leithart

Western Trinitarian theology develops from Augustine, but because Augustine is complex the Western tradition develops along different – equally Augustinian – pathways. That is the argument of Dennis Ngien’s 2005 study of the filioque in medieval theology. Anselm, he says, develops the “essentialist” aspect of Augustine’s doctrine, starting with the united essence and working out distinctions among the persons. Unlike Augustine, Anselm concludes that “the origin of the Holy Spirit is not rooted in the mutual love between the Father... Read more

Paul as Job

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:05 am By Peter Leithart

Richard Hays has pointed to Job allusions in various writings of Paul. One of these occurs in 2 Timothy 1:12: “I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” Hays points out that the form “I know that” in several of Paul’s letters alludes back to Job 19:25 among other passages. Though the... Read more

Notes on Isaiah 61

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:09 am By Peter Leithart

A number of these thoughts were suggested by students during exams during the last week. I can’t remember now who said what, but thanks to them all. 1) Isaiah 61 begins with a declaration of the Spirit, and ends with a reference to a garden. That suggests the possibility that Gen 1-2 is structuring the passage. The Spirit comes on the prophet (and on Jesus the great Prophet) as He hovered over the waters in the original creation week. The... Read more

Baptism in the CRC, again

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 10:47 pm By Peter Leithart

John Barach writes concerning the prayer for infant baptism I posted earlier today: “that is the standard Reformed baptismal form which was probably written by Petrus Dathenus in the 16th century and adopted by the Synod of Dort. That’s also the same form that’s used for baptism in the Canadian Reformed Churches, the URCNA, the Protestant Reformed Churches, the Netherlands Reformed Churches, the Free Reformed Churches, the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Churches, etc. It isn’t just a CRC thing.” Read more