Reading thy Hymns Bonus: O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Today’s selection is possibly the oldest Christmas carol that is still in use. It is a Victorian translation (by John M. Neale, 1851) of a 12th-century Latin carol, which was in turn adapted from a set of 8th century monastic...
Reading the Hymns Bonus: Joy to the World
This week, in anticipation of Christmas, I plan to do some “bonus” Reading the Hymns posts. How else can I put a dent in my list of favorite Christmas hymns? Tonight’s post highlights “Joy to the World.” It is one...
Reading the Hymns: The Contrite Heart
This hymn is a new favorite of mine. It’s by William Cowper (1731-1800), and first appeared in the Olney Hymns collection, which he co-published with John Newton. Fred Sanders recently highlighted Cowper and the Olney collection. He introduces them so...
Christianity and Hellenism, Part 3 of 3: On Human Nature
One of the theological areas most likely to raise questions about the relationship between historical Christian teaching and Greek (especially Platonic) thought is that of human nature. Especially with regard to two related subjects: the relationship between body and soul,...
Christian Reputation, re: Apple and the Manhattan Declaration
The present flap over the Manhattan Declaration App, and the way it has been covered in various media outlets, highlights an easily forgotten point about the need for Christian winsomeness in the public square. Look at some of the coverage...
Reading the Hymns: Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior
Fanny Crosby was one of the great, and greatly prolific, hymnwriters of the 19th century. Considering how that century was a bit of a golden age of hymn writing, that’s saying something. Did I say prolific? She almost sets her...
Christianity and Hellenism, Part 1 of 3
“What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” That was the question raised by Tertullian at the end of the second century. At the beginning of the twentieth, Adolf von Harnack tried to identify the pure kerygma buried beneath layers of...