The secularization of Western culture was accompanied by the elevation of art to the position of a substitute religion to replace Christianity.

For the Puritans, the God-centered life meant making the quest for spiritual and moral holiness the great business of life.

The goal of Bible translation is: be transparent to the original text - to see as clearly as possible what the biblical authors actually wrote.

The oldest theory of art belongs to the Greeks, who regarded art as an imitation (mimesis) of reality. The strength of that theory is that it explains the way in which art takes its materials from real life.

Stressing the God-centered life can lead to an otherworldly withdrawal from everyday earthly life.

Literature incarnates its meanings as concretely as possible. The knowledge that literature gives of a subject is the kind of knowledge that is obtained by (vicariously) living through an experience.

The Puritans' sense of priorities in life was one of their greatest strengths. Putting God first and valuing everything else in relation to God was a recurrent Puritan theme.