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From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John
Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
In a couple earlier posts, I’ve commented on the “intrinsicism” in Athanasius. One additional point: Rather than seeing intrinstic/extrinsic as metaphysical opposites, Athanasius’ sees the question in a redemptive-historical, eschatological framework. Extrinsicism is the order of the old, intrinsicism, because of the incarnation, is the order of the new.
That seems to work: Under the old, God was veiled, “incarnate” in a temple; He wrote on objectified tablets of stone. In the new, He comes to look us in the face, incarnate in flesh, and writes on tablets of the human heart with the ink of the Spirit.
What happens to the order of sacraments in that case? One might rush on to pietist inwardism. That would be a mistake: The Son comes in the flesh; intrinsicism is not an evacuation of flesh, but a transformation of flesh from the inside. Augustine was right. The new sacraments are fewer and simpler, also more efficacious.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 12:46 pm
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