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UPDATE: ‘Confessions’ Book III: Chapters 1 – 6
Here our our essays on Chapters 1 – 6 of Book III in Augustine’s Confessions.
This week, we tried to answer and explore the eternal philosophical question of “What is love?” as Haddaway expresses here.
Pretty lively discussions from our group this past muggy Thursday at Central Park.
Our essays focused on Augustine’s critique of theaters; try to answer what love is; experiences encountering the Bible; and the relationship between theology and philosophy.
‘Confessions’ – Book III: Chapters 1 – 6
The Mani Prayer wheel used for prayers in Tibetan Buddhism. Augustine was a follower of Manichaeism in his early life.
In Book III, Augustine leaves for Carthage from his hometown of Thagaste and enters a place and a lifestyle in which “all around me hissed a cauldron of illicit loves.” This is a low point in Augustine’s relationship with God–turned almost entirely toward transient diversions, he seems to feel he could get no lower.
It was during this time, when he was around sixteen years old, that he hooked up with a girl and would settle down with her for the next dozen years or so. In that time, having a common-law wife or living together and even having a child together was not considered particularly immoral. The main problem would be that she had come from a lower social class that Augustine which meant that any children they had would take her lower status, not his. This would cause problems for his family who most definitely wanted him to marry a woman with a high social standing. Augustine never reveals her name, most likely to protect her from unwanted attention. As Augustine would later write, she went back to Africa and vowed never to take another man.
UPDATE: Final Thoughts on Diarmaid MacCulloch’s “Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years”
Well, we’ve come to the end after two years of reading “Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years” and we share our final thoughts here.
Howard and Chris share what they have learned and gained from reading this book; Michael writes about the historical development of how Greek pagan philosophy seeped into Western theology and how it has affected our contemporary reading of the Bible; I share my thoughts on divine intervention (or non-intervention more specifically) and history or my attempt to understand God’s role in history after having read this book.
We hope and pray that we will use the knowledge gained from this session wisely. I believe that this is just the beginning of our journey into learning more about the history of the Church.
“The Bible: So Misunderstood It’s a Sin” by Kurt Eichenwald in Newsweek
A friend sent me a link to this article about the Bible and biblical illiteracy among evangelicals today from the January 2015 issue of Newsweek.
The author makes the argument that modern American evangelicalism (aka the popular conservative portrayal of Christianity many have in mind in America) is quite at odds with what the Bible actually teaches, particularly when it comes to issues about the inerrancy of the Bible, issues on homosexuality, women’s roles in the church, the formation of the canon, and other issues. In fact, the Bible condemns the style of Christianity modern evangelicals are practicing now, the article states.
The Evolution of Satan
Statue of Satan at the Satanic Temple in Detroit, MI.
Great article and post on the development of Satan/the Devil in Judeo-Christian thought and theology through the centuries over at isthatinthebible.wordpress.com.
Highly fascinating.
“Princes of Darkness: The Devil’s Many Faces in Scripture and Tradition”
“A Biblical Guide to the Metropolitan Museum of Art – Vol. I: The Ancient Near East”
Late last year I teamed up with Ron Choong, PhD, executive director of ACT Ministry, to write a museum guide to the Ancient Near Eastern Art Gallery for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What Does it Mean to be “Saved?”
When you ask your average Christian or evangelical what salvation means, more likely than not, he or she will respond with, “Jesus Christ died for your sins so that you will enter heaven after death, escape from the fires of hell, and instead spend eternity with Him.” And normally, they would equate that statement to be the basic meaning of the gospel.
However, that seems to be a very parochial understanding of the term ‘salvation’.
What did the Bible writers, especially the author of the Gospel of Luke, mean by the term ‘salvation’ or what it means to be ‘saved’?
Here’s an essay about the term ‘salvation’ here.
Site Update: New Sub-Menu – “Biblical Exegesis and Hermeneutics”
Since 2006, I have studied in depth the art and discipline of biblical exegesis and hermeneutics as both a student and a tutor to lay persons over the years.
It has been a tremendous blessing and life-changing journey to go through the Bible in a serious and thorough way.
I have included a new sub-menu category under the “Biblical Studies” menu on top titled “Biblical Exegesis and Hermeneutics” which covers a span from 2006 – 2014.
“Questioning Darwin” – HBO Documentary
This HBO documentary takes a look into the beliefs of creationists and biblical literalists to understand why they so vehemently oppose evolution and Darwinism. That’s one half of the documentary.
The other half looks into the life and beliefs of Charles Darwin, and how so often he is misunderstood.
I would’ve liked if they could have interviewed Christians who embraced evolution or had no problems believing in the comparability of evolution (by natural selection) and Christianity, but they may be in the minority or not as vocal as creationists and evolutionary atheists.
This is a huge topic within American culture, society, and religion that gets really heated at times.
Chapter 21: Enlightenment: Ally or Enemy? (1492 – 1815) – Part I
“A Philosopher lecturing with a Mechanical Planetary” by Joseph Wright, 1766
We will be having our next meeting on Tuesday, August 12.
Please read the first two sections of Chapter 21: Natural and Unnatural Philosophy (1492 – 1700) and Judaism, Skepticism, Deism (1492 – 1700), and please answer one of the following questions:
- What are the origins and purposes of Freemasonry or Masonic practice? What attitudes of the Reformation did they inherit? What connections did they have with more esoteric sources of sacred literature like hermetic books, Neoplatonic writings, and the Jewish Cabbala?
- Describe the impact of the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries. How did the study and progress of science (or ‘natural philosophy’) impact theology during this time? What were some of the religious ideas of Sir Isaac Newton? What was the primary focus of Francis Bacon’s project in extending human knowledge through empiricism and how did it relate to the story of Adam and Eve?
- Describe the impact the 1492 expulsion of the Jewish population in the Iberian peninsula had upon Europe as they spread to other territories. How did they view the Reformation? How did the culture of doubt and skepticism of religion come about as a result of oppressive Church practices like the Iberian Inquisitions? How did the religiously tolerant atmosphere of places like Amsterdam foster religious skepticism?
- Discuss the impact of the thoughts and works of Baruch de Spinoza. What were some of his beliefs about God and religion that many found so dangerous? Describe his two important works Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670) and Ethics (1677). Why were these works banned?
- Discuss how the Huguenots were behind many of the anti-religious writings during the Enlightenment. Explain how the historical criticism of the Bible during this time led to serious doubts about its divine inspiration.
- How did the observations of Pierre Bayle, Thomas Hobbes, early Quakers, Isaac La Peyrere, and the discovery of other races of people in the Americas affect thought about the authority of the Church and the authority of the Bible?
- What is deism and how did it gain prominence during the Enlightenment? How did Protestant Evangelicals and Pietist counteract deism?
I know some are really excited to read this part of history and the importance of the Enlightenment, so it should be fertile ground for some interesting discussions and insights in the upcoming weeks ahead. Really looking forward to our discussions.
Please submit your essays by Monday, August 11.
Project Augustine 