In the past few years, I’ve written many posts lamenting the defeat of reason and the rise of tyranny in our time. The inevitable consequence of these is the demise of justice. So I hope my readers would forgive me if, in my pessimistic and cynical frame of mind, I’m not terribly enthused about the current protests for social justice: I tend to think of the phenomenon not as a […]
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Anselm: Cur Deus Homo
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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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 […]
Read moreSuffering and Christian Hope: II. Suffering as Evidence For God
The Suffering of An Idealist The Stoic philosophers teach that pain in and of itself is neither good nor evil. I tend to agree with them, because pain can be a means to a good, “no pain no gain”. Suffering is not the mere feeling of pain, it is a painful realization that some good is being or has been destroyed. When I was a youth, I believed very strongly […]
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John Locke: A Letter Concerning Toleration
As an armchair Platonist, I find Locke’s idea of toleration lacking in justice for the following reasons: The Goods of Man According to Locke, states and churches are founded on the voluntary and rational consent of people who share common interests. The common interests of the people of any state is to protect their lives and properties, and the common interests of the churchgoers is to obtain the salvation of […]
Read more“Provincial Letters” By Blaise Pascal
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes. –Proverbs 26:4,5 Blaise Pascal, a Catholic theologian, scientist and brilliant thinker, wrote these letters to defend his Jansenist friends against charges of heresy by the Jesuits. I tend to think that Pascal and Kierkegaard are kindred spirits. First, they both […]
Read more“Moralia: On Fate and Divine Justice” by Plutarch
Divine Justice Transcends Time and Space The notion of justice presupposes the persistence of identity, not only of individual, but also of family, race and nation. An individual goes through many changes, from a newborn baby, to a child, an adult and an old man. How can one be responsible for his past action if he is not the same person who committed it? Although a family, race or nation […]
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