10.17.07
Reading Rahner & Pannenberg
So i have finally began reading Pannenberg and Rahner. I’ve really been wanting to start looking into both of these amazing thinkers. My 1st book for Rahner is The Trinity, which i have heard is amazing. For Pannenberg, I’m actually starting with a compilation of essays about Pannenberg’s thought and its implications, with him writing an autobiographical essay and a response to his twelve critics. I thought that this would be a good place to start with him, although the book is a little dated (1988), so after his systematic theology was written some of their criticisms may have been dealt with effectively.
So my question for my readers is this: have any advice or wisdom for how to read and/or understand either of these guys?
Are Calvinists the Worst Sinners?
Hello fellow bloggers. I’ve been pretty absent lately, b/c life is nuts right now. Despite all the tasks to do, i thought i would sneek a quick post in.
In Thomas A. Smail’s work, The Forgotten Father, he approvingly cites Anselm’s belief that “our Christology is not determined primarily by our philosophy, but by our estimation of our plight and what it took to cope with it – quantum ponderis peccatum (how mighty was our sin).
This reminded of a thought i have often had about Calvinism. Most people think that Calvinism focuses on the mystery or sovereignty of God, and the rest of their beliefs follow from that. I sometimes think that what is actaully foundational for Calvinist beliefs is a particular conception of sin – total depravity.
Cornelius Plantinga has desribed Calvinists as “the guardians of sin” or something close to that. If he, and Anselm are right, does that mean that Calvinists are the worst sinners?
(Note: Read the above as a light-hearted way to stimulate genuine reflection over the implications of one’s understanding of sin)
