Deus Misereatur

Perichoresis and Personhood: God, Christ, and Salvation in John of Damascus Charles C. Twombly Pickwick Publications (imprint of Wipf and Stock) www.wipfandstock.com ISBN: 9781620321805; $16; February 2015 4 or 5 Stars Most Christians in Church or parishioners in the pews have never heard of perichoresis . To them it will likely sound like a bad skin disease. But hopefully most pastors, theologians and Church history buffs are at least mildly familiar with the concept, recognizing that it is an extremely important notion with regard to the inner life of the Trinity. Charles C. Twombly, a historical theologian who has taught in several seminaries and has been published in Crux , Christianity Today and First Things , has pulled together a new addition to the Princeton Theological Monograph Series with his 132 page paperback, "Perichoresis and Personhood: God, Christ, and Salvation in John of Damascus." This densely argued work lays out John of Damascus'...

[The sermon can be heard here:  http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?m=t&s=1226121020243 ] There is just something about Christmas time. The tinsel, the pine trees, ornaments, lights, smells, the sounds of families laughing and being together again, along with the songs that conjure up memories of Christmases past. And yet there are the “other” Christmases that don’t warm the heart. Those two shoppers you saw fighting over the last toy on the shelf at the store. Scenes of harried and hassled people in the shopping malls, fretting over the quantity of gifts or the mounting debt they were accruing. The family meltdown last Christmas when Uncle Joe and Aunt Mary exploded with stabbing words and ghastly stares that poisoned everyone’s heart, as well as the advertisements that glorify and exalt selfishness, greed, lust, and envy. These are the sad scenarios of Christmas, which make it a repugnant and dreadful season for some. But underneath the sounds and smells there is...