In philosophy, dialectic means a lot of things to a lot of different people. It is, in its most simple form, the understanding of when two parties engage with one another in an inquiry or conflict that, upon finishing, leads to a closer understanding of the truth. We should avoid applying the Hegelian and Marxist … Continue reading Dialectic in the Hebrew Bible
Bible
Typology and Logos in the Gospel of John
The opening prologue of the gospel of St. John is theologically rich, puzzling, and poetic, thereby imbuing it with rich symbolism and imagery. The declaration that “In the beginning was the Word…[and] through him was life, and that life was the light of all humanity. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn. 1:1-5), … Continue reading Typology and Logos in the Gospel of John
Dialectic and the Wisdom of Listening: Reflections on the Book of Job
“You’re not listening.” This simple phrase is one of the most cliché, but poignantly true, sentences concerning human existence. Just a Kohelet stated that there is time for everything under the sun, it is important, then, to know when the time is to speak and when the time is to listen. This is especially true … Continue reading Dialectic and the Wisdom of Listening: Reflections on the Book of Job
Lex Talionis and the Principle of Limitation
Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. That passage from Leviticus is often derided as, or pointed to for evidence of, “biblical harshness.” The principle of the passage is not unique to the Bible, however, for the code of legal retaliation is found in all Near Eastern law codes. In comparison to the … Continue reading Lex Talionis and the Principle of Limitation
Aquinas on Free Will, Sin, and Ethics
Does freedom entail responsibility, punishment, and reward? What is the role of compulsion, will, and choice in human action? St. Thomas Aquinas vigorously defended the reality of free will, not simply because he felt that it was divinely revealed—“He himself made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his counsel” (Sirach … Continue reading Aquinas on Free Will, Sin, and Ethics
Augustine’s City of God, IX: Understanding Augustine’s Hermeneutic
Part of Augustine’s ecclesiological hermeneutic which is developed more fully in the City of God is already a well-established hermeneutic in the early church: The Christological, Ecclesiological, and Spiritual reading of Scripture. However, Augustine provides the first arguable systematic account of this ecclesiological-allegorical hermeneutical lens especially from within the confines of covenant theology. While there … Continue reading Augustine’s City of God, IX: Understanding Augustine’s Hermeneutic
Augustine on Christ, Time, and Eternity in Genesis 1
Saint Augustine’s Confessions is one of the most famous works of spiritual autobiography and, in the minds of many contemporary psychoanalysts and phenomenologists, the spiritual forerunner to psychological interiority and phenomenology. The book is not excessively long, but it is exceptionally dense; particularly Books X-XIII which shift from spiritual autobiographical confession to psychological, philosophical, and … Continue reading Augustine on Christ, Time, and Eternity in Genesis 1
