John Calvin on his deathbed in 1564, from a 19th-century engraving / Public Domain By Dr. Jordan J. Ballor (left) and Dr. W. Bradford Littlejohn (right) / 03.25.2013 Ballor: Senior Research Fellow and Director of Publishing, Acton Institute Littlejohn: Research in Theology and Ethics Abstract This article surveys the 16th-century development and dissemination of[…]
The six-line inscription in Ancient Greek found on the fragment of a 6th century AD Byzantine amphora in the Trimammium Fortress in Northeast Bulgaria. Photo: Ruse Regional Museum of History By Ivan Dikov / 01.09.2018 Part of an Early Byzantine amphora with a fully preserved inscription in Ancient Greek dedicated to Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary[…]
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, marble, 359 C.E. (Treasury of Saint Peter’s Basilica) By Dr. Allen Farber / 08.08.2015 Professor of Art History State University of New York College at Oneonta Please note that due to photography restrictions, the images used in the video above show the plaster cast on display in the Vatican Museum. Nevertheless,[…]
Colossal statue of Constantine the Great, 4th century (Capitoline Museum, Rome) (photo: Jean-Christophe BENOIST CC BY 2.5) By Dr. Allen Farber / 08.08.2015 Professor of Art History State University of New York College at Oneonta Early Christianity Two important moments played a critical role in the development of early Christianity: 1. The decision of the Apostle Paul[…]
The nativity scenes celebrated each Christmas bear little resemblance to history. skepticalview/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND By Dr. Robyn J. Whitaker / 12.21.2017 Bromby Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies Trinity College University of Divinity I might be about to ruin your Christmas. Sorry. But the reality is those nativity plays in which your adorable children wear tinsel and angel[…]
Red roses in the Getty’s garden and as a detail in All Saints from the Spinola Hours, about 1510–20, Master of James IV of Scotland. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig IX 18, fol. 257v Manuscript curators shed light on the associations and uses of seven favorite garden flowers in Renaissance manuscripts and their symbolism for[…]
A crowd at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco celebrates day one of the ‘Summer of Love.’ AP Photo By Dr. Larry Eskridge / 09.15.2017 Instructor in History Wheaton College This year marks the 50th anniversary of the “Summer of Love.” Popular culture remembers the tens of thousands of joyous young hippies that descended upon San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district to[…]
Oak Grove Acapella Singers, a Gospel group of Chester County, Tennessee, being recorded while singing in the office of the preacher at the Oak Grove Church of Christ. Tennessee State Library and Archives By Dr. Jerry Zolten / 06.29.2017 Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences Pennsylvania State University The first truly African-American musical form, the[…]
Eight reformers (Hieronymus Bock, Johann Buchenhagen, Johann Calvin, Johannes Hus, Martin Luther, Philipp M. / Österreichische Nationalbibliothek By Dr. Stephen M. Feldman Jerry H. Housel/Carl F. Arnold Distinguished Professor of Law Adjunct Professor of Political Science University of Wyoming The Renaissance A first century AD bust of Cicero / Capitoline Museums, Rome Toward the end of[…]
Brothers Cyril and Methodius bring Christianity to the Slavic peoples / Wikimedia Commons By Dr. Stephen M. Feldman Jerry H. Housel/Carl F. Arnold Distinguished Professor of Law Adjunct Professor of Political Science University of Wyoming The Early Middle Ages Portrait of Pope Gelasius I / Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Rome Pope Gelasius[…]