Category Archives: Christianity

A series of essays on Christian human history, Christian philosophy and theology, and the search for God and Self.

Is War ever Just?

Posted on April 25, 2016 by theamericanplutarch

In his novel, The Things They Carried, novelist Tim O’brien, writing about the Vietnam War, says: “A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, God's Providence, Reflections on the Psalms | Tagged bible, Jesus, Moses, Qur'an, Ten Commandments, War | 8 Comments

The Seduction of Time

Posted on April 11, 2016 by theamericanplutarch

In Mark 8:33 of the New Testament, Jesus tells his disciple Peter, “Go behind me, Satan,” because Peter has suggested that Jesus was not going to suffer as the Son of Man. What does this verse tell us about Satan, about Jesus, … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Reflections on the Psalms | Tagged Jesus, Love, Peter, psalms, Satan, Seduction, Temptation, Time | Leave a comment

Montaigne and Repentance

Posted on March 23, 2016 by theamericanplutarch

Michel de Montaigne, the French writer of Essays, was a thinker. Alone in a library, his library, pondering. Alone, as he was in conception, as he will be in death. Alone, facing his maker, facing the universe, facing himself. No … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, books, Christianity, Michel de Montaigne | Tagged Essays, Montaigne, Repentance | Leave a comment

Montaigne and Human Folly

Posted on March 19, 2016 by theamericanplutarch

In the opening note to the reader in Montaigne’s Essays, the author suggests, since the Essays are only about the experiences and ruminations of Michel de Montaigne himself, that it is folly to read further. Montaigne was quite right, of … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Christianity, Michel de Montaigne | Tagged Essays, Human Folly, Montaigne, Skepticism | Leave a comment

Richard Hooker’s Message from the Past

Posted on June 30, 2015 by theamericanplutarch

In light of the Supreme Court decision on marriage this past week, and the controversy from opposing sides that has ensued, it is worthwhile, in my opinion, to seek the wisdom of the past. Oftentimes the human perspective living in … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Christianity, European history, God's Providence | Tagged Book of Common Prayer, god, Laws of the Ecclesiastical Polity, Providence, Richard Hooker | Leave a comment

Healing History

Posted on June 15, 2015 by theamericanplutarch

Two thousand years ago Titus Livius, in his History of Rome, declared that his book, indeed any narrative history of human events told with empathy and truth, is therapy for mental malaise, especially the malaise that is a product of … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, books, Christianity | Tagged Biography, history, Livy, Metamorphosis, Plutarch | 2 Comments

Time and the Church

Posted on June 7, 2015 by theamericanplutarch

The Church, that is, organized Christian religion, has always struggled to make sense of time. The date of Christian holy days, such as Easter and Christmas, has been under dispute for centuries. Some Christians in the past, and even today, … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Christianity, God's Providence | Tagged books, god, Metamorphosis, Providence, Time | Leave a comment

Jesus and Time

Posted on May 30, 2015 by theamericanplutarch

Time is a mystery. Is time a physical phenomenon? Is it a geologic phenomena? Does time exist outside of human consciousness? Is time absolute or relative? Why do humans put so much emphasis on time, so that we gauge our … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, God's Providence | Tagged Jesus, Metamorphosis, Time | Leave a comment

Time, the Healer

Posted on May 28, 2015 by theamericanplutarch

There is an expression often used by the wise that time is the great healer, which of course means that as time passes people forgive wrongs done to them, scars slowly fade, and the memory of what was once so … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity | Tagged Healing, history, Jesus, Metamorphosis, Time | Leave a comment

History and Miracle

Posted on May 18, 2015 by theamericanplutarch

What is a historian to do about miracles, events in time that break the rules of natural law and sensory evidence, products of a supernatural force, that is, God? The easiest approach is, of course, to reject all theism, to … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, books, Christianity | Tagged god, history, Jeremy Belknap, Miracles, Providence, St. Paul | Leave a comment