Murphy offers an amusing discussion of the question, Assuming a Cartesian dualism of mind and body, how can the mind cause a physical object like the body to move? If one assumes that physicists are correct that physical energy can be transferred to a physical system, it has to arise from a physical system, then a mind-body division like that of Descartes becomes inexplicable. She quotes Owen Flanagan: “If we accept the principle of the conservation of energy we seem... Read more
Murphy makes this interesting comment, which she admits is an oversimplification: “the adoption of a dualist anthropology in the early centuries of the church was largely responsible for changing Christians’ conception of what Christianity is basically all about. I am suggesting that original Christianity is better understood in socio-political terms than in terms of what is currently thought of as religious or metaphysical. The adoption of a dualist anthrpology provided something different . . . with which Christians became primarily... Read more
In her Bodies and Souls, or Spirited Bodies? (Cambridge, 2006), Nancey Murphy argues for a non-reductionist version of physicalism on the question of the “body-soul” problem: “This is the view that humans are composed of only one ‘part,’ a physical body.” She spends a bit over six pages near the beginning of the book reviewing the biblical evidence. She lists a number of passages from the OT that indicate the “soul” (NEPHESH) can be “torn or stabbed” and even “thrown... Read more
Writing in 1945, Arnold Nash wrote that “On the fundamental questions of life and destiny, as Kierkegaard has reminded modern man, neutrality is impossible. Even to take up a neutral position is to take up some position.” The philosophy of the liberal university, “whose fundamental tenets are that man, if not perfect, is, like the world itself, slowly getting better, and that pre-suppositionless science, as the only way of reaching truth, is the main agent whereby – through education –... Read more
Kevin Vanhoozer wisely warns against hermeneutical all-or-nothingism: “Interpretation is not an all-or-nothing affair. We need not choose between a meaning that is wholly determinate and a meaning that is wholly undeterminate. Neither need we choose between a meaning that is fully present and a meaning that is forever deferred . . . . There is something in the text that can be known, though perhaps not exhausively. We must therefore distinguish between the inexhaustibility of meaning and its indeterminacy .... Read more
All truth is unified and coheres. That’s true, and is not only inherent in the definition of “truth” but a specifically Christian confession: In Him who is Truth, all things hold together. But – how do all things cohere? What kind of picture of “coherence” are we working with? Do all things cohere in the way the jagged pieces of a jigsaw fit into a single picture, with neatly geometric borders? Or do all things cohere in the way the... Read more
INTRODUCTION What is God up to in the world? We saw last week that God is at work to perfect His people, to bring them to maturity, and to glorify us and the world. But the Bible also describes God’s work in the world with the word “righteousness.” Paul claims that the gospel is all about the revelation of God’s righteousness, and Jesus pronounces blessing on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Establishing righteousness means making war against unrighteousness.... Read more
Revelation 19:7-9: Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. If you’ve been married for more than five years, you can anticipate what your spouse is going to say or do next. You can finish his sentences; you know what story or joke is going to come next; you could order a meal without consulting her; you know how he will react... Read more
When Elijah prayed, James tells us, the Lord shut up the sky for three years and six months. Elijah prayed again, and the heavens poured rain and the land was restored. Elijah clearly prayed according to God’s will. But how did he know? Did Elijah decide to pray for drought after God said, “I’m going to send a drought”? Was it just dumb luck? More relevantly, is this something we should be able to do? Or is it only for... Read more
Would the Son have been incarnate if Adam had not sinned? 1 Corinthians 15:44-45 provides a prooftext for an affirmative answer. Verse 44 says that the “spiritual body” is implied by the existence of the “natural body.” Human beings were created in a natural state, but they were destined from the beginning to be transfigured into what Paul is calling a spiritual condition. (more…) Read more
Leithart
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In