Note: This episode was originally published February 25, 2020. ICYMI, please enjoy this lecture hosted by the Center for Hebraic Thought on February 15, 2020.
The Christian tradition describes God as “perfect”—but how the Bible describes this perfection might surprise us. When we think of God, we often start by asking, “What is God?” This is the approach of the Westminster Catechism as well as many philosophers. This seemingly common-sense approach, however, is strange at a second glance—after all, we wouldn’t typically ask, “What is your spouse?” or “What is Steve?” In this lecture, Dr. Peter Leithart argues for a different approach: asking, “Who is God?”
To understand God’s nature (including His perfection), we must consider how Scripture reasons. Often, the biblical authors appeal to poetry, imagery, story, and history to define God. Dr. Leithart argues that these literary forms—far from being irrational or anti-philosophical—are rigorously intellectual and potent forms of knowing a God who is personal, transcendent, and yes, perfect.
This episode is a recording of the evening lecture for our February 14-15 workshop with the Rev. Dr. Peter Leithart of the Theopolis Institute.
Show notes:
Trusting Reality: ’Longing to Know’ Turns 20 (Esther Meek)
Old—and New—Testament Violence and the Shalom of God (Matthew J. Lynch)
ICYMI: Don’t Skip the Poems (Michelle Knight)
The State of Jewish–Christian Relations (Pesach Wolicki)
The Unwritten Word: Learning from High Orality-Reliant Cultures (Charles Madinger)
The First Christian Nation? Keeping Up with the Armenians (Heather Ohaneson)
Jewish Identity, Deconstruction, and Misusing the Bible (Marty Solomon)
Reading the Bible Like an Adult (Avital Hazony Levi)
Raising Chickens, Reading Scripture, and Running Governments, Reformed-Style (Jessica Joustra)
Most Popular Episode of 2022: ’Going to Heaven’ vs. Resurrection, the New Heavens, and the New Earth (J. Richard Middleton)
Paying Attention to the People, Places, and Things in the Bible (Kat Armstrong)
There Is No West without the Near East (Robert Nicholson)
What If We Took God’s Instruction Seriously? (Ryan O’Dowd)
The Knowledge Crisis and Misinformation in Biblical Perspective (Bonnie Kristian)
Wisdom of Primal Peoples in the Era of World Christianity (Jangkholam Haokip)
Our Complicated History with Evil (Discover Your Roots Season 2 Premiere)
Moving from Egypt to the U.S. as a Coptic Christian (Mariam Wahba)
The Pitfalls of Children’s Bibles (Rachel Wilkowski)
Israelites vs. Hebrews vs. Jews . . . ? (Jason Staples)
Growing Up Christian in the Gaza Strip (Khalil Sayegh)
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