by Matthew Gaetano Previous posts, especially those by Joshua Shaw, have touched on the major first-century Jewish thinker, Philo of Alexandria (here, here, here, and here). As we deal here with the long Augustinian tradition, it is fitting that we remember Augustine’s debts not only to Platonism, but also to those who, centuries before Augustine,… Read More Philo and the Good Shepherd
by Matthew Gaetano The post that follows is a bit unusual. I’m following the thread of different meanings of the word Philadelphia, but the path is rather circuitous. I hope that some of the elements of the exploration here turn out to be interesting. I was recently reading about medieval accounts of the book of… Read More Philadelphia and the Apocalypse
by Matthew Gaetano In an earlier post, I discussed George Keith (d. 1716), a learned Quaker in colonial America, and his discussion of Platonism and religious experience. His 1693 Exhortation and Caution about any Quakers keeping or buying slaves, particularly those of African descent, was an unusually bold statement of opposition to slavery, even among… Read More “Liberty both inward and outward”: George Keith and Opposition to Slavery
by Matthew Gaetano I had a lovely and thought-provoking conversation with colleagues about how the word wisdom has become almost meaningless for many students today. Even some of our peers who are seeking or who have earned a Ph.D. degree do not really appreciate that this makes one a doctor philosophiae and that philosophia is… Read More The Search for Wisdom in Renaissance Theology
by Matthew Gaetano The Italian Renaissance tends to be overlooked in narratives of the history of theology. The leap from high and late medieval scholastics like Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, and Gabriel Biel to Martin Luther is common. Just a few years ago, even John O’Malley, after decades of effort to… Read More Renaissance Theology
by Matthew Gaetano Isaiah 43 provides the reading from the Hebrew Scriptures for the Fifth Sunday of Lent in several Christian communions. As a student of history, the section from vv. 18-19 is quite arresting: Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it… Read More “Behold, I am doing a new thing”
by Matthew Gaetano The mysterious figure, (Pseudo-)Dionysius the Areopagite, presented himself as the convert of Paul after the Apostle’s sermon in Athens (Acts 17), where Paul taught, “in him we live and move and have our being.” In fact, Dionysius lived around the turn of the sixth century, and his writings reveal a deep engagement… Read More From him and through him and in him
by Matthew Gaetano Andrew Kuiper’s reflections (here, here, and here) on the theological context for Dan Edelstein’s account of natural rights inspired me to revisit Fr. Dominic Legge’s piece for Nova et Vetera, “Do Thomists Have Rights?” He responds to Brian Tierney’s essential work, The Idea of Natural Rights. In this work, Tierney argues that… Read More Thomas Aquinas on Subjective Rights
A contributor to TRF, Andrew Kuiper, has a post at Ex Fontibus that is the beginning of a series on Emile Mersch. The series should be of interest to many of our readers; it will address modern engagements with the patristic and medieval tradition, Pierre de Bérulle, theology of history, the mystical body of Christ,… Read More Emile Mersch (1890-1940)
by Matthew Gaetano Even though I went to a school whose mascot is a Quaker and grew up near some early American Quaker meeting houses, I have to admit that I didn’t know much about Quakers. I learned about how they used the informal “thee” and “thou” and refused to tip their hats to social… Read More Quakers, Platonism, and Religious Experience