Uncategorized
Trump’s Old Testament
Walter McDougall (Promised Land, Crusader State, 4–5) divides the history of American foreign affairs into two testaments,…
Yo’ Great-Grandma’s Austen
In her TLS review of new books about Jane Austen, Devoney Looser comments on the irony that…
They Do It On Purpose
The Economist summarizes the notion of “information asymmetry” pioneered by George Akerlof and others. Using a used…
The Wire as Greek Tragedy
The Wire is the best TV series I’ve ever seen. Also among the raunchiest. In an aside…
President Rickles
Like all right-thinking Americans, Emily Nussbaum is suitably horrified by Trump’s election. But she grasps his appeal…
Apocalypse Sans Apocalypse
In her study of postmodern apocalypticism, Apocalyptic Transformation (xxiii–xxv), Elizabeth Rosen asks what effects secularization has on…
Joyous Exchange, Magnificent Duel
Robert Kolb (Martin Luther: Confessor of the Faith) observes that Luther resisted presenting a systematic theology of…
Frackin’ Innovative
Vauhini Vara reports at The Atlantic about how US frackers beat OPEC. The story starts in 2014…
Righteousness and Relation
According to Robert Kolb (Martin Luther: Confessor of the Faith, 125–8) Luther had a “relational” understanding of…
Witherspoon Institute Summer 2017 Seminars
The Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, New Jersey (where I work) is now accepting applications for six summer…
Music in the Middle
The final section of 1 Chronicles is neatly framed by speeches by David. Chapter 22 contains David’s…
Anticlericalism and Reformation
Anticlerical agitation was more consequence than cause of the English Reformation, argues David Loades in his contribution…
David’s Pharaoh Moment
1 Chronicles doesn’t say anything about David’s sin against Bath-Sheba and Uriah (cf. 2 Samuel 11–12). Bath-Sheba…
David’s Speech to Solomon
1 Chronicles 22:6–16 records David’s hortatory speech to Solomon about building the temple. It is divided into…
The Essential Mary
Since the Son is incarnate, argues Aaron Riches in his Ecce Homo, “we must speak of unum…
