From Measure for Measure ISABELLA Yet show some pity. ANGELO I show it most of all when I show justice; For then I pity those I do not know, Which a dismiss’d offence would after gall; And do him right that, answering one foul wrong, Lives not to act another. Be satisfied; Your brother dies … Continue reading On the Liberal Arts and the Third Use of the Law
Listening to the Little House series, following the lives of Laura and her family, has not been without its challenges. They are so strict, so obedient, so sufficient and skillful. They are themselves a kind of law that I will never live up to. Further, Laura always seems a bit hemmed in by her Ma, … Continue reading Mercy in Little House on the Prairie
from a story once repeated to me by the late Ms. Elizabeth Blettner of St. John’s College A man giving a lecture at Carnegie Hall was interrupted by a member of the audience. “We cannot hear you!” The man in the back shouted. “Then I shall speak more quietly,” he said. Continue reading The Voice of Grace
Grace Alone Conquers This is the motto of Trinity House from the Latin Sola Gratia Vincit. What does it mean. Is it a strategy? Shall Trinity House win the Cup at New College Franklin this year by means of grace? Shall we through grace rise up triumphant over our brothers and sisters? Is grace the master … Continue reading Sola Gratia Vincit: A Charge to Trinity House
I have several times referred to Sara Groves work as a model of Christian art. Today I have in mind her song Twice as Good. In it she contemplates the unique power of the Gospel: with my good news your dancing on the table babies born I am not sure I can say much without … Continue reading Where do Babies come From? Joy!
It never fails, if a boy should love a girl that he loses some sleep in the bargain. It never fails, when a young women first be a mother, that she be stricken now and again with fear and doubt, and sometime wonder many nights whether the child still breathes and should check on her. … Continue reading It Never Fails
Near the bulk of St. Augustine’s On Christine Doctrine discusses the role of secular learning. This is surprising because the text promises to reveal how to understand and teach Scripture. Augustine’s approach only makes sense if reading Scripture requires us to become proficient in reading the world. At the outset, Augustine challenges objections to sacred teaching. There have always been … Continue reading Did Augustine take notes from Aristotle?
—πολλαὶ μορφαὶ τῶν δαιμονίων, πολλὰ δ᾽ ἀέλπτως κραίνουσι θεοί: καὶ τὰ δοκηθέντ᾽ οὐκ ἐτελέσθη, τῶν δ᾽ ἀδοκήτων πόρον ηὗρε θεός. τοιόνδ᾽ ἀπέβη τόδε πρᾶγμα.— Euripides, Alcestis, 1160 Many shapes belong to the divine, and many things beyond hope do the gods accomplish: The very things we have expected are not accomplished, but for the unexpected God finds a way. … Continue reading The Concluding Chorus of Alcestis
A Meditation on Palm Sunday and folly over at the Blog of the Emerging Scholars Network. Thanks for featuring my work again folks! Continue reading The Perfection of our Praise: Reclaiming our Inner Folly on Palm Sunday– A Post on the Emerging Scholars Blog
There two schools of Christian anthropology. The first school I will call the Noetic. It advocates the transforming power of knowing God. To know God’s love is to be transformed by that love. The second is the school of Praxis and Discipline. We needs to press on and take hold of what Christ has secured for us, thereby … Continue reading Noetic Transformation vs. Discipline and Praxis
Same & Other 