J. Warren Smith
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195369939
- eISBN:
- 9780199893362
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369939.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Though understandably overshadowed by Augustine’s preeminence in the West, Ambrose is a doctor of the Catholic Church and an important patristic authority for the Middle Ages and Reformation, ...
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Though understandably overshadowed by Augustine’s preeminence in the West, Ambrose is a doctor of the Catholic Church and an important patristic authority for the Middle Ages and Reformation, especially in moral theology. Christian Grace and Pagan Virtue argues that Ambrose of Milan’s theological commitments, particularly his understanding of the Christian’s participation in God’s saving economy through baptism, are foundational for his virtue theory laid out in his catechetical and other pastoral writings. While he holds a high regard for classical and Hellenistic views of virtue, Ambrose insists that the Christian is able to attain the highest ideal of virtue taught by Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics. This is possible because the Christian has received the transformative grace of baptism that allows the Christian to participate in the new creation inaugurated by Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection. This book explores Ambrose’s understanding of this grace and how it frees the Christian to live the virtuous life. The argument is laid out in two parts. In Part I, the book examines Ambrose’s understanding of human nature and the effects of sin upon that nature. Central to this Part is the question of Ambrose’s understanding of the right relationship of soul and body as presented in Ambrose’s repeated appeal to Paul’s words, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24). Part II lays out Ambrose’s account of baptism as the sacrament of justification and regeneration (sacramental and proleptic participation in the renewal of human nature in the resurrection). Ultimately, Ambrose’s account of the efficacy of baptism rests upon his Christology and pneumatology. The final chapters explain how Ambrose’s accounts of Christ and the Holy Spirit are foundational to his view of the grace that liberates the soul from the corruption of concupiscence.Less
Though understandably overshadowed by Augustine’s preeminence in the West, Ambrose is a doctor of the Catholic Church and an important patristic authority for the Middle Ages and Reformation, especially in moral theology. Christian Grace and Pagan Virtue argues that Ambrose of Milan’s theological commitments, particularly his understanding of the Christian’s participation in God’s saving economy through baptism, are foundational for his virtue theory laid out in his catechetical and other pastoral writings. While he holds a high regard for classical and Hellenistic views of virtue, Ambrose insists that the Christian is able to attain the highest ideal of virtue taught by Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics. This is possible because the Christian has received the transformative grace of baptism that allows the Christian to participate in the new creation inaugurated by Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection. This book explores Ambrose’s understanding of this grace and how it frees the Christian to live the virtuous life. The argument is laid out in two parts. In Part I, the book examines Ambrose’s understanding of human nature and the effects of sin upon that nature. Central to this Part is the question of Ambrose’s understanding of the right relationship of soul and body as presented in Ambrose’s repeated appeal to Paul’s words, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24). Part II lays out Ambrose’s account of baptism as the sacrament of justification and regeneration (sacramental and proleptic participation in the renewal of human nature in the resurrection). Ultimately, Ambrose’s account of the efficacy of baptism rests upon his Christology and pneumatology. The final chapters explain how Ambrose’s accounts of Christ and the Holy Spirit are foundational to his view of the grace that liberates the soul from the corruption of concupiscence.
Charles K. Bellinger
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134988
- eISBN:
- 9780199833986
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134982.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
In the twentieth century, many thinkers have put forward theories that purport to explain the motivations underlying the violent behavior of human beings. This book presents Kierkegaard's thought as ...
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In the twentieth century, many thinkers have put forward theories that purport to explain the motivations underlying the violent behavior of human beings. This book presents Kierkegaard's thought as offering a way of interpreting violent behavior that is superior to the alternatives. The basic elements of Kierkegaard's psychology are drawn out of his published and unpublished works, concentrating on The Concept of Anxiety, Works of Love, and The Sickness unto Death. Violence, most fundamentally, arises out of human resistance to the possibility of psychological change and growth into maturity. Violence toward others seeks to fend off that potential for otherness within oneself that is entailed by the incompleteness of creation. Kierkegaard's theory of violence is compared and contrasted with Rene Girard's theory, and both thinkers are brought into conversation with Karl Barth and Eric Voegelin. Anabaptism's approach to interpreting the history of Christian violence is taken into consideration. Hitler and Stalin, as key contemporary examples of demonic violence, are analyzed in connection with Kierkegaard's aesthetic and ethical spheres of existence. The book closes with reflections on the Christian doctrine of atonement in light of the preceding discussion of the roots of human evil.Less
In the twentieth century, many thinkers have put forward theories that purport to explain the motivations underlying the violent behavior of human beings. This book presents Kierkegaard's thought as offering a way of interpreting violent behavior that is superior to the alternatives. The basic elements of Kierkegaard's psychology are drawn out of his published and unpublished works, concentrating on The Concept of Anxiety, Works of Love, and The Sickness unto Death. Violence, most fundamentally, arises out of human resistance to the possibility of psychological change and growth into maturity. Violence toward others seeks to fend off that potential for otherness within oneself that is entailed by the incompleteness of creation. Kierkegaard's theory of violence is compared and contrasted with Rene Girard's theory, and both thinkers are brought into conversation with Karl Barth and Eric Voegelin. Anabaptism's approach to interpreting the history of Christian violence is taken into consideration. Hitler and Stalin, as key contemporary examples of demonic violence, are analyzed in connection with Kierkegaard's aesthetic and ethical spheres of existence. The book closes with reflections on the Christian doctrine of atonement in light of the preceding discussion of the roots of human evil.
Linda Radzik
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195373660
- eISBN:
- 9780199871971
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373660.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Can wrongs be righted? Can we make up for our misdeeds, or does the impossibility of changing the past mean that we remain permanently guilty? While atonement is traditionally considered a ...
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Can wrongs be righted? Can we make up for our misdeeds, or does the impossibility of changing the past mean that we remain permanently guilty? While atonement is traditionally considered a theological topic, this book uses the resources of secular moral philosophy to explore the possibility of correcting the wrongs we do to one another. Philosophers generally approach the problem of past wrongdoing from the point of view of either a judge or a victim. They assume that wrongdoing can be resolved only through punishment or forgiveness. But this book explores the responses that wrongdoers can and should make to their own misdeeds — responses such as apology, repentance, reparations, and self-punishment. This book examines the possibility of atonement in a broad spectrum of contexts — from cases of relatively minor wrongs in personal relationships, to crimes, to the historical injustices of our political and religious communities. It argues that wrongdoers often have the ability to earn redemption within the moral community. This book defends a theory of atonement that emphasizes the rebuilding of respect and trust among victims, communities, and wrongdoers. The ideal of reconciliation enables us to explain the value of repentance without restricting our interest to the wrongdoer's character, to account for the power of reparations without placing a dollar value on dignity, to justify the suffering of guilt without falling into a simplistic endorsement of retribution, and to insist on the moral responsibility of wrongdoing groups without treating their members unfairly.Less
Can wrongs be righted? Can we make up for our misdeeds, or does the impossibility of changing the past mean that we remain permanently guilty? While atonement is traditionally considered a theological topic, this book uses the resources of secular moral philosophy to explore the possibility of correcting the wrongs we do to one another. Philosophers generally approach the problem of past wrongdoing from the point of view of either a judge or a victim. They assume that wrongdoing can be resolved only through punishment or forgiveness. But this book explores the responses that wrongdoers can and should make to their own misdeeds — responses such as apology, repentance, reparations, and self-punishment. This book examines the possibility of atonement in a broad spectrum of contexts — from cases of relatively minor wrongs in personal relationships, to crimes, to the historical injustices of our political and religious communities. It argues that wrongdoers often have the ability to earn redemption within the moral community. This book defends a theory of atonement that emphasizes the rebuilding of respect and trust among victims, communities, and wrongdoers. The ideal of reconciliation enables us to explain the value of repentance without restricting our interest to the wrongdoer's character, to account for the power of reparations without placing a dollar value on dignity, to justify the suffering of guilt without falling into a simplistic endorsement of retribution, and to insist on the moral responsibility of wrongdoing groups without treating their members unfairly.
James L. Crenshaw
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195140026
- eISBN:
- 9780199835607
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195140028.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
The existence of evil has given rise to perplexed questioning of divine justice from the beginning of recorded history. The present volume examines early responses to the problem of theodicy in ...
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The existence of evil has given rise to perplexed questioning of divine justice from the beginning of recorded history. The present volume examines early responses to the problem of theodicy in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syria-Palestine as a way of assessing modern approaches to existential and religious crises. Through close readings of many texts in the Hebrew Bible and comparison with treatments in extrabiblical literature, it explores the richly diverse legacy of those who have influenced the West in so many ways. That legacy ranges from denying that a problem exists—the atheistic answer—to positing a vulnerable deity who assumes full responsibility for evil and its eradication. Between those two poles are responses that attempt to spread the blame, assuming a multiplicity of deities, a single rival deity (the personification of all evil), or a solitary deity who is somehow constrained, either by limited power and knowledge or by a split personality that struggles to balance the conflicting demands of justice and mercy. Analogies from parenting, jurisprudence, and the cult offer responses of discipline, retribution, and substitutionary atonement, respectively. Two final responses acquiesce to injustice in the present life, anticipating rectification beyond the grave or acknowledging human ignorance in the face of divine mystery. The limitation articulated by the last response requires that even the effort to provide a theodicy be questioned, especially given the fact that mortals have already received from the deity the greatest gift of all: life. Still, the search for answers is bound to continue, for it is only in challenging belief that theological discourse retains its integrity.Less
The existence of evil has given rise to perplexed questioning of divine justice from the beginning of recorded history. The present volume examines early responses to the problem of theodicy in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syria-Palestine as a way of assessing modern approaches to existential and religious crises. Through close readings of many texts in the Hebrew Bible and comparison with treatments in extrabiblical literature, it explores the richly diverse legacy of those who have influenced the West in so many ways. That legacy ranges from denying that a problem exists—the atheistic answer—to positing a vulnerable deity who assumes full responsibility for evil and its eradication. Between those two poles are responses that attempt to spread the blame, assuming a multiplicity of deities, a single rival deity (the personification of all evil), or a solitary deity who is somehow constrained, either by limited power and knowledge or by a split personality that struggles to balance the conflicting demands of justice and mercy. Analogies from parenting, jurisprudence, and the cult offer responses of discipline, retribution, and substitutionary atonement, respectively. Two final responses acquiesce to injustice in the present life, anticipating rectification beyond the grave or acknowledging human ignorance in the face of divine mystery. The limitation articulated by the last response requires that even the effort to provide a theodicy be questioned, especially given the fact that mortals have already received from the deity the greatest gift of all: life. Still, the search for answers is bound to continue, for it is only in challenging belief that theological discourse retains its integrity.
John E. Hare
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269571
- eISBN:
- 9780191683701
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269571.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Theology
This book is about the gap between the moral demand on us and our natural capacities to meet it. The author starts with Kant’s statement of the moral demand and his acknowledgement of this gap. He ...
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This book is about the gap between the moral demand on us and our natural capacities to meet it. The author starts with Kant’s statement of the moral demand and his acknowledgement of this gap. He then analyses Kant’s use of the resources of the Christian tradition to make sense of this gap, especially the notions of revelation, providence, and God’s grace. Kant reflects the traditional way of making sense of this gap, which is to invoke God’s assistance in bridging it. The author goes on to examine various contemporary philosophers who do not use these resources. He considers three main strategies: exaggerating our natural capacities, diminishing the moral demand, and finding some naturalistic substitute for God’s assistance. He argues that these strategies do not work, and that we are therefore left with the gap and with the problem that it is unreasonable to demand of ourselves — a standard that we cannot reach. In the final section of the book, the author looks in more detail at the Christian doctrines of atonement, justification, and sanctification. He discusses Kierkegaard’s account of the relation between the ethical life and the Christian life, and ends by considering human forgiveness, and the ways in which God’s forgiveness is both like and unlike our forgiveness of each other.Less
This book is about the gap between the moral demand on us and our natural capacities to meet it. The author starts with Kant’s statement of the moral demand and his acknowledgement of this gap. He then analyses Kant’s use of the resources of the Christian tradition to make sense of this gap, especially the notions of revelation, providence, and God’s grace. Kant reflects the traditional way of making sense of this gap, which is to invoke God’s assistance in bridging it. The author goes on to examine various contemporary philosophers who do not use these resources. He considers three main strategies: exaggerating our natural capacities, diminishing the moral demand, and finding some naturalistic substitute for God’s assistance. He argues that these strategies do not work, and that we are therefore left with the gap and with the problem that it is unreasonable to demand of ourselves — a standard that we cannot reach. In the final section of the book, the author looks in more detail at the Christian doctrines of atonement, justification, and sanctification. He discusses Kierkegaard’s account of the relation between the ethical life and the Christian life, and ends by considering human forgiveness, and the ways in which God’s forgiveness is both like and unlike our forgiveness of each other.
Sandra Visser and Thomas Williams
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195309386
- eISBN:
- 9780199852123
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195309386.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This book offers a brief introduction to the life and thought of Saint Anselm (c. 1033–1109). Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury for the last sixteen years of his life, is one of the foremost ...
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This book offers a brief introduction to the life and thought of Saint Anselm (c. 1033–1109). Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury for the last sixteen years of his life, is one of the foremost philosopher-theologians of the Middle Ages. His keen and rigorous thinking earned him the title “The Father of Scholasticism”, and his influence is discernible in figures as various as Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, the voluntarists of the late-13th and 14th centuries, and the Protestant reformers. Part I of this book lays out the framework of Anselm's thought: his approach to what he calls “the reason of faith”, his account of thought and language, and his theory of truth. Part II focuses on Anselm's account of God and the divine attributes, and it shows how Anselm applies his theory of language and thought to develop a theological semantics that at once respects divine transcendence and allows for the possibility of divine rational knowledge. In Part III, the book turns from the heavenly to the animal. It elucidates Anselm's theory of modality and his understanding of free choice, an idea that was, for Anselm, embedded in his conception of justice. The book concludes with a discussion of Incarnation, Atonement, and original sin, as the chapters examine Anselm's argument that the death of a God-man is the only possible remedy for human injustice.Less
This book offers a brief introduction to the life and thought of Saint Anselm (c. 1033–1109). Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury for the last sixteen years of his life, is one of the foremost philosopher-theologians of the Middle Ages. His keen and rigorous thinking earned him the title “The Father of Scholasticism”, and his influence is discernible in figures as various as Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, the voluntarists of the late-13th and 14th centuries, and the Protestant reformers. Part I of this book lays out the framework of Anselm's thought: his approach to what he calls “the reason of faith”, his account of thought and language, and his theory of truth. Part II focuses on Anselm's account of God and the divine attributes, and it shows how Anselm applies his theory of language and thought to develop a theological semantics that at once respects divine transcendence and allows for the possibility of divine rational knowledge. In Part III, the book turns from the heavenly to the animal. It elucidates Anselm's theory of modality and his understanding of free choice, an idea that was, for Anselm, embedded in his conception of justice. The book concludes with a discussion of Incarnation, Atonement, and original sin, as the chapters examine Anselm's argument that the death of a God-man is the only possible remedy for human injustice.
Richard Swinburne
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199257461
- eISBN:
- 9780191598616
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199257469.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead involved a violation of natural laws, and so could have happened only if natural laws depend for their operation on God, who set them aside on this ...
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The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead involved a violation of natural laws, and so could have happened only if natural laws depend for their operation on God, who set them aside on this occasion. The main reason he would have for setting them aside would be any reason he had himself to become incarnate; the Resurrection would then be the divine signature on his work, showing that he had become incarnate. So any evidence from natural theology that there is a God with a certain nature, and any reason to suppose that having that nature would lead a God to become incarnate, is evidence (background evidence) that some sort of super‐miracle like the Resurrection would occur. Any evidence against the existence of God or against him being such as to become incarnate would be evidence against the Resurrection. I argue that God does have reason to become incarnate—to provide atonement, to identify with human suffering, and to reveal truth. Our evidence about the life of Jesus (the prior historical evidence) is such that it is not too improbable that we would find it if God was incarnate in Jesus for these reasons. Our evidence about what happened after the death of Jesus (the posterior historical evidence) is such that it is not too improbable that we would find it if Jesus had risen from the dead. For no other prophet in human history, is there anything like this combination of prior and posterior historical evidence. Given a moderate amount of positive background evidence, it then becomes very probable that Jesus was God Incarnate who rose from the dead.Less
The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead involved a violation of natural laws, and so could have happened only if natural laws depend for their operation on God, who set them aside on this occasion. The main reason he would have for setting them aside would be any reason he had himself to become incarnate; the Resurrection would then be the divine signature on his work, showing that he had become incarnate. So any evidence from natural theology that there is a God with a certain nature, and any reason to suppose that having that nature would lead a God to become incarnate, is evidence (background evidence) that some sort of super‐miracle like the Resurrection would occur. Any evidence against the existence of God or against him being such as to become incarnate would be evidence against the Resurrection. I argue that God does have reason to become incarnate—to provide atonement, to identify with human suffering, and to reveal truth. Our evidence about the life of Jesus (the prior historical evidence) is such that it is not too improbable that we would find it if God was incarnate in Jesus for these reasons. Our evidence about what happened after the death of Jesus (the posterior historical evidence) is such that it is not too improbable that we would find it if Jesus had risen from the dead. For no other prophet in human history, is there anything like this combination of prior and posterior historical evidence. Given a moderate amount of positive background evidence, it then becomes very probable that Jesus was God Incarnate who rose from the dead.
Richard Swinburne
- Published in print:
- 1989
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198248491
- eISBN:
- 9780191598555
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198248490.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
When we do good or harm to each other, we acquire merit or guilt; deserve praise or blame, reward or punishment, and may need to make atonement. Others may need to forgive us, or show mercy to us. ...
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When we do good or harm to each other, we acquire merit or guilt; deserve praise or blame, reward or punishment, and may need to make atonement. Others may need to forgive us, or show mercy to us. The first part of this book (Chs. 1–7) is an account of how these moral concepts apply to humans in their dealings with each other. The second part (Chs. 8–12) then applies the results of the first part to reach conclusions about which versions of traditional Christian doctrines that utilize these notions are morally plausible. It considers the doctrines of sin and original sin, redemption, sanctification, Heaven and Hell.Less
When we do good or harm to each other, we acquire merit or guilt; deserve praise or blame, reward or punishment, and may need to make atonement. Others may need to forgive us, or show mercy to us. The first part of this book (Chs. 1–7) is an account of how these moral concepts apply to humans in their dealings with each other. The second part (Chs. 8–12) then applies the results of the first part to reach conclusions about which versions of traditional Christian doctrines that utilize these notions are morally plausible. It considers the doctrines of sin and original sin, redemption, sanctification, Heaven and Hell.
J. R. LUCAS
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198235781
- eISBN:
- 9780191679117
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198235781.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This introductory chapter briefly sets out the purpose of the book, which is to offer a single organizing idea which makes sense of a large range of moral, legal, and political discourse on ...
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This introductory chapter briefly sets out the purpose of the book, which is to offer a single organizing idea which makes sense of a large range of moral, legal, and political discourse on responsibility. Specifically, it brings together the topics of atonement, free will, rationality, consequentialism, political accountability, and business ethics, and offers a unified view of them all. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less
This introductory chapter briefly sets out the purpose of the book, which is to offer a single organizing idea which makes sense of a large range of moral, legal, and political discourse on responsibility. Specifically, it brings together the topics of atonement, free will, rationality, consequentialism, political accountability, and business ethics, and offers a unified view of them all. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
JOHN E. HARE
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269571
- eISBN:
- 9780191683701
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269571.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Theology
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the gap between the moral demand and man’s natural capacity to meet it. This book examines philosopher Immanuel Kant’s ...
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This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the gap between the moral demand and man’s natural capacity to meet it. This book examines philosopher Immanuel Kant’s ethical theory and moral theology and evaluates various strategies proposed for dealing with the gap between the moral demand and the limits of human natural capacity. It discusses traditional Christian doctrines about God’s assistance in meeting the moral demand and provides an account of human and divine forgiveness and of the Christian doctrines of sanctification, justification, and atonement.Less
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the gap between the moral demand and man’s natural capacity to meet it. This book examines philosopher Immanuel Kant’s ethical theory and moral theology and evaluates various strategies proposed for dealing with the gap between the moral demand and the limits of human natural capacity. It discusses traditional Christian doctrines about God’s assistance in meeting the moral demand and provides an account of human and divine forgiveness and of the Christian doctrines of sanctification, justification, and atonement.
Gerald SJ O'Collins
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199203130
- eISBN:
- 9780191707742
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199203130.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
The scriptures and the texts used for the public worship of Christians teem with salvific and redemptive terms and images. This chapter aims to clarify in a preliminary way some of the language used ...
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The scriptures and the texts used for the public worship of Christians teem with salvific and redemptive terms and images. This chapter aims to clarify in a preliminary way some of the language used for redemption—both as regards the process of being redeemed and the end‐result or state of being redeemed.Less
The scriptures and the texts used for the public worship of Christians teem with salvific and redemptive terms and images. This chapter aims to clarify in a preliminary way some of the language used for redemption—both as regards the process of being redeemed and the end‐result or state of being redeemed.
Stephen T. Davis
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199284597
- eISBN:
- 9780191603778
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199284598.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter defends two venerable but largely ignored concepts in the general area of atonement: the wrath of God and the blood of Christ. The first is important because it constitutes a barrier ...
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This chapter defends two venerable but largely ignored concepts in the general area of atonement: the wrath of God and the blood of Christ. The first is important because it constitutes a barrier against any sort of general moral or religious relativism. The second is important because it is always costly to rectify a terribly wrong situation. Contrary to the theory that Jesus’ life and death was essentially a fine moral example to emulate, some sort of robust atonement, like the death of the Son of God, is necessary. It is also argued that hell is compatible with the love of God.Less
This chapter defends two venerable but largely ignored concepts in the general area of atonement: the wrath of God and the blood of Christ. The first is important because it constitutes a barrier against any sort of general moral or religious relativism. The second is important because it is always costly to rectify a terribly wrong situation. Contrary to the theory that Jesus’ life and death was essentially a fine moral example to emulate, some sort of robust atonement, like the death of the Son of God, is necessary. It is also argued that hell is compatible with the love of God.
Douglas A. Sweeney
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195154283
- eISBN:
- 9780199834709
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195154282.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
A striking emphasis on God's justice and goodness and on the truly moral nature of divine government pervades Taylor's entire corpus. In his famous Concio ad Clerum, Taylor upheld a firm commitment ...
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A striking emphasis on God's justice and goodness and on the truly moral nature of divine government pervades Taylor's entire corpus. In his famous Concio ad Clerum, Taylor upheld a firm commitment to both predestination and general divine providence, which were understood together as the doctrine of the eternal divine decrees. For Taylor, his infralapsarian Calvinistic solution to the problem of theodicy becomes the foundation for his opposition to the high Calvinist's limited and forensic understanding of the atonement. Even though Taylor made use of Scottish Common Sense Realism to arrive at his conclusions, Sweeney argues that this philosophy neither set him apart from his Edwardsian peers nor placed him in league with Old Calvinism.Less
A striking emphasis on God's justice and goodness and on the truly moral nature of divine government pervades Taylor's entire corpus. In his famous Concio ad Clerum, Taylor upheld a firm commitment to both predestination and general divine providence, which were understood together as the doctrine of the eternal divine decrees. For Taylor, his infralapsarian Calvinistic solution to the problem of theodicy becomes the foundation for his opposition to the high Calvinist's limited and forensic understanding of the atonement. Even though Taylor made use of Scottish Common Sense Realism to arrive at his conclusions, Sweeney argues that this philosophy neither set him apart from his Edwardsian peers nor placed him in league with Old Calvinism.
Simon Morrison
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195181678
- eISBN:
- 9780199870806
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195181678.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
Most of this chapter concerns the anti-formalist campaign of 1948, the corruption within Soviet musical circles that precipitated the campaign, and the official denunciation of Prokofiev, which ...
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Most of this chapter concerns the anti-formalist campaign of 1948, the corruption within Soviet musical circles that precipitated the campaign, and the official denunciation of Prokofiev, which gravely affected his health. The discussion ranges from Prokofiev's desperate efforts to improve his political standing with the operas A Story of a Real Man and Distant Seas — the former completed but barred from performance, the latter left incomplete — to his expressions of atonement for his supposed musical misdeeds. The chapter highlights the downfall of Levon Atovmyan, Prokofiev's de facto Soviet business partner, as well as his fraught relationship with Tikhon Khrennikov, the General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers. Prokofiev's divorce from Lina and her subsequent arrest and incarceration are documented in detail.Less
Most of this chapter concerns the anti-formalist campaign of 1948, the corruption within Soviet musical circles that precipitated the campaign, and the official denunciation of Prokofiev, which gravely affected his health. The discussion ranges from Prokofiev's desperate efforts to improve his political standing with the operas A Story of a Real Man and Distant Seas — the former completed but barred from performance, the latter left incomplete — to his expressions of atonement for his supposed musical misdeeds. The chapter highlights the downfall of Levon Atovmyan, Prokofiev's de facto Soviet business partner, as well as his fraught relationship with Tikhon Khrennikov, the General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers. Prokofiev's divorce from Lina and her subsequent arrest and incarceration are documented in detail.
Pinchas Giller
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328806
- eISBN:
- 9780199870196
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328806.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Beit El thought and practice eschews “classical” Jewish mysticism in favor of a worldview entirely based on Lurianic Kabbalah. In some cases, Beit El kabbalists are at a loss when non‐Lurianic ...
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Beit El thought and practice eschews “classical” Jewish mysticism in favor of a worldview entirely based on Lurianic Kabbalah. In some cases, Beit El kabbalists are at a loss when non‐Lurianic practices do enter their culture. One exception to this rule is the ongoing reference to the vicissitudes of the Shekhinah. Otherwise, Beit El is distinguished by their specific doctrines attached cycles of time, such as the atonement cycle. The Beit El kabbalists practiced flagellation and other mortifications, assuming a special responsibility for the fate of the people Israel. These rites of self‐mortification reflect an ancient pietistic suspicion of the efficacy of Halakhah. Another time‐based practice was the observance of the Sabbatical year, which was the object of much controversy in Beit El, and the counting of the Omer. The Beit El kabbalist are notable for their practice wearing double sets of phylacteries as an act of piety, and practice the rite of ascent through the four worlds of existence during their morning prayers.Less
Beit El thought and practice eschews “classical” Jewish mysticism in favor of a worldview entirely based on Lurianic Kabbalah. In some cases, Beit El kabbalists are at a loss when non‐Lurianic practices do enter their culture. One exception to this rule is the ongoing reference to the vicissitudes of the Shekhinah. Otherwise, Beit El is distinguished by their specific doctrines attached cycles of time, such as the atonement cycle. The Beit El kabbalists practiced flagellation and other mortifications, assuming a special responsibility for the fate of the people Israel. These rites of self‐mortification reflect an ancient pietistic suspicion of the efficacy of Halakhah. Another time‐based practice was the observance of the Sabbatical year, which was the object of much controversy in Beit El, and the counting of the Omer. The Beit El kabbalist are notable for their practice wearing double sets of phylacteries as an act of piety, and practice the rite of ascent through the four worlds of existence during their morning prayers.
C. Stephen Evans
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198263975
- eISBN:
- 9780191600579
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019826397X.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
It was argued in the previous chapter that viewing the incarnational narrative as non-historical myth is a great loss, since without historicity, the narrative cannot be seen as a record of the ...
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It was argued in the previous chapter that viewing the incarnational narrative as non-historical myth is a great loss, since without historicity, the narrative cannot be seen as a record of the divine actions whereby a historical relationship between humans and God is established. Nor proposals to view the narrative as myth take seriously the problem traditionally described by theologians under the concept of human sinfulness. It is only when it is seen how difficult it is to establish a proper relation with God that the significance of the narrative that tells how such a relation is made possible gains its full power. It is in the doctrine of atonement that the Christian faith has traditionally expressed its view of how Jesus made it possible for this relation to be healed, and classical theories of atonement are attempts to articulate how God’s actions in history make salvation possible (although the idea that Jesus atoned for humans by his life, death and resurrection is regarded by many as raising more difficulties than it solves). This chapter attempts to show that the need for atonement is still evident in human experience, and that versions of this doctrine are possible that are not vulnerable to standard, popular objections.Less
It was argued in the previous chapter that viewing the incarnational narrative as non-historical myth is a great loss, since without historicity, the narrative cannot be seen as a record of the divine actions whereby a historical relationship between humans and God is established. Nor proposals to view the narrative as myth take seriously the problem traditionally described by theologians under the concept of human sinfulness. It is only when it is seen how difficult it is to establish a proper relation with God that the significance of the narrative that tells how such a relation is made possible gains its full power. It is in the doctrine of atonement that the Christian faith has traditionally expressed its view of how Jesus made it possible for this relation to be healed, and classical theories of atonement are attempts to articulate how God’s actions in history make salvation possible (although the idea that Jesus atoned for humans by his life, death and resurrection is regarded by many as raising more difficulties than it solves). This chapter attempts to show that the need for atonement is still evident in human experience, and that versions of this doctrine are possible that are not vulnerable to standard, popular objections.
Mary Douglas
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199265237
- eISBN:
- 9780191602054
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199265232.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Continues the argument advanced in the first chapter on the anxiety of the Pentateuch's priestly editors about the solidarity between Judah and the descendants of Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh. ...
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Continues the argument advanced in the first chapter on the anxiety of the Pentateuch's priestly editors about the solidarity between Judah and the descendants of Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh. It addresses the concept of the Day of Atonement, which in the post‐exilic period was associated with Joseph, and is found in the Book of Jubilees, where the ceremony is described as a sin‐offering of a goat. The different sections of the chapter look at the conflicting meanings attached to the ceremony of the scapegoat (or goats) offering – fraternal reconciliation versus unbrotherly rejection. They discuss: the meaning of the ‘scapegoat’; Greek and Hebrew manifestations of the ceremony; scapegoat rituals around the world, the levitical purification ceremony – including the interpretation of the word Azazal (here viewed as the goat that is chosen to be presented to God alive and is then sent away, in contrast to that chosen as the sacrificial sin‐offering); Aaron's sacrifices of atonement; the need for transfer of the sins of Israel to an animal; the bearing of sin by an animal, the punishment of the sin‐bearing animal by exile; the parallels of the goat rites with the rites of two birds in Leviticus and with the stories of two brothers with uneven destinies (Isaac and Ishmael, and Jacob and Esau) in Genesis; and parallels between the assigning of the scapegoat and the commissioning of the Levites or the commissioning of Joshua by Moses in Numbers. The author argues that not much is left of the idea levitical scapegoating ceremony, and suggests that the priestly editors covered up their deep interest in politics and morals by writing in parables but dramatizing their teaching in vivid rituals.Less
Continues the argument advanced in the first chapter on the anxiety of the Pentateuch's priestly editors about the solidarity between Judah and the descendants of Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh. It addresses the concept of the Day of Atonement, which in the post‐exilic period was associated with Joseph, and is found in the Book of Jubilees, where the ceremony is described as a sin‐offering of a goat. The different sections of the chapter look at the conflicting meanings attached to the ceremony of the scapegoat (or goats) offering – fraternal reconciliation versus unbrotherly rejection. They discuss: the meaning of the ‘scapegoat’; Greek and Hebrew manifestations of the ceremony; scapegoat rituals around the world, the levitical purification ceremony – including the interpretation of the word Azazal (here viewed as the goat that is chosen to be presented to God alive and is then sent away, in contrast to that chosen as the sacrificial sin‐offering); Aaron's sacrifices of atonement; the need for transfer of the sins of Israel to an animal; the bearing of sin by an animal, the punishment of the sin‐bearing animal by exile; the parallels of the goat rites with the rites of two birds in Leviticus and with the stories of two brothers with uneven destinies (Isaac and Ishmael, and Jacob and Esau) in Genesis; and parallels between the assigning of the scapegoat and the commissioning of the Levites or the commissioning of Joshua by Moses in Numbers. The author argues that not much is left of the idea levitical scapegoating ceremony, and suggests that the priestly editors covered up their deep interest in politics and morals by writing in parables but dramatizing their teaching in vivid rituals.
D. D. Raphael
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199213337
- eISBN:
- 9780191707544
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199213337.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Smith regards ethics as independent of theology, but theology as dependent on ethics. The original version of the Moral Sentiments shows traces of his early adherence to Christianity; the later ...
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Smith regards ethics as independent of theology, but theology as dependent on ethics. The original version of the Moral Sentiments shows traces of his early adherence to Christianity; the later version reflects a non‐Christian theism.Less
Smith regards ethics as independent of theology, but theology as dependent on ethics. The original version of the Moral Sentiments shows traces of his early adherence to Christianity; the later version reflects a non‐Christian theism.
Richard Swinburne
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199271672
- eISBN:
- 9780191709357
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199271672.003.0013
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
God has good reason to bring about various particular historical events, including occasional miracles in the sense of violations of laws of nature (for example as answers to prayer or to show his ...
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God has good reason to bring about various particular historical events, including occasional miracles in the sense of violations of laws of nature (for example as answers to prayer or to show his approval of some particular teaching). He has good reason to become incarnate in order to provide atonement for human sin, to reveal to us important truths, and to identify with our suffering; and good reason to show that he has done this by a super-miracle such as the Resurrection. If there is no God, such violations are not to be expected. Hence, violations in the right sort of circumstances are further evidence of the existence of God.Less
God has good reason to bring about various particular historical events, including occasional miracles in the sense of violations of laws of nature (for example as answers to prayer or to show his approval of some particular teaching). He has good reason to become incarnate in order to provide atonement for human sin, to reveal to us important truths, and to identify with our suffering; and good reason to show that he has done this by a super-miracle such as the Resurrection. If there is no God, such violations are not to be expected. Hence, violations in the right sort of circumstances are further evidence of the existence of God.
David‐Antoine Williams
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199583546
- eISBN:
- 9780191595295
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199583546.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter investigates Geoffrey Hill's abiding concern with the equation of semantic and ethical recognition, his experience of language as an arena in which our ethical being is both menaced and ...
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This chapter investigates Geoffrey Hill's abiding concern with the equation of semantic and ethical recognition, his experience of language as an arena in which our ethical being is both menaced and succoured, though perhaps not secured. Hill's cogitations on this problem accompany a career‐long exploration of the question of intrinsic value, a concept which he admits has gone out of fashion but which he nonetheless attempts to rescue for his theory of language. Hill's ethics of responsibility requires that literature memorialize and memorize the dead, but his scepticism about the ability of language to do justice to its subjects forces him into a paradoxical contemplation of silence as the only responsible speech. Even so, the question of value has increasingly been posed by Hill in its public dimension, as embodying the union of civic (including political), theological (including metaphysical), and grammatical (including etymological) thought. One way Hill thinks the writer can realize intrinsic value is in the assiduous plying of words, the working in poetry of their etymology, grammar, and syntax into a high semantic pitch; this chapter pays special attention to the words that have meant the most to Hill: ‘value’, ‘atonement’, ‘endurance’, ‘patience’, ‘attention’, ‘justice’, ‘grace’, ‘pitch’, ‘common’, and ‘alienation’.Less
This chapter investigates Geoffrey Hill's abiding concern with the equation of semantic and ethical recognition, his experience of language as an arena in which our ethical being is both menaced and succoured, though perhaps not secured. Hill's cogitations on this problem accompany a career‐long exploration of the question of intrinsic value, a concept which he admits has gone out of fashion but which he nonetheless attempts to rescue for his theory of language. Hill's ethics of responsibility requires that literature memorialize and memorize the dead, but his scepticism about the ability of language to do justice to its subjects forces him into a paradoxical contemplation of silence as the only responsible speech. Even so, the question of value has increasingly been posed by Hill in its public dimension, as embodying the union of civic (including political), theological (including metaphysical), and grammatical (including etymological) thought. One way Hill thinks the writer can realize intrinsic value is in the assiduous plying of words, the working in poetry of their etymology, grammar, and syntax into a high semantic pitch; this chapter pays special attention to the words that have meant the most to Hill: ‘value’, ‘atonement’, ‘endurance’, ‘patience’, ‘attention’, ‘justice’, ‘grace’, ‘pitch’, ‘common’, and ‘alienation’.
