This is part 4 of a series on the book The Logic of the Body by Matthew La Pine. For the others, see the top of Part 1. In the previous post, we saw the need for an account of human psychology that can explain how emotions can be both a matter of moral responsibility and also bound up with bodily states that are not straightforwardly voluntary. Matthew La … Continue reading The Logic of the Body – part 4
This is part 3 of a series on the book The Logic of the Body by Matthew La Pine. For the others, see the top of Part 1. Part 3 – Emotional voluntarism The main section of the book commences with an analysis of what LaPine calls a “generically Reformed evangelical perspective” on emotions, which he summarises as the view that “we are responsible for … Continue reading The Logic of the Body – part 3
“I must again revert to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Why is it that this man is so incomparable? Why is it that for the receptive, he has produced in almost every bar he conceived and composed a type of music for which “beautiful” is not a fitting epithet: music which for the true Christian is not mere entertainment, enjoyment or edification but food and drink; music … Continue reading Karl Barth on Mozart
This is part 2 of a series on the book The Logic of the Body by Matthew La Pine. For the others, see the top of Part 1. Terminology: Emotions, affections, or passions? Before diving into his main argument, LaPine warns that he will use the language of passions, emotions and affections interchangeably throughout, while acknowledging this to be a controversial move. These terms probably … Continue reading The Logic of the Body – part 2
Are emotions bodily changes or mental states? Do we have active control over our emotions, the exercise of which is a question of obedience, or are they physiological changes we passively experience? How do we approach something like anxiety from a pastoral angle: is it a sinful mindset to be repented of and changed, or a bodily affliction to be treated and possibly medicated away? … Continue reading The Logic of the Body – part 1
Inspired by this challenge, I am squeezing some classics into my reading this year. Some are re-reads, but while reading these works I will particularly particularly have my eye on atonement themes. I was intrigued but not wholly convinced by Ben Myer’s summary of the patristic doctrine of the atonement in his chapter in the volume Locating Atonement and would like to road test it … Continue reading On the Incarnation, Athanasius – notes
Murphy, Mark C. ‘Not Penal Substitution but Vicarious Punishment’. Faith and Philosophy 26, no. 3 (2009): 253–73. https://doi.org/10.5840/faithphil200926314. The argument of this article is that penal substitution is untenable “for conceptual reasons.” Instead, Mark Murphy offers an account of vicarious punishment, which he believes accounts for the mechanism of the atonement in a similar way to penal substitution, but does not fall foul of the … Continue reading Not penal substitution but vicarious punishment – Mark C. Murphy. Notes.
Lament for a Son is a raw expression of the grief and anguish of losing a child. Nicholas Wolterstorff wrote these reflections in the aftermath of his son’s death in a climbing accident, wrestling with the ongoing pain and loss in the context of his Christian faith. Wolterstorff’s experience and gifting as a philosopher and author is well in evidence in the clarity and poignancy … Continue reading Lament for a Son – notes
When a theologian undertakes a law degree in order to better apply legal theories to their understanding of the atonement, it demonstrates them to be aiming a very high level of care and precision in that which they produce. Those characteristics will already be recognisable to those familiar with Oliver Crisp’s previous work (particularly on the person of Christ). This small book is just a … Continue reading Crisp, Approaching the Atonement – notes
Carl Trueman’s magnificent volume has been my first read of 2021. I found it spellbinding, though it would be hard to say in a pleasant way. The tale Trueman tells of how we arrived at our present cultural and political moment is encapsulated in his simple summary: first the self is psychologised, then the psychological is sexualised, and finally the sexual is politicised. To tell … Continue reading The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self – notes
