Mortal Remains
Polar Composites
by S. M. Hutchens
In the December 23, 2016 New York Times online Opinion Pages, Peter Wehner, a member of the conservative Presbyterian Church in America, wrote a piece titled "Humanizing Jesus," in which he did his Christmas best at bringing the Lord down to earth for the consumption of the people—a pious exercise, to be sure, for the teaching of the Christian faith is that this was precisely and literally what he came for. This struck some of my correspondents, however, as a suspicious operation, for many of us have spent a good deal of time in our churches attempting to save the Lord of heaven from being treated as common earth—Jesus our ol' buddy, the best guy we know, qualified above all others for the honorary presidency of the Possum Lodge International.
There have always been opposing, and I think necessary, tendencies in the church to emphasize the Lord's exaltation or humiliation. Both answer to reality and human need. Where one impulse is felt to be lacking, the other tends to assert itself. Where the refulgently fearsome King is emphasized, the gentle and approachable Jesus follows; in the wake of Pius IX, Thérèse of Lisieux; in the home of the powerfully ordered Puritan spirit, all sorts of subjective arrangements with Jesus.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
S. M. Hutchens is a senior editor and longtime writer for Touchstone.
A Journal of Mere Christianity—Delivered to Your Door
- Essays on theology, culture, and the Church
- Contributors from across the Christian traditions
Six print issues (one year) of Touchstone, plus full online access and PDF downloads for only $39.95.
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95.
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on christianity from the online archives
22.6—July/August 2009
on the Integration of Anger into the Virtuous Life by Leon J. Podles
30.6—Nov/Dec 2017
on Benedict XVI on the Fairest of the Sons of Men by Michael Martin De Sapio
18.10—December 2005
on an Apostle’s Encounter with the Son’s Children by Anthony Esolen
more from the online archives
33.1—January/February 2020
Speaking Truth About the Sexes Is Not Optional by Anthony Esolen
24.6—Nov/Dec 2011
Liberty, Conscience & Autonomy
How the Culture War of the Roaring Twenties Set the Stage for Today’s Catholic & Evangelical Alliance by Barry Hankins
30.2—March/April 2017
Our Path to Holiness Runs Straight Through Calvary by Robin Phillips
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
