:
Socrates had it exactly backwards. It is not that “the unexamined life is not worth …
:
Brad Littlejohn has out today a clever five-part vehicular typology of LLM use, riffing on Steve …
:
complementary hues and honey
When I encounter something foreign to me, I do not want to see only that which is my own. Instead, …
:
Paul and the descendants of Israel
Jason Staples’ Paul and the Resurrection of Israel: Jews, Former Gentiles, Israelites was one …
:
When writing the First Piano Concerto, surely Brahms must have been thinking of the Mozart D minor …
:
Machine and Mammon: redux
No, I still haven’t read Paul Kingsnorth’s Against the Machine — it feels like a book I …
:
what is it like to be an Atlantic columnist?
This is a fascinating story in The Atlantic on the scholarship (and, inevitably, politics) of …
:
science and faith
The investigative practices of the early modern sciences, when they function solely as regulative …
:
presence and rest
In Exodus 33:12–13, Moses famously pleads with the LORD to not abandon Israel after her apostasy …
:
special general hermeneutics
It is not at all that the word of man in the Bible has an abnormal significance and function. We …
:
Most time-tested schools of thought ultimately converge, in some form, on one of two answers about …
:
“[Perhaps] it’s true that the surest path to certain kinds of scientific knowledge is the …
:
machine and Mammon
In a fabulous essay on the ambiguities of Paul Kingsnorth’s lifelong project as summed up in his new …
:
the Church of Christ
A spectacular (and spectacularly long) passage from Barth on the church: To understand this we must …
:
of sainthood and St.
I was asked the other day to explain my habitual use of the honorific “St.” — e.g., St. …
:
the case of Wagner
As an example of Wagner’s misunderstanding of his own expressivist genius, take his most …
:
expressivism & classicism
The great works of European art music exist in an aesthetic field defined by the dipole of …
:
the "rebellious" Son
If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice …
:
A fantastic essay from Zac Koons, including this stellar line: “The rapid creep of AI into …
:
seismographs of resonance
The safety of home, the allure of afar: … modern everyday culture ceaselessly evokes and reproduces …
:
Sketch for a longer reflection: St. Paul’s supposedly negative statements about the Law are in fact …
:
the sure tradition
A genius little summary from St. Irenaeus, near the close of his great book, of the seven essentials …
:
To have the Holy Spirit is to let God, rather than our having God, be our confidence. — Karl …
:
communio sanctorum peccatorum
In the dogmatic and theological history of every age, not excluding that of Protestantism, secular …
:
keeping score of Claude
There is much hype afoot about LLMs now being suitable “research assistants” or …
:
Psalm 51 and exile
The superscription of Psalm 51 links that most famous and gut-wrenching of repentance Psalms …
:
Brahms, modernity, and tradition
I have written suspiciously little about music for a blog entitled “Program Notes”. …
:
Life-works left resonantly unfinished at their creators’ deaths: St. Thomas’ Summa …
:
said, say
Our dogmatic labours can and should be guided by results which are venerable because they are …
:
disinterest in history
From the latest story about how LLMs are destroying higher education: Lee explained to me that by …
:
containing the curse
When one prays repeatedly through the Psalter in sequence, one tends to start noticing patterns in …
:
the music of creation
St. Irenaeus analogizes the diversity-in-order of creation to a musical instrument being played: …
:
Good Friday
When better than Good Friday to remember that, astoundingly, Lamentations 3 is in the Bible? I am …
:
circle of blame
Achilleus (Iliad, 24.525–533): "Such is the way the gods spun life for unfortunate mortals,
that we …
:
LLMs and education
Note: Hand over heart, I substantially drafted this post — including its core conceit — long before …
:
twelve theses and predictions on "AGI" (falsely so-called)
“Artificial general intelligence,” defined as “a computer able to do any …
:
daily office observations: feasts and followers
:
friction and discovery
[Discovering] things is much more gratifying if there has been some difficulty in the search for …
:
the Gospel’s whole way of life
A great little aside in St. Basil’s On the Holy Spirit (15.35, p. 68 in PP42): The Lord, therefore, …
:
Justin Smith-Ruiu: “[My] concern is not that we’re overestimating what machines might soon be …
:
synchronic limits / diachronic promise
[N]arrative-critical insights are achieved precisely by setting aside the conventional diachronic …
:
hermeneutics, by Origen
[The] aim of that divine power, which bestowed upon us the sacred Scriptures, is that we should not …
: the threefold Gospel The Gospel always says: Yes, then No, and then Yes again — and Amen.
:
devotion
“The graven images of their gods shall you burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the …
:
hear now the parable...
This morning in our Daily Office readings my wife and I reached Luke 8, which contains St. …
:
Autodidacticism is in the air.
:
the Plato project
Reflections on Plato’s dialogues — or, if I break it out as a separate post, links to …
:
pivoting to Plato
With the beginning of this year, I have determined to patch some of the (very large) holes in my …
:
Justin on Scripture
If [you have quoted this passage] because you imagined that you could throw doubt on the …
:
from first principles
My reading project on the concept of tradition commences in earnest with Origen’s De …
:
the inexhaustible wealth of the real
A rich, and pointed, passage by Sertillanges on the intellectual’s need to be solitary but not …
:
liturgia in via
Subject for further reflection: Christ’s encounter with His two disciples on the road to …
:
a modest proposal
If a government or major corporation wants to get serious about mitigating or reversing …
:
leprosy and hermeneutics
Questions the “historical method” might ask about the “laws of leprosy” in Leviticus 13–14: What was …
:
Imperial conquest — or “national” unification by force, which is hardly so different — requires …
:
success and insight
:
building well
A good and tough word from A. G. Sertillanges: Those who aim at what is beyond their powers, and …
:
We should probably be skeptical of efforts to formulate the correct theological method in the …
:
exodus and eucharist
I’m sure everyone else has already noticed this, but in Exodus 29:38ff the twice-daily (morning …
:
Barth on Schleiermacher
A catena of quotations from Karl Barth, Protestant Theology in the Nineteenth Century: If we ask …
:
two sayings of the Lord
“‘Take away therefore the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to …
:
[The] course of History is predictable in the degree to which all men love themselves, and …
:
Barth on Hegel
In turning away from Hegel the [nineteenth century] acknowledged that, having reached the summit of …
:
notes toward a Till We Have Faces / Piranesi essay: a running compilation
:
history and/of tradition
[Both] sides in the Reformation and post-Reformation controversies seemed to conceive of tradition …
:
heresy and figurality
Athanasius’s debate with the Arians was a lectionary-based discussion, if not explicitly, a …
:
“And Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they were in his eyes but a few days because of his …
:
enoch and enosh
Though it now seems like a fairly obvious point, probably already made somewhere by St. Augustine or …
:
the eternal recurrence
Evangelical theology is trapped in a perpetual struggle between its two uneasily coexisting …
:
music as pure relationship
Here I would like to advance the admittedly speculative hypothesis that the peculiar quality of …
:
the resonance/alienation dialectic
[Our] work is not done simply by distinguishing between good resonance and bad alienation. Rather, …
:
the dialectic of absolutism
Eighteenth-century man was the man who could no longer remain ignorant of the significance of the …
:
the postmortem
Might take this down later… ——— It gives me no pleasure to have (exclusively in private) …
:
not peace, but a sword
A catena of quotations from Schweitzer’s elegant concluding chapter — whatever one makes of …
:
The dispute arises in part because there are really two types of continents: Those recognized by …
:
on voting and the resurrection
A strong co-sign to this from Matt Martens, on “The Problem of Voting for Candidates who …
:
self-determination: from voluntary to required
[While] the Enlightenment — heterogeneous, contradictory, and complex as its ideas may have been — …
:
the historical Jesus and the Germanic spirit
A truly stunning passage — nay, demolition job — on the whole historical-critical project from …
:
an exercise in Trinitarian thinking
In John 12:41, the narrator of the Fourth Gospel remarks, “Isaiah said these things because he …
:
isms and itys
Relativ-ism, plural-ism, modern-ism, secular-ism — these are agendas, characteristic to the ethos of …
:
The logic of Genesis 1:26 affirms (at least!) three statements about the imago Dei:
:
doubtful doubt
Polanyi has the rationalists’ number, a decade before Foucault et al: I do not suggest, of course, …
:
the lives we actually have
Ultimately, I do want to tell people to please try and chill out, yes. No, I don’t …
:
the fiduciary programme
I’m continuing to be amazed by the depth and prescience of Polanyi’s Personal Knowledge. …
:
The key question for critics of “theological interpretation of Scripture”: Does …
:
the syntax of god in godself
I’m quite enjoying the early pages of (the first volume of) Tom Greggs’ Dogmatic Ecclesiology. But …
:
the “dynamo-objective coupling”
A great analysis by Polanyi of the cultural structure that maintains (or at least maintained) …
:
… I suggest that an ecclesiology of brokenness is the only “right” ecclesiology …
:
Saving for myself for later: Dorothy Sayers’ hilarious essay The Greatest Single Defect of My …
:
what hath modernity wrought?
Despite the many errors and evils wrought by modern-ism in theology, I suspect that modern-ity† has …
:
the dialectic of acceptance
Three incredibly important paragraphs from Polanyi: Every acceptance of authority is qualified by …
:
waves, and which ones to ride
There is currently a discussion going on about the supposed contrast, and transition, between the …
:
“This was one of the central problems confronting all the foreign policy executives [in 1914] (and …
:
notes on Tolkien
Two notes, with no pretense to originality, from my most recent reread of The Lord of the Rings …
:
Thesis: The appearance of effortless inhumanity is practically always dependent on the sacrifice or …
:
‘Other evils there are that may come; for Sauron is himself but a servant or emissary. Yet it …
:
roots are for growing
‘Dear me! We Tooks and Brandybucks, we can’t live long on the heights.’ …
:
“Perilous to us all are the devices of an art deeper than we possess ourselves.” — Gandalf the …
:
epistemic gatekeeping and empirical evidence
We should also remember that the rules of induction have lent their support throughout the ages to …
:
power in both worlds
“The Elves may fear the Dark Lord, and they may fly before him, but never again will they listen to …
:
mcGilchrist in one sentence
“[Dynamic] relationships are not only more important than the entities related, but… ontologically …
:
evidence and science
It is the normal practice of scientists to ignore evidence which appears incompatible with the …
:
five questions for possessions
Before making a purchase, my wife and I make a habit of asking these five questions. Is it… …
:
on counter-Enlightenments
This column / book review by N. S. Lyons is worthwhile — as much for its ultimate affirmation that …
:
philosophical development
An oddity of philosophical / theological history: the great minds, whom we now remember, often …
:
truth // faithfulness to reality
[Despite] our always contributing to the reality we experience, there is something apart from …
:
New Testament Theology is...
This essay was originally written for Professor Kavin Rowe’s Spring 2023 seminar on New …
:
Trinity II.5
We may… assert that the ontological judgments of the early ecumenical creeds were the only …
:
James C. Scott’s four rules of thumb that “could make development planning less prone to disaster:” …
:
practical knowledge and “scientific” ignorance
Why, then, the unscientific scorn for practical knowledge? There are at least three reasons for it, …
:
There could be a worse hermeneutical lens (read: many, many worse lenses) for New Testament theology …
:
power, literal and figurative
[Lenin] was famous for claiming that “Communism is Soviet Power plus the Electrification of …
:
thin plans and thick cultures
Like planned cities, planned languages are indeed possible. Esperanto is one example; technical and …
:
Trinity II
I personally believe that [the doctrine of the Trinity] has constantly stimulated the course of …
:
Trinity I
The doctrine of the Trinity is the theological/philosophical apparatus necessary to talk sensibly …
:
We have together produced a type of university in which teaching and enquiry in the humanities (and …
:
nationalism and imperialism
The testimony of history suggests that the phenomena of “nation” and …
:
self-forgetting and rediscovering
Technology is the human’s achievement, not his failing even though the use he chooses to make …
:
sketchy outline for an eschatologically-oriented theological anthropology (that goes hard on the importance of the body)
Part I: Jesus the Human
:
impersonal knowledge
Why you should not use ChatGPT, large language models, or other “artificial …
:
does certainty exist?
Addendum: true personal certainty is much rarer than one thinks. Strictly speaking I am, I think, …
:
Important to explore, in all fields of life and thought: the practical difference between confidence …
:
philosophy as seeing
In a technological age, philosophy, too, tends to conceive of itself as a technē. To some writers, …
:
class and clarity
“Without even thinking about it, we in the creative class consolidate our class …
:
hermeneutical rules, according to Jesus
:
how to have a Bible study
:
aligned with the past
William Baird’s three-volume History of New Testament Research is enormously helpful as a …
:
the literal and the Word
Brevard Childs: The church’s continual struggle in understanding the literal sense of the …
:
on slavery texts in the New Testament
Five points, both historical and theological, to render credible the preaching of New Testament …
:
We come, then, to a first paradox of modernity… that its own drive has often been toward forms of …
:
divine identity
Brevard Childs: The early church’s theological reflection on the God of Israel did not turn …
:
against citation
Of course, I’m not actually against citation, in the sense of needing to show your work and …
:
There are meetings that should be emails, and emails that should be meetings; discernment (φρονήσις) …
:
martial bliss
I find the frequently-seen typo of “martial” for “marital” very funny on its own. (If — per Michael …
:
humor, fear, and trembling
Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling is a great and important philosophical work, of course; but nobody …
:
particularity and Spirit
Brevard Childs: [The] history of interpretation serves as a major check against all forms of …
:
what I’m doing here
I am testing out utilizing Micro.blog as a kind of reading journal: a low friction platform for the …
:
reading McGilchrist: Luther/Heidegger
A less critical remark about the Reformation section of The Master and His Emissary. One intriguing …
:
reading McGilchrist: Reformation
Iain McGilchrist’s The Master and His Emissary is a refreshingly ambitious, generally …