In the Lutheran Church there’s a Traditional phrase: If it weren’t for the second Martin, the first Martin would never have been heard. This second Martin after Luther was Martin Chemnitz, the great dogmatician. I’m working my way haphazardly through his examination of the Council of Trent, and I only have temporary access to the first volume. What amazes me about Chemnitz … [Read more...]
Ricoeur's Wisdom
""repentance" belongs to the same thematic universe as transgression and merit, and it is no accident that it was precisely Judaism that laid emphasis on this concept. For "repentance" signifies that "return" to God, freely chosen, is always open to man; and the example of great and impious men who have "returned" to the Eternal attests that it is always possible for a man to … [Read more...]
Hymn History: For All The Saints
William How was an Englishman born to a middle-upper class family in Shrewsbury. He attended Oxford in the heyday of the Tractarians and the Oxford Movement, of conservative Anglican churchmen professing the catholic faith in reaction to the growing Liberalism of Britain. How was ordained the year after Newman's defection to Rome, and no doubt was caught up in the midst of … [Read more...]
This Vale of Tears: Leo, Fenelon, and Greene on Christian Life
"nothing is more effectual in prevailing with God than that a man should judge himself and never cease from asking pardon, knowing that he is never without fault. For human nature has this flaw ... from the corruptible body springs that which may corrupt the soul also. Hence although the inner man be now reborn in Christ and rescued from the bonds of captivity, it has unceasing … [Read more...]
Attempted Summary of Theologies on Absolution and Grace
Roman Catholicism: Absolution is the bestowal of God’s grace True contrition is not simply the work of God’s grace but a human choice God’s grace can do nothing without human cooperation What then does grace do? If grace does not convert the will, then it has only a legal reality. Grace is simply the recognition of human merit and the bestowal of a reward upon human … [Read more...]