Tertullian’s question—“What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?”—has generally been asked by Christians wondering to what extent they can draw on Greek wisdom. In answer, many theologians analogized Greek philosophy to Hebrew faith: Both were incomplete but preparatory. Clement of . . . . Continue Reading »
God’s Country: Christian Zionism in America by samuel goldman penn, 248 pages, $34.95 The New Christian Zionism: Fresh Perspectives on Israel and the Land edited by gerald r. mcdermott ivp academic, 352 pages, $26 Israel Matters: Why Christians Must Think Differently about the People . . . . Continue Reading »
By recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the US has also recognized the reality that the Jewish idea is not only alive, but thriving. Continue Reading »
Israel stands at the center of divine providence, a mystery that ought to inspire awe and humility. Continue Reading »
Something resembling a real religion-and-society debate is finally emerging in Israel. Continue Reading »
Apparently, the Times’s staff is so unfamiliar with basic Christian teachings that the Resurrection slips right by them. In this, they are not alone among our mainstream media. I once heard a BBC news announcer refer to Easter as the holiday on which Christians commemorate the death of Jesus. Continue Reading »
Esther is a book of the Bible that does not refer to God explicitly even once. On the surface, it is a story about political intrigue, sex, and violence. Yet the rabbis of the Talmud lavish praise on this work, asserting that there are two portions of Scripture that would never cease to be relevant . . . . Continue Reading »
Written from Jerusalem: Walking through the narrow, winding streets of Jerusalem’s Old City on my first visit here in fifteen years, I was powerfully struck once again by the grittiness of Christianity, the palpable connection between the faith and the quotidian realities of life. For here, . . . . Continue Reading »
Leo Strauss is the thinker who in the last few decades has contributed the most to the renewed examination of the polarity between Athens and Jerusalem, reason and revelation. Tertullian famously stressed this contrast to the benefit of Jerusalem rather than Athens, but Strauss brings to the . . . . Continue Reading »
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