The Hump of the Camel

Given the posts and ensuing discussion here over the last week or two, I thought it might be useful to link directly to the teaching of Thomas Aquinas on providence, and the subject that springs directly from it in Aquinas’ thought, predestination. Continue reading →

There’s a running joke in our house, that if I thank my wife for getting me dinner, she replies, “Don’t thank me – thank Tesco.” Sometimes it does indeed seem as if the supermarket chain is taking over the world – though America proved resistant to its might. Tesco not only has a lion’s share of the UK food market, but has exclusive contracts with many food producers, an ability to bleed trade away from every High Street trader to out-of-town stores, a massive vehicle fleet and the distinction of being the largest property company in Europe. But that’s what it takes, it seems, to be able to guarantee ones (necessarily) loyal customers that they’ll be able to get what they want, when they want it. Continue reading →

Blogger “Bilbo” is a veteran of BioLogos, Uncommon Descent and other faith/science sites, as well as a subscriber here on the Hump. He has just posted a short piece on the Lord’s prayer, suggesting it is evidence that God’s will is not done here on earth. The timing and subject suggest he may possibly have picked up the idea from Peter Hickman’s “parting shot” comment to me here, to the same effect. Continue reading →

The nihilist title is not mine! Reluctantly I’ve made this reply to Seenoevo’s comment  a new post, simply to manage the length and formatting better. It didn’t really merit more than an inline comment. Continue reading →

I ended a recent post, which discussed the New Testament’s use of the word “foreknow”, with the question of what kind of view Paul is most likely to have had on the issue of free-will. After all, it’s one thing to see different ways in which a text might be interpreted, or has been interpreted in Christian history. But if, to give one important example, the Renaissance notion of libertarian free-will did not exist in the New Testament world, to interpret the word “freedom” that way would be anachronistic. So knowledge of Paul’s religious culture would be valuable.

Providentially we have a relevant first century Judaean source in the historian Josephus, who actually discusses this very issue in several passages, particularly in those describing the various Jewish parties of his time. These he refers to as “philosophical sects”, which tells us about his intentions as an author: he is writing to a Gentile audience after the defeat of his nation in the Jewish War, to persuade them of the wisdom and worthiness of the Jews. Continue reading →