Divine Providence Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

This paper deals with the relation between God and the secular legal systems of Western liberal democracies. It provides a normative argument for the compatibility of God and secular legal reasoning. In our age, in which believing in God is no longer socially axiomatic and the right to religious freedom protects all kinds of theistic and non-theistic religious beliefs, creeds, and first philosophies, it seems contrary to religious neutrality for secular legal systems to single out God. This paper instead argues that, although God and religion are inextricably intertwined, they affect the legal system in different ways because they are ontologically different. God cannot be reduced to a mere component of theistic religion. This paper argues that a proper understanding of secularization might call for keeping God outside the legal system but not for driving God out of the public sphere of democratic societies. Secular legal systems are not atheist legal systems. Secular legal systems are legal systems 'without religion' but not 'without God.' Secularization implies some degree of minimal recognition of God as a metalegal concept. The specific degree of recognition of God appropriate for any given political community depends on its cultural and communitarian identity and should be subject to the rules of democratic procedures and majorities. This is the metalegal God.

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- Canon Law, Constitutional Law, Political Philosophy, Philosophy Of Religion

Note that this book is actually part of a quadrology.

- by Jamin A Hübner
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- Christianity, Theology, Systematic Theology, Doctrine of God

The Ordo Virtutum, Hildegard von Bingen’s twelfth-century music-drama, is one of the first known examples of a large-scale composition by a named composer in the Western canon. Not only does the Ordo’s expansive duration set it apart from its precursors, but also its complex imagery and non-biblical narrative have raised various questions concerning its context and genre. As a poetic meditation on the fall of a soul, the Ordo deploys an array of personified virtues and musical forces over the course of its eighty-seven chants. In this ambitious analysis of the entire work, Michael C. Gardiner for the first time examines how classical Neoplatonic hierarchies are established in the music-drama and considers how they are mediated and subverted through a series of concentric absorptions (absorptions related to medieval Platonism and its various theological developments) which lie at the core of the work’s musical design and text. This is achieved primarily through Gardiner’s musical network model, which implicates mode into a networked system of nodes, and draws upon parallels with the medieval interpretation of Platonic ontology and Hildegard’s correlative realization through sound, song, and voice.

- by Michael Gardiner
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- Music Theory, Medieval Theology, Disability Theory, Medieval Music

Boethius’un Felsefenin Tesellisi Adlı Eserinde Tanrısal Öngörü, Kader Ve Zaman İlişkisi The Relation Between Divine Providence, Fate and Time in Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy Özet Boethius’un Felsefenin Tesellisi (Consolatio... more

- by F. Didem Çoban Sarı
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- Boethius, Divine Providence
- by Alfred L. Ivry
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- Philosophy, Philosophy Of Language, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy Of Religion

Da sich in den letzten Jahren das Paradigma einer von der analytischen
Philosophie inspirierten analytischen Theologie zu einem
leistungsfähigen theoretischen Ansatz zur Diskussion religionsphilosophischer
und theologischer Fragestellungen entwickelt hat,
wird im Folgenden zunächst der Versuch unternommen, die Struktur
einer analytischen Theologie der Geschichte zu erarbeiten.
Dazu wird der Begriff der analytischen Theologie skizziert, um darauf
basierend zu argumentieren, dass eine analytische Theologie
der Geschichte unter Zuhilfenahme offenbarungstheologischer,
naturwissenschaftlicher und philosophischer Erkenntnisse Theorien
über das Ganze der Geschichte der Welt als Geschichte der
Welt sub specie deitatis entwickelt und sich dabei wesentlich auf
die anhand möglicher Welten definierten Begriffe temporaler Möglichkeit
und Notwendigkeit stützt. Im Anschluss daran werden
zentrale Grundpfeiler einer analytischen Geschichtstheologie gerechtfertigt
bevor in einem letzten Schritt argumentiert wird, dass
die zentrale Herausforderung einer metaphysisch allumfassenden
Geschichtstheologie neben der Rechtfertigung der Möglichkeit des
Bösen in der Geschichte der Welt darin besteht, ontologischen Zufall
und menschliche Freiheit mit göttlicher Allwissenheit und Vorsehung
zu vermitteln.

- by Benedikt Paul Göcke
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- Metaphysics, Analytic Philosophy, Theology, Systematic Theology

Présentation de la thèse de Sr Christine Gautier soutenue le 31/0/2014 à la PUST (Pontificia Università San Tommaso d'Aquino), Rome.
A partir de la contribution de Thomas d'Aquin sur la Providence divine, réservant une large place au concours des causes secondes et à l’efficacité de l’action humaine, l'objet de la recherche vise déterminer comment l’activité humaine libre qu’est le travail se conjugue avec l’agir divin provident, éminent et infaillible ? En d’autres termes : le travail humain peut-il contribuer à la réalisation du dessein divin par une collaboration spécifique selon un mode original d’agir humain ?

- by Christine Gautier
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- Catholic Social Teaching, Thomas Aquinas, Habitus, Virtues and Vices
- by Michael Kirwan
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- Catholic Studies, Political Science, Gospels, Ecclesiology
- by Natalia Sukhova
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- Russian Studies, Theology, War Studies, Russian Orthodox Church

RESUMO O artigo trata dos limites do gênero historiográfico, frente ao providencialismo cristão. Inicia-se com considerações sobre o gênero historiográfico, suas origens e características, na literatura grega. Em seguida, apresenta-se uma contraposição com as narrativas históricas médio-orientais, em particular hebraicas, com a intervenção divina recorrente, com destaque para a interpretação escatológica e providencialista. A inauguração da historiografia cristã, com os Atos dos Apóstolos, já estabelece uma mescla entre o providencialismo hebraico e a literatura grega. O artigo centra-se, em seguida, em Eusébio, considerado o fundador da historiografia providencialista cristã, sempre na sequência dos Atos. No seu estudo, mostra-se a importância adicional da Arqueologia para tratar do tema, na medida em que é possível contrastar a narrativa historiográfica e providencialista às evidências arqueológicas. Conclui-se com uma consideração sobre o caráter multifacetado da historiografia providencialista cristã, mescla original entre gêneros literários, que marcaria toda a historiografia posterior. Palavras-chave: Historiografia antiga. Atos dos Apóstolos. Eusébio. Divina providência. ABSTRACT The paper deals with historiography as a genre in relation to Christian Providentialism. It starts by discussing historiography as a genre, its origins and features in Greek literature. It then compares it with middle-eastern historical narrative, particularly the Hebrew strand, recurring often to divine intervention, interpreting it as eschatological and providential. Early Christian historiography, as witness the Acts of the Apostles, mix Hebrew providence and Greek literature. The paper then turns to Eusebius, considered the founder of Christian providentialist historiography, in the wake of the Acts. Archaeology proves useful to deal with the subject, as it is possible to study how divine providence in Eusebius differs from the archaeological evidence. It concludes by stating the original mixed feature of Christian providential historiography, interweaving different genres, as it would flourish in later history writing.

- by Pedro Paulo A. Funari and +1
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- History, Ancient History, Historiography, History of Historiography

J. Lison, ¿Dios proveerá? Comprender la providencia, Editorial Sal Terrae («Colección Alcance», 58), Santander 2009, 159 pp., 11 x 19, ISBN 978-84-293-1791-6.

Distributive justice assumes a morally critical judgment of nature, which typically contradicts providential conceptions. Hence, simple conceptions of divine Providence cannot support distributive justice. This essay analyzes and develops a complex strand of theorizing about Providence within Jewish philosophy that is compatible with distributive justice. According to this conception, the actions of divine Providence express different and mutually exclusive considerations of justice. Therefore, the moral value of outcomes is intransitive between the situations of different people. And while each providential action is justified from an ethical perspective, the total outcome is distinct from God's ultimate desire. Human ethics responds to this disparity by redistribution. This conception of Providence also contributes to the additional issue of inter-generational justice through the concomitant idea of life missions. The classical rendering of missions creates problems, however, for distributive justice. I conclude by formulating a conception of life missions that is compatible with both distributive and intergenerational justice.

- by Shlomo Dov Rosen
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- Religion, Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Ethics
- by Palmyre Oomen
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- Metaphysics, Systematic Theology, Alfred North Whitehead, Laws of Nature
- by James E Dolezal
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- Thomas Aquinas, Doctrine of God, Thomism, Free Will

This paper analyzes the work of Christopher Southgate with a view
toward interpreting his insights into the integrity of creation,
redemption and theodicy in light of Saint Augustine’s theology.
Drawing on various contributions that Southgate has made, this
paper seeks to establish parallels, connections and some
agreement between his work and the great African bishop
without papering over the obvious disagreements over the Fall,
Original Sin, the premises of salvation and biblical hermeneutics.

- by Paul Allen
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- Systematic Theology, Philosophical Theology, Theodicy, Theological Anthropology

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, loudly and strongly renounced the evils of warfare, yet never committed himself to a pacifist position. In this paper, I argue that interpreting Wesley's stance regarding war is best understood through his doctrine of divine providence. Since God controls the fate of nations, war must be seen as God's will on the one hand, yet also as the result of original sin on the other. This tension informs Wesley's vision of history as well as the ethics of war and peace.

- by Gregory R Coates
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- Ethics, Peace and Conflict Studies, Theology, Historical Theology
- by Serge-Thomas Bonino
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- Christology, Thomism, Biblical Medieval Exegesis, Divine Providence

1. Le caractère problématique de l’action de Dieu.
2. L’analogie de l’action à l’épreuve.
3. L’action salvifique de Dieu dans les Confessions d’Augustin.
4. La Providence du salut à l’égard de chacun, selon Thomas d’Aquin.
5. Incarnation et Providence particulière, selon John Henry Newman.
6. L’aporie de la démesure des maux.
7. Trois regards bibliques sur la Providence en ses modulations pascales.
8. La Providence salvifique et ses médiations.

- by Emmanuel Durand OP
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- Systematic Theology, Theodicy, Thomas Aquinas, Augustine of Hippo

Free Will, Destiny, and Sympathy for the Damned

- by Shawn L . Tickle
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- Theodicy, Free Will, Problem of Evil, Divine Providence

Pedro de Ledesma is one of the Dominican theologians of the School of Salamanca involved in the De Auxiliis controversy, i.e., the disputes around a famous book by Luis de Molina on the relation between divine foreknowledge and providence and our free will. Studying an unpublished manuscript by Ledesma and his 1611 book on this subject, the article shows that he opposed Molina with a Thomistic position that we call deflationary. According to this interpretation, God, in moving the created will to do good actions, does not bring about an entity distinct from volition itself. Contrary to other Thomists, he does not think that the immediate effect of the divine motion of the will is an intermediary entity used by God to produce, with the will, the created free act. Ledesma defends his thesis by using some elements of Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics, in particular, a minimalist interpretation of the relation between action and passion already present in Domingo de Soto and the specific causality of immanent acts.

- by David Torrijos-Castrillejo
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- Philosophy, Metaphysics, Jesuit history, Spanish philosophy

Twee maanden na het begin van de coronacrisis heeft de Amerikaanse ds. C.M. McMahon een actuele, bijbelse wake-up call (coronawekker) voor de kerk geschreven. In een tijd waarin weinig meer gerekend wordt met Gods regering en voorzienigheid, houdt de scribent een diepgeestelijk betoog waarin hij wijst op de geestelijke oorzaak van de plagen in de wereld. Het is de pandemie van de zonde. De echte ramp die zich voltrekt, is volgens hem, het aantoonbare geestelijke verval van de kerk.
Het is niet zomaar dat kerkdeuren gesloten werden. De (gedeeltelijke) leegstand van de heiligdommen, het heilig avondmaal dat weggenomen werd, moeten ons in het licht van Leviticus 26 veel te zeggen hebben. Christus zendt de kerk Zijn plagen uit liefde om hen geestelijk terecht te brengen. Het enige gepaste antwoord van de kerk daarop, moet zijn: verootmoediging, schuldbelijdenis en bekering (Numeri 16:47-50; 2 Samuel 24:14, 25).
De auteur gelooft, overeenkomstig Gods Woord, dat God een lichamelijke plaag kan genezen met een geestelijk middel. Hij is immers een Arts voor lichaam en ziel.

- by Dirk Baarssen
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- Theology, Spirituality, Covenant Theology, Reformed theology

(100 words): While many philosophers of religion are familiar with the reconciliation of grace and freedom known as Molinism, fewer by far are familiar with that position initially developed by Molina's erstwhile rival, Domingo Banez (i.e., Banezianism). My aim is to clarify a serious problem for the Banezian: how the Banezian can avoid the apparent conflict between a strong notion of freedom and apparently compatibilist conclusions. The most prominent attempt to defend Banezianism against compatibilism was (in)famously endorsed by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange. Even if it were true that freedom does not require alternative possibilities, Banezians have a grounding problem.

- by James Dominic Rooney
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- Philosophy Of Religion, Free Will, Divine Providence, Determinism

[Proofs; please cite published version] What is so appealing about the figure of the master-criminal? The answer lies in the kind of solution it provides to the problem of suffering. Rather than just accounting for affliction—as, for example, does Leibniz’s theodicy—such a figure enchants it, transforming mundane objects into actual or potential clues, everyday incidents into moves in a cosmic conflict, random misery into a purposeful pattern. The master-criminal (the shadowy villain of The Usual Suspects, say) thus constitutes a secular replacement for the Devil, making possible a negative re-enchantment of the world.

- by Joshua Landy
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- Philosophy, Theodicy, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Film and Philosophy

The philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz famously asked: “Why is there something rather than nothing?” His answer was that God Himself is a necessary being that could not have failed to exist. Every physical object exists because of some external explanation, but God is necessarily existent and He has no explanation for his existence other than the fact that He must exist in order for anything else to possibly exist. Why we have a world that is seemingly contingent or unnecessary (since it could have not existed) is explained by God’s just decree. For Leibniz, the world had an explanation of its existence, and because of this he advocated a principle of sufficient reason for any fact whatsoever. In this paper I examine Leibniz’s account of the principle of sufficient reason in relation to his understanding of divine and human free will and I will particularly examine an objection that accuses Leibniz’s system of being essentially fatalistic. I will concede this objection and I will argue against Leibniz’s account of the principle of sufficient reason, arguing that a weaker principle is essential for one not to devolve into theological fatalism. As a result, I will describe an account of free will as given by philosophers that is not bound by the stricter principle but by the weaker principle and I will describe the theological benefits that such a view of free will shall bestow upon the philosophical theologian who, like Leibniz, desires to know more about God’s necessary and contingent properties.

- by Ariel Gonzalez
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- Religion, Philosophy, Analytic Philosophy, Philosophy Of Religion

Montaner, Alberto, Política, historia y drama en el cerco de Zamora: La «Comedia segunda de las Mocedades del Cid» de Guillén de Castro, Zaragoza, Prensas Universitarias, Universidad, 1989, 220 pp. + [2] h. (Humanidades, 11).— ISBN... more

- by Alberto Montaner
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- Political Theory, History of Political Thought, Epic poetry, Divine Providence

An attempt to reconcile an Augustinian view of God's sovereignty with petitionary prayer. In simple terms, "if God is in complete control of all events in the universe - and ordains all of them - what is the point of asking him for things in prayer? Petitionary prayer still serves a purpose if you have the right view of prayer, which is that it's primarily about changing our character rather than changing the future.

- by Grant Glover
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- Systematic Theology, Philosophical Theology, Sovereignty, Prayer

Chi ha letto Amleto o Ecuba con gli occhi dello specialista ne ha spesso sottolineato il carattere naif, probabilmente a buon diritto. Io non voglio qui soffermarmi sul valore della sua tesi interpretativa, ma piuttosto tentare di leggere il libro di Schmitt (così come egli ha letto l'Amleto) come un testo non conchiuso, eccentrico, che ruota intorno a un oggetto diverso da quello che in apparenza tratta: Amleto o Ecuba è un testo di critica letteraria, ma è anche qualcosa in più. L'argomento di questa presentazione si può sintetizzare in tre punti:
(1) in Amleto o Ecuba sono applicati all'ambito estetico due concetti («irruzione [Einbruch]» e «gioco [Spiel]») che rivestono un ruolo centrale in una certa fase del pensiero schmittiano, e che assumono il loro significato più pregnante in relazione ai temi del politico e della filosofia della storia;
(2) dietro l'interesse per i problemi interpretativi dell'Amleto, Schmitt lascia emergere – attraverso una sorta di implicita analogia – la questione che in quel momento avverte con più urgenza, ovvero il problema del senso della storia;
(3) non soltanto la ricostruzione dello sfondo aiuta a comprendere meglio Amleto o Ecuba, ma quest'ultimo è a sua volta un contributo alla comprensione del rapporto fra l'ambito teologico e quello storico-politico nel pensiero di Schmitt.

- by Andrea Mossa
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- Political Theology, Carl Schmitt, Divine Providence, Hamlet
- by John C . Peckham
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- Doctrine of God, Attributes of God, Divine Providence, Doctrine of the Trinity

La versión impresa de este vigésimo número cuenta con nueve artículos. El de Pablo Adrián CAVALLERO es la segunda parte de la traducción y texto griego de la Exagogé de Ezequiel, publicados en Circe 19. El investigador avanza en el comentario del texto, ubicado en los comienzos del género trágico en la época bizantina. Soledad CORREA, por su parte, acude a las Epistulae Morales de Séneca, compuestas poco antes de su muerte, en el año 65, para observar cómo el escritor romano configura su ethos discursivo y cómo construye su propia imagen verbal en carácter de autor para influir en las representaciones y en la opinión del receptor.
En el campo de la filosofía, Manuel BERRÓN analiza un pasaje específico de Sobre la generación y la corrupción (GC 2. 10) de Aristóteles y demuestra la hipótesis de que nos encontramos en la presencia de una genuina demostración científica y que esta prueba introduce la explicación por la causa eficiente. Mariana Romina SIMON se aboca a los discursos de Ayante y Odiseo del filósofo Antístenes para rastrear posibles vinculaciones entre filosofía, sofística y poesía, mediante un elemento clave de la concepción antisténica acerca del lenguaje: la noción de χρῆσις τῶν ὀνομάτων (“uso de los nombres”). Completan los temas filosóficos el artículo de David T. RUNIA sobre los modos en que Filón de Alejandría interpreta y utiliza el Fedón de Platón, y el mío propio sobre el concepto prónoia –o providencia– en Filón. RUNIA, el filonista más destacado en la actualidad, nacido en Holanda y establecido en Melbourne (Australia), honró nuestra publicación con un trabajo que traduje del inglés y que cubre un aspecto poco frecuentado en la obra filónica, la influencia de los temas del Fedón, tales como el descenso del alma al cuerpo en términos de metempsicosis o reencarnación. Paola DRUILLE elige aspectos históricos y una metodología filológica y traduce por primera vez al español dos inscripciones entre los siglos II a.C. y I d.C., que compara con Contra Flaco 74 de Filón de Alejandría para demostrar y analizar la existencia de la gerousía en la comunidad judía de Alejandría en esa época.
Estefanía SOTTOCORNO hace su aportación con un trabajo sobre el De dogmatibus ecclesiasticis de Genadio de Marsella, autor del siglo V, más conocido por su De viris illustribus, que sigue la huella del escrito homónimo de Jerónimo. De dogmatibus ecclesiasticis es una colección de comentarios sucintos sobre aspectos variados del dogma cristiano con desviaciones propias del arrianismo. Luciano SABATTINI por su parte reflexiona sobre los estudios de griego y de latín de las universidades, a los que se propone defender pero alejado de argumentos eurocéntricos, porque estos contribuyen con la colonización cultural de nuestra región; por el contrario, prefiere una perspectiva comprometida con el pluralismo y la multiculturalidad de Iberoamérica.
Seis reseñas, firmadas por Raquel MIRANDA, Paola DRUILLE, Laura PÉREZ, Mariana CASADO, Gustavo FERNÁNDEZ WALKER y Marta ALESSO, se publican en esta ocasión.

- by Marta Alesso and +5
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- Philosophy, Philo of Alexandria, Divine Providence, Phaedo
- by Nicolas Lévi
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- Stoicism, Latin Epic, Lucan, Roman Stoicism

Much of chapters 2 to 6 is in agreement with publications from the last twenty years (including those of the reviewer); so for example Frede’s points that neither Aristotle nor the Stoics had a notion of free-will; that in Epictetus (for the first time) the notions of freedom and will were combined; that an indeterminist notion of free-will occurs first in Alexander. The achievement of these chapters lies in the way Frede carefully joins them together and uses them as a basis for some substantive criticism and rewriting of the history of free-will regarding late antique Pagan and Christian authors, in particular Plotinus, Origen and Augustine.

The divine preparation of times by forerunners, cultural, social events leading up to the Reformation. Hezekiah, Jesus, Paul, Geert Grote, Jan Hus, John Wycliffe, Savonarola, the influence of the printing of Bibles. The printed bibles... more

- by Bruno Van de Vliet
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- Reformation Studies, Martin Luther, Divine Providence, Girolamo Savonarola
- by Aaron Tugendhaft
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- Religion, Comparative Religion, Mythology And Folklore, Mythology

According to Aquinas, divine omniscience, omnipotence and providence, do not contradict the existence of either true contingency in the natural world or freedom but, on the contrary, they support them. In short, the two peculiarities of the doctrine of providence in St. Thomas here exposed are: first, that God's will is the ultimate foundation of all contingency (and not merely the deficiency of secondary causes); second, that the divine causality cannot be reduced to any of the two groups of created causes (necessary or contingent) but it is only known to us by analogy.

- by David Torrijos-Castrillejo
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- Philosophy, Metaphysics, Medieval Philosophy, Philosophy Of Religion

40 essays by Ronnie Hsia, Ulrich Leinsle, Marius Reiser, Thomas Marschler, Trent Pomplun, Jean-Louis Quantin, William O'Brien SJ, Stefania Tutino, Carl Trueman, Andreas Beck, Willem van Asselt, Eric Carlsson, Stephen Hampton, Benjamin Mayes, Robert Kolb, Risto Saarinnen, Ola Tjorholm, Sarah Mortimer, Jeff Bach, Keith Stanglin, Hartmut Lehmann, Jonathan Strom, Craig Atwood, Stephen Burnett, Emanuele Colombo, Aza Goudriaan, Carolina Armenteros, Eric Watkins, Maria Rosa Antognazza, Stephen Gaukroger, Jonathan Israel, John Henry.

- by Ulrich L. Lehner
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- Religion, Christianity, New Religious Movements, Comparative Religion

If God is all-powerful and entirely good and loving, why is there so much evil in the world? Based on a close canonical reading of Scripture, this book offers a new approach to one of the most troubling challenges facing Christian theism: reconciling the Christian confession of a loving God with the realities of suffering and evil. John Peckham offers a constructive proposal for a theodicy of love that upholds both the sovereignty of God and significant human freedom. Peckham suggests that God's love is at the center of a cosmic drama that provides significant insights into the problem of evil. The author shows how Scripture points toward this cosmic conflict framework for thinking about God's character of love in relation to the world. Professors and students of theology, philosophy, and apologetics will value this work. http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/theodicy-of-love/390170

- by John C . Peckham
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- Theodicy, Free Will, Problem of Evil, The Problem of Evil

A recently discovered political and legal treatise, Antineutralidad (1640), has been attracting attention in scholarship. This paper extensively scrutinizes the dating and authorship of the text. Sources found in several European archives have made it possible to establish with certainty the authorship of Diego Saavedra Fajardo and the precise period in which Antineutralidad was written (between January and March 1640). This determination is backed by a comparative analysis of early modern texts. Lastly, explorations based on themes and inner logic reveal highly sophisticated and superior planning, argumentation, structural cohesion and innovation, qualities which ennabled the author to create an overarching framework to defend the House of Austria, including key German and European political and legal themes, integrated and fused with both Spanish Habsburg and Christian universalist thinking.

There are many tragic, often horrific, things that happen in life. Some are due to human actions, either intentionally (e.g. the Las Vegas shooting, school shootings, ISIS-inspired killings) or unintentionally (e.g. parent forgets child is in back seat of car and child dies from heat). Others are due to nature, such as natural disasters (e.g. floods, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes), flawed genetic makeup (e.g. mental and physical deformities), and diseases. Are Christians required to believe that all of these things are part of God's plan and, therefore, they happen for a reason? I will examine this topic in this paper.

- by Dennis Linscomb
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- Christianity, Calvinism, Free Will, Problem of Evil

במאמר זה אני מגיש למעיין את היסטוריית הפירושים למאמרו של ר' עקיבא במסכת אבות המציג לכאורה סתירה פנימית.

- by ephraim chamiel
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- Jewish Studies, Ethics and Religion, Jewish Philosophy, Maimonides

Augustine and Aquinas were absolutely pivotal in the development of the theological understanding of the reality of grace in the history of Christianity. Augustine first deferred to an unsearchable mystery and later became overzealous against the Pelagians, erroring on the side of God’s initiative in grace. Aquinas, on the other hand, integrated all of the profound and legitimate insights of Augustine on grace but balanced the scales, so to speak, between God’s omnibenevolent, omnipotent will and the fully free human cooperation with his will.

- by Chase J Cloutier
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- Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Theology of Thomas Aquinas, Augustine of Hippo
- by Lori Rose
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- Theology, Old Testament Theology, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology

In this inaugural debate to the “Essential Christian Debates” series, Christopher M. Date and Gil VanOrder Jr. examine the biblical teaching and philosophical implications of individual predestination to salvation. Does the Calvinistic position, as taught, render God a moral monster? Conversely, would the Arminian position logically lead one to pray like the Pharisee, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men?” A Calvinist and an Arminian tackle these pressing questions, among others, and explore a number of key biblical teachings, taking us beyond the caricatures of each position. This debate is for both beginning and experienced students of Scripture and provides an indispensible resource on a controversial topic hotly debated within the church for centuries.

- by Christopher M Date
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- Calvinism, Soteriology, Divine Providence, Predestination

Extensive Stoic and middle platonist influence in Plotinus’ thought has been amply documented; we are told by his pupil Porphyry that ‘’his writings are full of concealed Stoic and Peripatetic doctrines’’ (Henry lvi); a paper by P.A. Meijer has convincingly argued for an important degree of stoic influence in Enn. VI, 9, 1 citing similarities with Seneca, for example. This paper aims to examine possible Stoic influences in Plotinus’ treatise “On Providence” (Enneads 3.2 & 3.3). Notions and arguments that seem strongly Stoic abound. Bréhier has pointed out the numerous Stoic borrowings, especially in chapters 5 and 6 (22). For concision’s sake, fourteen will be listed and compared with similar stoic passages from Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius (who like Plotinus lived in Rome) , with a particular emphasis on Seneca’s De Providentia.

- by Mark Lamarre
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- Ethics, Classics, Plato, Stoicism