In 1598 English Protestant John Rainolds (Reynolds) published a dialogue he had engaged in with Catholic John Hart. One line of argument linked the transition from Israel’s Old Covenant ceremonies and worship with a challenge to Roman “Judaizing.” It was a popular argument, going . . . . Continue Reading »
NPP types often claim that the Reformers projected their own issues back into their interpretations of Paul. No doubt that happened, but (influenced by Augustine’s treatment of Pauline theology) they were more careful to note that Paul’s central concern was with Jew/Gentile questions . . . . Continue Reading »
In a letter to Landgrave Philip of Hesse, Martin Bucer said, “On our side [i.e., the Reformers’] some of us have come, in the heat of the struggle, to make constant imputations against our adversaries of which they know themselves not guilty, and of which we shall never be able to . . . . Continue Reading »
The notion that the great sages of pagan antiquity got their ideas from Moses did not die with the Fathers. In the mid-seventeenth century, Theophilus Gale gave a massive defense of the same argument: “the wisest of the Heathens stole their choisest Notions and Comtempations, both Philologic, and . . . . Continue Reading »
Jonathan Sheehan had a fascinating article in the Journal of the History of Ideas several years ago, in which he explored the uses of the categories of “idolatry” and “sacrifice” in early modern theology, comparative religious studies, and politics. Along the way, he cited a . . . . Continue Reading »
Lewis Mumford writes of the medieval organization of space: “The highest object in the city was the church spire which pointed toward heaven and dominated all the lesser buildings, as the church dominated their hopes and fears. Space was divided arbitrarily to represent the seven virtues or . . . . Continue Reading »
Muir again: “Images . . . ate up pious resources that could better be spent in assisting the poor, whom Zwingli described as the true ‘image’ of God. The hope of reformers such as Zwingli was that the assets devoted to paying for religious images, endowing perpetual masses, and . . . . Continue Reading »
The Spanish brought Christian rituals to the Indians, and teh Indians taught Christians a thing or two as well. Columbus discovered that the Indians fasted and abstained from sex before searching for gold, and Columbus imposed the same purification rites on his men. Indians adopted Christians . . . . Continue Reading »
Say what you will about the medievals, they had the courage of their convictions. The Son of God became man? Well, then, he had to become man from head to toe, and have a penis like other men. Edward Muir ( Ritual in Early Modern Europe (New Approaches to European History) ) writes: “in . . . . Continue Reading »
A genealogy of ideas worth pondering: English utilitarians formulate a theory of “enlightened self-interest” as a guide for human and social action. Inspired by the utilitarians, Chernyshevsky formulates his “rationali egoism,” embodied in his novel What Is To Be Done? . . . . Continue Reading »
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