Anselm of Canterbury endeavours to prove by “plain reasoning and fact”, without resort to revelation, “as if nothing were known of Christ”, that it is necessary for the death of a God-man to save man from death so that he may enjoy eternal life. Justice, Dignity and Offense If, as Plato writes in Republic, justice is to give each his due, what is the just due creatures ought to give […]
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Tyranny in Our Time
Abuse of Names as a Herald of Tyranny The first ever political coup in the long ancient history of China was heralded by an incident in court involving abuse of names. According to the Records of the Grand Historian (史记), not long after Qin Er Shi, the youngest son of the First Emperor of Qin, succeeded the throne by killing his eldest brother, one of his scheming ministers, who helped […]
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Hurtado: The Earliest Christian Artifacts
The author of this book, Prof. Larry Hurtado, passed away on Nov. 25, 2019. When he was alive, I pestered the professor with many questions about New Testament studies. He was gracious enough to answer all these questions from a complete stranger, on one condition: I read his books. I finished this a week after his passing, partly to fulfill my promise and partly to pay tribute. Perhaps the best […]
Read moreA Stranger’s Tribute to a Scholar
Professor Larry Hurtado, a prominent New Testament scholar, passed away on Monday [1]. He was highly respected in his field, as the tribute at Christianity Today and others posted by his colleagues and students can attest. Although a stranger living on another continent, he had a significant impact on me. Until about three years ago, I didn’t know that New Testament study was a serious scholarly discipline. I think it […]
Read moreWhat is Humility: In Praise of Offense
You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance. –Psalm 66:11-12 A Personal Story Let me preface this story by saying that I’ve lived a mostly sheltered life, and therefore am the least justified to take offence at anyone. I […]
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I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues. To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one’s self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one’s own powers.” –Sherlock Holmes “The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter Although I was raised in a culture which ranks humility as a virtue, I never understood why it is a virtue, […]
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David Bentley Hart: That All Shall Be Saved
Preface In his new book That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell and Universal Salvation, David Bentley Hart argues, among other things, that the traditional doctrine of eternal punishment, of which Augustine is a main expounder, is immoral and unjust. As an armchair Augustinian, I’m sorely tempted to respond to this charge, to meet my accuser face to face, so to speak, and, if I know anything about Augustine, he […]
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