Posts about books that I’ve read.
“St. Thomas did not reconcile Christ to Aristotle; he reconciled Aristotle to Christ.” (28) Chesterton sees Aquinas as a very practical thinker: commonsensical rather than abstract-to-the-extreme as more modern thinkers are. Chesterton is also critical of both Augustine and Luther to an extent. Nothing wrong with the flesh: That’s part of who we are.
Some notes: (1) At the beginning, he makes the point (that I also make elsewhere on this site) that it actually made good sense for God to want to have His words written down. (2) He argues toward the end that faith determines Heaven or Hell, but works determine the level in either.
Some notes: (1) The gods don’t love people (or create them). (2) The gods are less than our God in many way: power, character, etc. (and they, too, were created). (3) Mythology is more ahistorical. (4) There is more misogyny in mythology. (5) The gods are personifications, so asking, “Do you believe in Venus” is … [Read more…]
Just a couple of notes: (1) The first part of his “Psalms’ (115-17) — on what we have in common with (and how we differ from) the Greeks and Romans versus the Hebrews — is great. (2) It’s thought-provoking that he thinks Jesus got some genes from Mary (121).
Interesting for intersection of classical thought and Christianity (although not overtly Christian, but monotheistic). Would love for Sarah Ruden to write about it! Book V, section II: The more depraved you are the less free will you have; the closer to God you are, the more free will you have. Long discussion in book V … [Read more…]
Over the years, I’ve taken notes on the books I’ve read on Christianity-related topics. This section of the blogsite will include those notes. The books naturally reflect my own interests and, since in any event I can’t read everything in this area, the list is inevitably to some degree idiosyncratic. And there are lots of … [Read more…]