New Releases by Peter J. Leithart

The book is a powerful invitation to enter the depths of a text.

Proposes the book of Ecclesiastes as an interpretive framework for readers wanting to understand and critique postmodernism.

What does baptism do to the baptized? Nothing? Something? In this study, Peter Leithart examines this single question of baptismal efficacy. He challenges several common but false assumptions about God, man, the church, salvation, and more that confuse discussions about baptism. He aims to offer a careful and simple discussion of all the central biblical texts that speak to us about baptism, the nature of signs and rites, the character of the church as the body of Christ, and the possibility of apostasy. In the end, the author urges us to face up to the wonderful conclusion that Scripture attributes an astonishing power to the initiation rite of baptism.

In this collection of wedding sermons, Peter Leithart illuminates the subject from many perspectives, forming a loose, down-to-earth "systematic theology of marriage."

In this short but stimulating work, Peter Leithart draws upon insights from history, theology, philosophy, and literature to connect two of the most glorious and unique truths of Christianity - its hopeful eschatology and its doctrine of a dynamic, personal Trinity. First, Leithart shows that the biblical view of history is essentially comic and hopeful, in contrast to the classical Greco-Roman view, which is essentially and irredeemably tragic. Then he develops the same point by examining Greek philosophy and its descendants (including postmodernism) in contrast to orthodox Trinitarian theology. Finally, he shows how the tragic and comic worldviews have been reflected in literature, with discussions of Greek epics and two Shakespearean plays. The result is a tour through three thousand years of intellectual history that celebrates the living power of orthodoxy.

The book of Second Peter has long troubled biblical scholars and interpreters, who have disputed both its authorship and its claims about the imminent return of Christ. In this study, Peter Leithart offers a preterist reading of the epistle, arguing that it describe first-century events rather than the end of history. At the same time, he maintains orthodoxy, avoiding hyper-preterism and affirming both the real future return of Christ and the epistle''s authenticity. Leithart''s accessible style and powerful arguments make this book a valuable addition to the discussion surrounding the Bible''s apocalyptic prophecies.

Jane Austen''s novels are not only still widely read, but they also continue to influence modern film and literature. In both their moral content and their focused, highly detailed, miniaturist execution, they reveal Austen''s master of the art of fiction and her concern for Christian virtues exercised within communities. Her sharp wit and sense of irony entertain, edify, and challenge both men and women alike. From theological and literary angles, Leithart unpacks both character and theme while summarizing each of Austen''s major works. For all who desire a richer appreciation of her enduring genius, Leithart offers a hearthside seat.

The Federal Vision communicates the importance of applying a more robust Covenant theology to our study of the relationship between obedience and faith, and to the role of the Church and Sacraments in our salvation.

In this seminal treatise, Peter J. Leithart argues that the coming of the New Creation in Jesus Christ has profound and revolutionary implications for social order, implications symbolized and effected in the ritual of baptism. In Christ and Christian baptism, the ancient distinctions between priest and non-priest, between patrician and plebian, are dissolved, giving rise to a new humanity in which there is no Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. Yet, beginning in the medieval period, the church has blunted the revolutionary force of baptism, and reintroduced antique distinctions whose destruction was announced by the gospel. Leithart calls the church to renew her commitment to the gospel that offers "priesthood to the plebs."

Peter Leithart''s typological reading of the unified book of 1 and 2 Samuel unleashes the literary power of this key Old Testament narrative. By giving careful attention to the book''s literary structures and its patterns of types and antitypes, the symbolic world of Samuel reveals a cumulative and cohesive story. Leithart''s reading of Samuel enhances our understanding of New Testament Christology and gives us a framework for applying the Old Testament to our own lives, as the book comes alive as a tragic and beautiful story of the rebirth of Israel in difficult times.

In the tradition of Grimm''s fairy tales, Peter Leithart has collected eighteen bedtime tales, each set invoking imagery, plots, and themes taken from Scripture, and each reveals a biblical proverb.

How could a conservative Christian-an ordained minister with a beard, no less-be against not only Christianity, but theology, sacraments, and ethics as well? Yet that is the stance Peter Leithart takes in this provocative "theological bricolage." Seeking to rethink evangelical notions of culture, church, and state, Leithart offers a series of short essays, aphorisms, and parables that challenge the current dichotomies that govern both Christian and non- Christian thinking about church and state, the secular and the religious. But his argument isn''t limited to being merely "against." Leithart reveals a much larger vision of Christian society, defined by the stories, symbols, rituals, and rules of a renewed community-the city of God.

The debate in many Reformed circles over worship music is only a small part of the larger question of Reformed liturgics. And dancing. All sides admit that the New Testament offers relatively little instruction on liturgy, and so the debate over the regulative principle continues with apparently little hope for resolution. In this study, Peter Leithart''s key insight reveals a prominent scriptural example of a liturgy that interprets God''s commands for worship in ways far more biblically grounded than traditional regulativism allows. King David''s tabernacle worship becomes a rich story, not only in respect to liturgical wisdom, but also to the significance of Zion in the fulfillments of the Christian era.

As one of the supreme Christian epic poems, Dante''s Divine Comedy provides not only far more personality and emotional depth than the pagan epics, it also opens up all the issues on which Western history turns - truth, beauty, goodness, sin, sanctification, and triumph. For all that, C.S. Lewis loved the Comedy for its seemingly effortless poetry. In this guide Peter Leithart uses a biblical angle to open up the Comedy for students, high school and up. He begins his discussion by examining the meaning and place of the courtly love tradition and then introduces us to the varied levels of meaning throughout the work. In the heart of the guide, Leithart walks us carefully through the craft and symbolism of each progressive stage - Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. Each section contains helpful study questions.

The best stories subtly weave themes and characters and symbols into a stunning final tapestry. This Old Testament survey, written for family and classroom reading, reveals the rich weave that makes Scripture the Story of stories.

This collection includes twenty-eight of theologian Peter Leithart''s Eucharistic meditations on the Lord''s Supper.

"[Analyzes specific ancient epics and Greek dramas in the light of Christian beliefs. Ancient poets and playwrights discussed: Hesiod, Homer, Virgil, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes.]"--Provided by publisher.

Shakespeare was, as Caesar says of Cassius, "a great observer," able to see and depict patterns of events and character. He understood how politics is shaped by the clash of men with various colorings of self-interest and idealism, how violence breeds violence, how fragile human beings create masks and disguises for protection, how schemers do the same for advancement, how love can grow out of hate and hate out of love. Dare anyone say that these insights are irrelevant to living in the real world? For many in an older generation, the Bible and the Collected Shakespeare were the two indispensable books, and thus their sense of life and history was shaped by the best and best-told stories. And they were the wiser for it. Literature abstracts from the complex events of life (just as we all do in everyday life) and can reveal patterns that are like the patterns of events in the real world. Studying literature can give us sensitivity to those patterns. This sensitivity to the rhythm of life is closely connected with what the Bible calls wisdom.