According to F. Copleston the Greek Fathers were generally influenced by Platonism and neo-Platonic philosophy. He says of St. Gregory:
St. Gregory’s “Platonism” in regard to universals comes out clearly in his De hominis opificio, where he distinguishes the heavenly man, the ideal man, the universal, from the earthly man, the object of experience. The former, [...]
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Posted in 20th Cent. Theologians, Apologetics, Augustine, Cornelius Van Til, Epistemology, Etienne Gilson, History, Philosophy, Theology, tagged antithesis, Medieval, truth on May 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
As I read it is becoming more clear to me that folks like Van Til, Schaeffer, and Bahnsen did not invent the idea that Modern Philosophy has borrowed turf from Christianity. Van Til was critical of Medieval Philosophy for being too rationalistic but Ettiene Gilson in his The Spirit of Mediaeval Philosophy argues that Modern [...]
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Posted in Doctrine of God, Ethics, Metaphysics, Philosophy, Philosophy/Theology, Soteriology, Theology, tagged being, Exitus/Reditus, Pure Act on May 27, 2008 | 8 Comments »
Assuming God is Pure Act and evil is privation, human becoming is for the sake of being. In other words if all of life is worship and worship is a return to God through act and if a return assumes a separation (per a corrupted being) then becoming more like God is for the sake [...]
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Posted in Christology, Contemp Theologians, Cosmology, Doctrine of God, Jean-Pierre Torrell, Medieval Authors, Philosophy/Theology, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Theology, Thomas Aquinas, tagged Logos, Trinity on May 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
When Thomas Aquinas wrote his commentary on Peter Lombard’s Sentences he placed God at the center and everything else in relation to Him, emanating out in creation and returning in final glorification. Jean-Pierre Torrell explains the organizing ratio of this plan:
If we do not remember the biblical affirmation of God as the Alpha and Omega of all [...]
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Posted in Ancient Philosophers, Aristotle, Eucharist, Medieval Authors, Metaphysics, Parmenides, Philosophy, Soteriology, Theology, Thomas Aquinas, tagged becoming, being, imago dei, potency/act, union with christ on May 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Parmenides argued that a particular being cannot become another particular being. For example air cannot become fire but must first cease to be air as such. The change of air to fire would be in this case a mere replacement of one being for another. Aristotle answered this problem with his distinction between three factors [...]
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Posted in 20th Cent. Theologians, Aesthetics, Ancient Philosophers, Frederick Copleston, Metaphysics, Philosophy, Plato, tagged beauty, form, reality, universals on May 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Contrary to what many, including myself, have been taught Frederick Copleston argues that Plato did not consider the Forms to exist apart from particulars in terms of space. He explains:
Beauty in itself or Absolute Beauty is “separate” in the sense that it is real, subsistent, but not in the sense that it is in a [...]
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Posted in Anaxagorus, Ancient Philosophers, Bible, Catherine Pickstock, Contemp Theologians, Cosmology, Doctrine of God, Medieval Authors, Metaphysics, Philosophy, Philosophy/Theology, Plato, Theology, Thomas Aquinas, tagged creation, hebrews, Logos, universals on May 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Commenting on Hebrews 11:3 St. Thomas notes:
… it must be known that the Word of God is the very concept of God, by which He understands Himself and other things. We see this when an artisan, producing something outside himself, makes it unto the likeness of his concept …. Since the whole creation is perfectly [...]
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Posted in 20th Cent. Theologians, Ancient Philosophers, Aristotle, Epistemology, Frederick Copleston, Metaphysics, Philosophy, Plato, tagged forms, universals on May 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
… the essence of Plato’s doctrine of Forms or Ideas is simply this: that the universal concept is not an abstract form devoid of objective content or references, but that to each true universal concept there corresponds an objective reality. How far Aristotle’s criticism of Plato (that the latter hypostatised the objective reality of the [...]
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Posted in Contemp Theologians, Doctrine of God, Jean-Luc Marion, Philosophy, Psychology, Theology, tagged apologetics, atheism, idol, Sigmund Freud on May 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
[*I wrote this a few months back somewhere else]
Freud’s problem is that he did not understand the distinction between idol and icon which is detrimental to the validity of the Christian creed of belief in God. According to Jean-Luc Marion the idol is an invisible mirror reflecting the visible whereas an icon is a visible [...]
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Oliver Sack’s book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain looks fascinating. From the summary he tells of patients with Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s who seem to be completely healed when listening to music. Check it out:
This gives a new perspective on David’s healing harp.
[PS: Ed, I haven't forgotten ... will [...]
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