11 Jun 2013
Posted by Steven Wedgeworth 
Well you may have noticed that we've been a little slow over the past week. This will continue throughout this week, as a good number of our regular contributors are gathering together for a conference in South Carolina. I will try to give a fuller report of all the goings on, presentations, and future...
Read more → 07 Jun 2013
Posted by Steven Wedgeworth 
Amid a strongly critical (and therefore entertaining) book review of Ray Kurzweil's How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed, Colin McGinn makes these observations about contemporary neuroscience in general: Here I must say something briefly about the standard language that neuroscience...
Read more → 07 Jun 2013
Posted by Steven Wedgeworth 
Larry Alex Taunton posts some helpful observations about the factors which play into young people’s conversions to atheism. Perhaps the most important one comes at the end: The internet factored heavily into their conversion to atheism When our participants were asked to cite key influences in their...
Read more → 07 Jun 2013
Posted by Steven Wedgeworth 
Peter Leithart has a summary of Thomas Buchan's recent conference presentation on the Council of Nicea and the Nicene Creed. In it, Fr. Buchan makes many sound historical points which support our own reading of the early church and the Council of Nicea. Dr. Leithart summarizes: For starters, he pointed...
Read more → 06 Jun 2013
Posted by Steven Wedgeworth 
From Andrew Pettegree's wonderful Reformation and the Culture of Persuasion, we have these reflections on Martin Luther's view of preaching: Central both to Luther’s concept of the preacher’s art and his extraordinary skill was careful preparation, above all through the reading the Scripture. ‘Some...
Read more → 05 Jun 2013
Posted by Steven Wedgeworth 
In the seventh chapter of A Companion to Richard Hooker, Ranall Ingalls defends Hooker’s “Protestant” and “Reformation” credentials by pointing to his adherence to justification by faith alone and the imputed external righteousness of Christ. He supplies this quote from Hooker’s Learned...
Read more → 05 Jun 2013
Posted by Steven Wedgeworth 
If you are like me, the idea of reading Giorgio Agamben is easier than actually reading him. He covers such a wide array of topics, from aesthetics and philosophy, technology and arts, politics and terror, to history and theology, that I could use a little help. Thankfully Adam Kotsko is here to give...
Read more → 04 Jun 2013
Posted by Steven Wedgeworth 
One response to my essay on CS Lewis and punishment was that Calvinism, and particularly the Genevan Consistory, should also take some historical blame for rehabilitative punishment and coercive disciplinary penance. My reply to this is a bold "Yeah, sorta." As Hooker pointed out in the preface to his Laws, the...
Read more → 04 Jun 2013
Posted by Steven Wedgeworth 
David Pareus was the successor to Zacharias Ursinus. Pareus taught at the University of Heidelberg in the early 17th century and labored particularly towards Protestant ecumenism. He was able to reduce the disagreement in doctrine between the Reformed and Lutheran to one point: Building directly...
Read more → 04 Jun 2013
Posted by Steven Wedgeworth 
Over at TGC, Joe Carter chimed in on the question of "Lutheran Baptists" and the ongoing discussion about the differences between Calvinism and Lutheranism. He was kind enough to plug my own comments on that matter. He also went on to highlight Gene Veith's perspective, concluding that it was the clearest...
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