Category: Christian Doctrine
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Divine Simplicity and Truthmakers: Notes on Brower
1. One of the entailments of the doctrine of divine simplicity (DDS) is that God is identical to: God's omniscience, God's omnipotence, and in general God's X-ness, where 'X' ranges over the divine attributes. And it is easy to see that if God = God's F-ness, and God = God's G-ness, then (by transitivity of…
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Another Example of a Necessary Being Depending for its Existence on a Necessary Being
The Father and the Son are both necessary beings. And yet the Father 'begets' the Son. Part, though not the whole, of the notion of begetting here must be this: if x begets y, then y depends for its existence on x. If that were not part of the meaning of 'begets'' in this context, I…
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Can A Necessary Being Depend for its Existence on a Necessary Being?
According to the Athansian Creed, the Persons of the Trinity, though each of them uncreated and eternal and necessary are related as follows. The Father is unbegotten. The Son is begotten by the Father, but not made by the Father. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Let us focus on the relation of the…
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Substance and Suppositum: Notes on Fernand Van Steenberghen
Here is another of the scholastic manuals I pulled off my shelf: Fernand van Steenberghen, Ontology (Nauwelaerts Publisher, Brussels, 1970, tr. Moonan). A paragraph from p. 278 supports my thesis that the distinction between primary substance and suppositum is an ad hoc device invented for a theological purpose, a device for which there is no…
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Substance and Suppositum: Notes on Klubertanz
This recent excursion into the philosophy of The School is proving to be quite fascinating, and I thank Dr. Novak et al. for their stimulation. I should say that I have read thousands upon thousands of pages of scholastic material, from Aquinas to Zubiri, from Maritain to Marechal, over the past 40 years, so it…
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Professor Anderson and the Hyper-Inscrutability of the Trinitarian Doctrine (Peter Lupu)
(This gem is pulled up from the vasty deeps of the ComBox to where it may shine in a more fitting setting. Minor editing, bolding, and comments in blue by BV.) 1). Let us say that a *real* contradiction is a sentence which comes out false according to every possible model (M): i.e., M =…
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Was Descartes Poisoned by a Catholic Priest?
As we have been learning, the conceivability of such theological doctrines as Trinity, Incarnation, and Transubstantiation depends on one's background ontology. Erlangen University's Theodor Ebert, according to this Guardian account, argues that the father of modern philosophy was poisoned with an arsenic-laced communion wafer by a Catholic priest because his metaphysical position is inconsistent with…
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More Christology: Freddoso on Supposita
To better understand the doctrine of supposita and the role it plays in the doctrines of Trinity and Incarnation, we turn to Alfred J. Freddoso, Human Nature, Potency and the Incarnation (bolding added): According to the Christian faith, as defined in this instance by the great Christological Councils and mirrored in centuries of liturgical practice and…
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Whether Jesus Exists Necessarily
Lukas Novak comments by e-mail: You list the following propositions in your post, Christology, Reduplicatives, and Their Truth-Makers: 1. The man Jesus = the 2nd Person of the Trinity.2. The 2nd Person of the Trinity exists necessarily.3. The man Jesus does not exist necessarily. and then say that "each of these propositions is one that…
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David Stove on the Logos
Commenting on philosophy's alleged "deep affinity with lunacy," Australian positivist David Stove writes, That the world is, or embodies, or is ruled by, or was created by, a sentence-like entity, a ‘logos’, is an idea almost as old as Western philosophy itself. Where the Bible says ‘The Word was made flesh’, biblical scholars safely conclude…
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Christology, Reduplicatives, and Their Truth-Makers
Consider this triad, and whether it is logically consistent: 1. The man Jesus = the 2nd Person of the Trinity.2. The 2nd Person of the Trinity exists necessarily.3. The man Jesus does not exist necessarily. Each of these propositions is one that a Christian who understands his doctrine ought to accept. But how can they…
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Negative and Positive Trinitarian Mysterianism
Dale Tuggy tentatively characterizes Lukas Novak's position on the Trinity as an example of negative mysterianism. This I believe is a mistake. But it depends on what we mean by 'negative mysterianism.' Drawing upon what Tuggy says in his Trinity entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, let us try to understand what mysterianism is in…
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From the Mailbag: More on the Lewis Trilemma
Dear Mr. Vallicella, I am a theologically-trained youth minister who has studied the Bible 'professionally' for almost 10 years. While I believe that Jesus Christ is in some sense God, I agree with your analysis of Lewis' ridiculous claim. I'd like to add one more dimension. Lewis' claim presupposes that the Gospels are literal accounts…
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A Different View of the Lewis Trilemma: The Trilemma Vindicated?
Dr. Lukáš Novák e-mails: I am writing to you personally concerning your last post on your blog, "The Lewis Trilemma." I would like to offer you two things: first, a criticism of your criticism of the "trilemma" (you are right with your terminological quibble, but is there any other word to use instead?), and second,…
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The Lewis ‘Trilemma’
A commenter on my old blog referred me to this famous passage from C. S. Lewis' Mere Christianity: I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is…