Calvin and Vermigli on Adam's Original Righteousness, pt. II

Theological Snobbery: A Preface to Blogging

St. Thomas's "Five Ways" as Via Negativa

Ohne Reformation kein Humanismus
Ohne Humanismus keine Reformation (without Humanism no Reformation)  is the conclusion of one German scholar. On this Reformation Day, a day that bids us stop and reflect, the question, “Would the Reformation have occurred without humanism?,” seems pertinent. Many scholars have focused on the influence of humanism upon Luther, Zwingli, and Clavin, concluding that these three prominent Reformers came to their conclusions through the use of humanistic m

John Calvin’s Aristotelean Cosmology
Many of John Calvin’s references to Aristotelean cosmology occur during his later years, representing his mature theology. Christopher Kaiser has shown that Calvin viewed the universe through the lens of Aristotelean natural philosophy. (Kaiser, “Calvin and Natural Philosophy,” in Calviniana, vol. X) He accepted such ideas as the concept of natural place (the earth is the center of the spheres due to its weight), the system of

Lambert Daneau and ‘Natural Philosophy,’ A Pagan Phrase?
Lambert Daneau (1530-1595)  is not a well-known man, yet he was very influential in the Genevan Academy in the decades following the death of John Calvin. He was the first person to become a full-time professor at the new academy. The others, including Daneau’s mentor Theodore Beza, served the dual function of parish minister and professor. The pastors of the Consistory recognized Daneau’s theological gifts and promoted him, at an early age, to full-time professor. He

Rhetoric as Divine Art: A Reformed Notion
The lexicon is a deceptive source of information. It is incredibly useful but tends to commit one to bondage. For those who have attempted to learn one of the classical languages, the ultimate freedom comes in achieving the goal of breaking free of the lexicons and syntax books and reading the text with one’s own mind. In essence, the goal in learning a language is to create a habit of speaking/thinking in that tongue by transforming the mind into a sort of living and breathin

David Pareus de Creatione ex Nihilo
David Pareus, German theologian of the 17th century, defined creation as did the scholastics before him. He says: Definitur autem Creatio a theologis scholasticis, quod sit productio seu emanatio totius Entis a causa universali, quae est Deus. (Pareus, Theses de creatione rerum, XVIII) But creation is defined by the scholastic theologians as, that which is a product or emanation from the universal cause of all Being, which is