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Anne L. Goetz
A Note About Bodies
I was spurred by the recent debate about baptism on the Fish Tank to think in more general terms about how to connect spiritual movements—repentance, salvation, sanctification—to physical facts. Seen from a certain perspective, it can seem downright silly to think that merely getting wet, or eating some bread, or being daubed with oil can… more »
The Anger of George Herbert
This Saturday, February 27th, is the feast day of George Herbert, a poet and an Anglican priest who died in 1633, leaving behind him only one slim volume of poems and a book of advice to country parsons. His entire opus is not even three hundred pages long. Yet the depth of emotion and intellect… more »
Ash Wednesday
“Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth: Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, that we may remember that it is only by your gracious gift that we are given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.” ~Book of Common… more »
The Sin of Oedipus
This week, by a strange twist of fate, I have been completely immersed in ancient Greek literature. None of my classes are in the Classics department, and only one is a straightforwardly literary course; but in all but one class this week has been the week to delve into ancient Greece. (The sole exception is… more »
Poets, Philosophers, and Beauty
If there is a war between reason and imagination, the first volley was fired by Plato, who famously decreed that poets were to be thrown out of his ideal city. This would be understandable if he were speaking only of the Greek equivalent of trashy romance novels; but he prohibits even Homer, who he admits… more »
The Tragedy of Time
“I am not Hermione Granger.”
As the end of shopping period draws near, I suspect that most Harvard students share this sentiment. Unlike the girl from Harry Potter who can magically go back in time to take multiple courses in one time slot, we have to choose. If my dream seminar and the least painful Ethical… more »
St. Thomas Aquinas and the Heretics
Recently I have been reading G.K. Chesterton’s excellent biography of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas’s chief task in life was to theologically battle the various forms of Gnosticism that threatened to overwhelm orthodox Christianity in the thirteenth century—forms both outside the church (such as the Persian Manichees) and inside it (such as the French Cathars)…. more »
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