Rescuing Origen of Alexandria
“To say that Origen of Alexandria has been a critical figure in the history of the Christian tradition would be an understatement.” Who was Origen of Alexandria?…
Through the Eyes of Jared Kushner
“So you want us to accomplish something you couldn’t by doing it the same way you did it?” – Jared Kushner “I never planned to write…
The Wisdom of Hobbes or the Theatrics of Joe Biden?
“President Biden stands before a divided Congress and a polarized nation,” the pundits declared minutes leading up to the president’s entry into Congress. It seems like any…
The Life of Rome’s Most Notorious Emperor
When the name Nero is heard, a few things are conjured up in our imagination. Nero the persecutor of Christians; Nero the brutal tyrant who embodied the…
The Rise and Fall of Númenor
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth is one of the greatest achievements of the literary imagination. Over 80 years since its creation, it still fascinates and inspires readers the world…
Roger and Me
Walking into the Reform Club in London’s ritzy Pall Mall, the aspirations of a 26-year-old American student had come true. Recently graduated from Yale but deciding against…
Time in the Shadow of Augustine: A Review of “Augustine and Time”
Augustine and Time. Edited by John Doody, Sean Hannan, and Kim Paffenroth. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2021. “What is time?” The vexing question of time is…
Salvation Through Humility: A Review of “Putting on Christ” by Ty Paul Monroe
Ty Paul Monroe. Putting on Christ: Augustine’s Early Theology of Salvation and the Sacraments. Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2022. You are great, Lord,…
The Sexual Sublime and Salvation on Pandora: The Romantic Imagination of James Cameron
“I see you.” That simple phrase by Jake Sully to Neytiri consummates their relationship long before their having sex from which Jake “becomes a man” in passing…
Tolle Lege: “Augustine’s Confessions and Contemporary Concerns”
Augustine’s Confessions and Contemporary Concerns, ed. David Vincent Meconi, SJ. Saint Paul: Saint Paul Seminary Press, 2022. Saint Augustine is one of those names that just…
Continuity, Symbolism, and the Logos in the Prologue of the Gospel of John
The opening prologue of the gospel of St. John is theologically rich, puzzling, and poetic, thereby imbuing it with rich symbolism and imagery. The declaration that “In…
Resurrecting Romantic Enchantment: A Review of Kurt R. Ward’s “Endymion”
Kurt R. Ward. Endymion or the State of Entropy: A Lyric Drama. Illustrations by Rebecca Yanovskaya. Amsterdam, 2022. “The shades of Dawn begin to descend /…
Postliberalism is the Future
What is postliberalism? The term is bandied about nowadays, generally as a pejorative to describe so-called “illiberal” conservatives and rightwing personalities who supposedly have political views antithetical…
The Music of Poetry: Brad Leithauser’s “Rhyme’s Rooms: The Architecture of Poetry”
Brad Leithauser. Rhyme’s Rooms: The Architecture of Poetry. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2022. “If, generations hence, literary historians take any interest in what went on…
Alienism and the New Orientalism: A Review of Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones’s “Persians: The Age of the Great Kings”
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. Persians: The Age of the Great Kings. New York: Basic Books, 2022. When does enthusiasm for the foreign become too intoxicating that one ends…