Tag Archives: hermeneutics

Review: Medieval Exegesis, volume 2

Posted on January 7, 2018 by J. B. Aitken

Henri de Lubac’s writing style is similar to M Night Shamalyan’s film success: in some works he was wildly successful, in others he just got lucky, and some just failed to deliver.  Volume 2 of Medieval Exegesis is in the … Continue reading →

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DKG questions: 2 (Precision and Metaphor)

Posted on June 9, 2017 by J. B. Aitken

“We should not seek to impose upon church officers a form of creedal subscription intended to be maximally precise.” Again, Scripture’s vagueness disallows ultimate maximum precision and secondarily, it makes unwise to force subscription to a document that implicitly seeks … Continue reading →

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Atheism for Lent

Posted on February 7, 2017 by J. B. Aitken

Merold Westphal suggests that the three great “masters of suspicion,” Nietzsche, Marx, and Freud, are actually theologians of original sin, if seen correctly.  I share the same conclusion. http://www.atheismforlent.net/about/ I’m not as thrilled about “contemplative meditation” as this site is, … Continue reading →

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Truth and Method (review)

Posted on August 8, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

This is one of those great moments where a great student follows his master (Heidegger) yet gives us a new product and not simply a repetition of his master. In short, for Gadamer language is the horizon of being. As … Continue reading →

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Notes on Gadamer, 2

Posted on July 31, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

Chapter 2: The Ontology of the Work of Art Play: the mode of the being of the work of art itself (106). (Note: When a continental philosopher uses the term “play” he doesn’t mean it in the sense of the … Continue reading →

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Notes on Gadamer, 1

Posted on July 30, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

From Truth and Method.  Notes on Section 1. Bildung:  the properly human way of developing one’s capacities; culture. reveals a new tacit dimension of man’s existence. Erlebnis: an experience you have; connected with a subject’s knowing Erfahrung: experience as an … Continue reading →

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History and Spirit (de Lubac)

Posted on June 2, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

“The Law is spiritual.” This one sentence allows Origen to seek “mystical” meanings beyond that of the literal text–and in de Lubac’s hands he does a fairly impressive job. In many ways this work can be seen as a case … Continue reading →

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Van Til and a “thrown” world

Posted on May 1, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

Van Tillians love to say there are no “uninterpreted facts.”  All facts are already “pre-interpreted by God.” Now, when you get them to explain just what a “pre-interpreted fact” looks like, that ends much of the discussion.  But I think … Continue reading →

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Medieval Exegesis Vol. 1

Posted on February 13, 2016 by J. B. Aitken

Argument: Medieval exegesis isn’t simply allegory, for it goes far beyond the method of ancient pagan sources. Rather, it seeks the “spirit” of Scripture. Medieval Exegesis. Volume 1: The Four Senses of Scripture. By Henri de Lubac. Translated by Mark … Continue reading →

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