October 2018
August 2018
Against (Our Own) Heresies
[Heresy] starts with a narrow selective reading of scripture that is then over-emphasized and serves as a tangential point for one’s own desires.
Erik Johnson | MIT et Spiritus | Spring 2018
The Lovely Embrace of Pain
Another principle characteristic of Lucretius’ view is that it ultimately seeks painlessness. For this purpose, Lucretius urges isolation. However, there are two critical issues with this goal-orientation.
Jamie Har | Cornell Claritas | Fall 2017May 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
October 2017
Letting Law Go? A Lutheran Perspective on Law in “Frozen”
By analyzing Elsa’s changing understanding of law, as it relates to her moral duties to her kingdom and to her sister, we hope to show how Frozen can be interpreted through the paradigm of Luther’s conception of law.
Luke Shurson and Alexander Quanbeck | St Olaf Avodah | Spring 2015
Faithful Activism
These forms of resistance are a reflection of that most radical message of all—that each of us is loved and valued and worthy in the eyes of God. No exceptions.
Joyce Tompkins | Swarthmore Peripateo | Spring 2017September 2017
John Calvin and the Case for Refugees
Central to Calvin’s social policy was an intense devotion to the less fortunate in society. However they may present themselves, whether as orphans or widows or refugees, Calvin believed that he had a solemn and God-given duty to care for them.
Noah Black | The Vanderbilt Synesis | Fall 2016
The Weariness and Work of Sloth
Sloth is farther reaching, more insidious, and better at hiding than laziness, arising from a deep emptiness or lack, and can exhibit itself as laziness, but also, counter-intuitively, as excessive busyness.
John Nystrom | The Cornell Claritas | Spring 2017August 2017
Postmodernism and the Paradox of Tolerance
Postmodernism conflates truth and personhood, and in doing so confines the person to a state of perpetual insecurity and vulnerability. It is this fear of violence that prevents modern persons from recognizing the inherent dignity of their peers.
Joshua Tseng-Tham | The Dartmouth Apologia | Spring 2017
The Problem of Christ as a Gift
Late 20th century philosopher Jacques Derrida calls into question the very possibility of gift-giving. The aporia of the gift, its dissipation upon coming into presence, presents a problem not only for philosophy, but also for Christianity.
Dan Ju | The Hopkins Dialectic | Spring 2017February 2017
September 2016
May 2016
April 2016
A Literature Survey of the Kierkegaardian Concept of “Neighbor Love”
[Kierkegaard's] controversial claim has been the subject of extensive academic debate, since preferential love is such an inherent human experience.
Emmanuel Hui | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2015
What God Expects: The Paradox of the Standards of the Christian Community
Therefore, the standard to be Christian and to become part of the Christian community is to understand this paradox: we cannot achieve God’s standards.
Cindy Wu | The Cornell Claritas | Fall 2015
The Sin of Adam: Two Allegorical Accounts of the Fall
Recovering the literal sense of the Greek hamartia—translated in our Bibles as "sin"—we have "missed the mark."
Erin Kast | Swarthmore Peripateo | Spring 2015September 2015
June 2015
May 2015
Mathematizing the Mind
A history of uncertainty in the field of Mathematics reveals ways we might scrutinize our own philosophies and faiths through a conventionally “rational” lens.
Hong Suh | The Claremont Ekklesia | Spring 2015
Freedom Redefined: A Christian Perspective on the Meaning of Freedom
While it is paradoxical that something so rigid-sounding as “law” results in freedom, Christianity asserts this bold claim.
Marissa Le Coz | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2014April 2015
October 2014
September 2014
A Response to James Hunter’s To Change the World
While Hunter asserts that Christians should not be trying to change the world, there is nuance, for he does not advocate or condone passivity.
Ryan Bouton | The Dartmouth Apologia | Spring 2014
The Rebellion of Faith
Christians do not know concretely how God will produce a favorable outcome from difficult situations, but they trust in Him because of evidence supporting His promise to do so and His overall track record throughout the Bible.
Brionna Atkins | The Harvard Ichthus | Spring 2013
On God and Suffering
Things become distorted when we are suffering, and it takes an understanding of something bigger than ourselves to realign life’s dimensions again.
Monica Perez and Michael Robinson | The Brown & RISD Cornerstone | Spring 2014July 2014
Cantor’s Theorem and Jesu
The Christological claim that Jesus is both human and divine at the same time is analogous to the claim that Jesus is both finite and infinite.
Drew Voight | St. Olaf Avodah | Spring 2014
God’s Sovereignty in the Midst of Depression
Reconciling the Christian hope we are meant to have with the crushing experience of hopelessness, anxiety and sadness we may actually feel can seem like an irresolvable struggle.
Tatianna Kufferath | The Columbia Crown & Cross |June 2014
May 2014
Affliction Furthers the Flight in Me
Inspired by the story of the resurrection, 17th century English poet George Herbert wrote his short poem “Easter Wings.” The poem beautifully recreates the restorative power of Christ’s resurrection.
Chih McDermott | The Williams Telos | Fall 2013
Finding Oneself Beyond the Empirical Fence
But wouldn’t everybody act more or less the same if there were no religion and instead most of the same rules were held on a purely secular basis?
Nicholas Zahorodny | Swarthmore Peripateo | Fall 2013
A Response to Ross Douthat’s Bad Religion
Adopting C.S. Lewis’ concept of love’s responsibility, Ross Douthat harshly criticizes American Christianity in hopes of encouraging a stronger future.
Elena Zinski | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2012February 2014
November 2013
July 2013
Grasping for Grace: The Strangeness and Difficulty of Faith in T.S. Eliot’s “Ash Wednesday”
Instants of intellectual ecstasy are close to what the Romantics meant when they contemplated the Sublime, which Edmund Burke classified as the “strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling.”
Danielle Charette | Swarthmore Peripateo | Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2013
Language and Its Uses: The Difficulty in Communicating with a Heavenly God
Scripture is littered with evidence that our voices — our interaction with God through language — have divine importance and implication.
Gabriel Brotzman | The Brown & RISD Cornerstone | Spring 2013 Volume II Issue IIJune 2013
Eternity
I am afraid of death. I don’t mean in the buried-six-feet-under sense. Rather, I am afraid of dying by way of the American dream: to wake up some day in a life so comfortable that I have forgotten my dreams.
Shirley Li | The Williams Telos | Issue 9, Spring 2013
Why Ask Why?
It is not my point to argue here, only to ask. Is Christianity a philosophical system? Or is it a way of life? Both? Or something else altogether?
Kelly Maeshiro | The Harvard Ichthus | Fall 2012, Volume 8, Number 3May 2013
A Scholar’s Parrot
Do we, as humans, really just fake sentiments such as selfless love in the same way parrots babble with no true understanding behind their speech?
Linnea Peckham | The Wheaton Pub | Fall 2012, Vol. 8, Issue 1
Why Obey?
Acting in accordance with one’s desires is more a fact than a flaw of human beings. Any moral system that actually gets people to follow it must (not ought, must) not run counter to the personal desires of human beings.
Aaron Gyde | The Harvard Ichthus | Fall 2012, Volume 8, Number 3January 2013
November 2012
October 2012
August 2012
Sacramental Complications: Sufjan Stevens’ “Casimir Pulaski Day”
Sufjan Stevens is adored by the indie music movement, which is often antiestablishment and anti-religious, yet his music honestly handles the grittiness of lived faith. “Casimir Pulaski Day” is the firsthand narration of the death of a loved one within a Christian community.
Tristan Macdonald | 5 College Slant | Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2012
Mustard Seed Faith
Confirmation bias is a psychological phenomenon which describes our tendency to seek out information that confirms our opinions and beliefs while avoiding information that contradicts what we believe. I take a lot more time on each page when I’m reading C.S. Lewis compared to Richard Dawkins.
Andy Morgosh | The Williams Telos | Spring 2012
The Marriage of Justice and Mercy
Christianity has seeming contradictions like a dog has fleas. This one consistently arises: how can a God of justice be, at the same time, a God of mercy? George MacDonald brings this contradiction to a point: “Those who say justice means the punishing of sin, and mercy the not punishing of sin, and attribute both to God, would make a schism in the very idea of God.”
Andrew Kim | Brown Cornerstone | Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2012