Poster from the 1880s, regarding the famous novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, published in 1886. [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] This very day, I received the following two remarkably divergent replies from atheists or agnostics here at Patheos, within a few hours of each other: 1) “I have only had the pleasure of interacting with you on here for a few weeks, but from what I have seen you are a very fair and honest person. You just happen... Read more
Corner of the Eagle and Child (“Bird and baby”) pub in Oxford, where the Inklings (a group of Oxford friends, centering around Lewis) met from 1930-1950. Photograph by Tom Murphy VII, 25 August 2005. [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] J.R.R. Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, was a close Lewis friend and one of the Inklings. He thought that Lewis didn’t become Catholic largely or mainly because of a residual Belfast prejudice from his upbringing. Many Lewis biographers agree. This... Read more
Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci (a polymath) by Francesco Melzi (1493-1570) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] This exchange occurred in the combox for my post, Clarifications re: Atheist “Reductio” Paper. My opponent’s (JD Eveland’s) words will be in blue. He has very impressive credentials: a Ph.D. and various professorships. He claims to be a “polymath” too: which means a great genius, with expertise in many fields. This title has been applied to men like Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, and Isaac Newton. I’m honored to have been... Read more
Bishops at Vatican II (photo by Lothar Wolleh) [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] . . . including reflections on traditionalist objections to the term, “Radtrad.” (23 August 2013) As in all such discussions, I always have to clarify that I draw a very sharp distinction between mainstream, legitimate Catholic traditionalists (whom I often agree with) and radical Catholic reactionaries (my own coined term), with whom I rarely agree when they get into preaching / reforming mode. I wrote... Read more
[Pixabay / CC0 Public Domain] This exchange took place in the combox of my post, Why Did a Perfect God Create an Imperfect World? The words of “MountainDewFan4” will be in blue. * * * * * So many people think they could do a better job at being God than God does. Atheists love to do this; but not a few Christians fall into the same foolish trap, too. OK, I can agree that god can not create perfect humans. Otherwise they would also be gods … but why didn’t... Read more
The great Anglican apologist C. S. Lewis was raised in Belfast. I believe it’s “hearsay” evidence, but for what it’s worth, I once heard Catholic philosopher and apologist Peter Kreeft in a radio interview speak about a discussion between Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien (of Lord of the Rings fame), in which Lewis was asked why he hadn’t become a Catholic. Lewis is reputed to have replied (paraphrase): “If you had grown up in Belfast, you would understand... Read more
Fire sunset hd wallpaper [http://widehdwalls.com] This is a follow-up to my post, Analysis of “Hoping All Will be Saved” / …Hell is Empty”; specifically, the following portion in it: We know that hell is not empty from the following passage (among others): Revelation 20:13-15 (RSV) And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. [14] Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; [15]... Read more
Leprechaun, by Ignacio Leo [Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license] This was a discussion in one of my comboxes, under my post, Why Did a Perfect God Create an Imperfect World? * * * * * Mark Moore: I have heard students of Lord of the Rings, Star Trek and other fictional tales discuss them in a similar way, parsing the language, making inferences. Arguing over what an orc or a Klingon might or might not do. Logic without testing... Read more
Calvin, by Georg Osterwald (1803-1884) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] It’s usually thought that, among the founders of Protestantism, Martin Luther was the most (relatively) “Catholic” and “traditional.” That is true; however, it may surprise many to know how many traditional (literally or substantially Catholic) beliefs that John Calvin also retained. He was probably even more influential on the history of subsequent Protestantism than Luther was. The following quotes were all taken (save #2 and #1) from his quintessential work, Institutions... Read more
Portrait of Jean Calvin, by Titian (1490-1576) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] [A]lthough the Greek Fathers, above others, and especially Chrysostom, have exceeded due bounds in extolling the powers of the human will, yet all ancient theologians, with the exception of Augustine, are so confused, vacillating, and contradictory on this subject, that no certainty can be obtained from their writings. It is needless, therefore, to be more particular in enumerating every separate opinion. (Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book II, 2:4)... Read more
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