There are problems all over the place in Panikkar’s Trinitarian theology, but there are some lovely, profound passages, like this: “A non-trinitarian God cannot ‘mingle’ much less unite himself with Man without destroying himself. He would have to remain aloof, isolated. No . . . . Continue Reading »
Why did Jesus refer to the Father as “my God”? Perhaps to head off reasoning such as this (Panikkar, The Trinity and the religious experience of man;: Icon-person-mystery ): “God is only God for the creature and with reference to it. God is not ‘God’ for himself. The . . . . Continue Reading »
A splendid Dostoevskyan passage from Bonhoeffer’s ethics speaks for itself. “The place where this recognition of guilt becomes real is the Church . . . .If my share in this is so small as to seem negligible, that still cannot set my mind at rest; for now it is not a matter of . . . . Continue Reading »
For a man in the disunited state of sin, each individual is a standard and criterion of good and truth. Thus, Bonhoeffer argues, the essence of fallen man is to be a judge. Obviously, this is a false judgment, since it does not arise out of union with God. Reversing common sense, Bonhoeffer says . . . . Continue Reading »
Bonhoeffer ( Ethics ) sees conscience as a manifestation of the “disunited” man after the fall. Instead of finding knowledge in union with God, conscience draws us to ourselves. We want to know the truth and the good by reference to ourselves as the origin. Conscience “derives the . . . . Continue Reading »
Sacrifices are a “memorial of sin” (Hebrews 10:3). Every morning and evening, Israel’s sins were memorialized before Yahweh, even as they were atoned for. Satan accuses “day and night” (Revelation 12:10). He is the accuser, and at every morning and evening sacrifice, . . . . Continue Reading »
Encouragingly, the Mercersberg revival continues apace. Phillip Ross has recently released a new edition of Nevin’s classic on Eucharistic theology, The True Mystery of The Mystical Presence . Ross has updated Nevin’s language and clarified his obscurities, trying to make Nevin speak in . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 24:1-6 has an intricate structure, much of it with a numerological thrust. In the opening verse, Yahweh devastates the earth in a fourfold act - emptying ( baqaq ), laying it waste ( balaq ), twisting (’ avah ) its face, and scattering ( putz ) its inhabitants. The four verbs reinforce . . . . Continue Reading »
In a 1995 piece in Critical Inquiry , Susan Fraiman defends Austen from the charges directed at her in Edward Said’s famous study of Austen and imperialism. Fraiman doesn’t think Said is a very careful reader: His “rendering of Austen is . . . enabled, I would argue, by . . . . Continue Reading »
Deepak Lal again, criticizing the leftist moralism of the NGOs and the rightwing moralism of neoconservatives: “The attempt to create an international moral order, either by the transnational route advocated by the global salvationists [NGOs] or by the exercise of U.S. imperial power as . . . . Continue Reading »
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