Peter J. Leithart is President of the Theopolis Institute, Birmingham, Alabama. He is the author, most recently, of Creator (IVP).
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Peter J. Leithart
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A Man of God
Once upon a time, preachers could grab attention because everyone believed they had something to say that everyone needed to hear. With sin and Satan abroad in the land, Puritan preachers and their congregants were convinced that only their specialized knowledge of the Bible and theology, or of the supernatural world, or of the twists and turns of the sinful heart could lead from death to life. Not many years ago, preachers spoke with authority as the best-educated men in the parish… . Continue Reading »
Salvation By Sport
Like a billion other viewers, I caught some of the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Games earlier this week. It was a marvel of planning and choreography. The visual highlight in a breathtaking spectacle was the moment when the two-hundred and four burning petals, lit from seven torches, rose to form a single, monumental cauldron at the center of the Olympic Stadium… . Continue Reading »
Songs of the Church Militant
Christian worship is inherently political. As Bernd Wannenwetsch points out, this isn’t because worship is a tool for ginning up enthusiasm for a candidate or for stirring the fires of patriotism. On the contrary, “It is just because Christian worship is not a means to an end that it is political.” Worship is political because it “opens out into” the kingdom of God, and because in her worship the Church “anticipates the city of God” with its eternal liturgical assembly… . Continue Reading »
Where Health Care Can Happen
America’s health care system is insane. As David Goldhill observed in a 2009 Atlantic piece, asking an insurance company to pay for a routine visit to the doctor is like filing an auto insurance claim every time you fill up. Because they don’t have to worry about out-of-pocket expenses, patients try everything, no matter how much it costs or how remote the chances that it will help. Insurance costs don’t rise because insurance companies are especially greedy. Costs keep rising because of dynamics inherent in the system… . Continue Reading »
Poet of Summer’s End
Ray Bradbury, who died on June fifth at the age of ninety-one, will be remembered as a writer of science fiction or, as he preferred, fantasy. That’s not surprising. As the obituaries have emphasized, he imagined ATMs, the Bluetooth, and artificial intelligence decades ago. For me, though, science fiction isn’t the center of Bradbury’s imagination or his appeal. The most magical place in his fiction isn’t Mars. It’s Green Town, Illinois, a fictional stand-in for his birthplace, Waukegan, Illinois… . Continue Reading »
One Lord, One Table
The clash between Peter and Paul at Antioch is one of those back-water biblical incidents that changed the world. It’s ancient history, but it’s as relevant today as it was in the first century, if not more so. Paul recounts the incident in the second chapter of his letter to the Galatians, his main epistle against the “Judaizers.” According to some Jewish converts in the early church, Gentiles could not become full disciples of Jesus without first becoming Jews. They had to be circumcised, observe Jewish purity laws and dietary restrictions, and follow Jewish rules about table fellowship if they were going to be full members of the Christian community… . Continue Reading »
What is the Bible For?
Evangelicals like to quote Paul’s letter to Timothy: “All Scripture is God-breathed, and profitable for teaching, correction, training in righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped for every good work.” Paul affirms that God is the author of the written text, a sine qua non of Evangelicalism. Paul also stresses the usefulness of Scripture, an equally favored Evangelical theme… . Continue Reading »
The God Who is Worldly
Summarizing a central argument of his Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, Ross Douthat told Ken Myers in a recent interview, “A lot of the most influential theologies in American life today are theologies that take various worldly ends as their primary end.” Prosperity preachers turn seven-figure incomes and slick cars into sacramental marks of God’s favor. Oprah religion reduces God to a guarantor of “personal psychological well-being.” Nationalisms of the left and the right invoke God to sanctify policy agendas… . Continue Reading »
Messages at the Movies
I watched October Baby in the theater recently. Inspired by the dramatic life of anti-abortion activist Gianna Jessen, the film tells the story of Hannah (Rachel Hendrix), who learns in early adulthood that she was adopted after a failed abortion. She embarks on a journey to find herself by finding her mother and by learning more about the circumstances of her birth. I wholly endorse the pro-life message of the movie, which comes across with such utter clarity that I have heard of viewers changing their position on abortion after the film… . Continue Reading »
Beauty on a Friday Afternoon
Roman crucifixion was gruesome. There was no rulebook, so full rein was given, as Martin Hengel has written, to “the caprice and sadism of the executioners.” Some Romans denounced its cruelty. “That plague” was Cicero’s description. Most were horrified, averted their eyes, and kept their tongues. We know Caesar crucified slaves, but he never refers to crosses or crucifixions in any of his writings, and Hengel tells us that “no ancient writer wanted to dwell too long on this cruel procedure.” The gospels provide the most detailed account we have of a Roman crucifixion… . Continue Reading »
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