Athanasius and the Divine Dilemma

Athanasius clearly affirms a legal atonement.  He mentions that after the fall, men are under the “law of death.”  It is indeed ontological, life vs. death, but it is also legal, as Adam is being punished for his sin.  This is only one half of the dilemma, however.  Athanasius believes that God’s glory would be [...]

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Athanasius and Barth

In his influential Arius: Heresy and Tradition, Rowan Williams compares the theology of Athanasius with that of Karl Barth.  Wiliams writes:
Both insist that there is no gap conceivable between God as he acts towards us—as the Father of Jesus Christ—and that activity in and by which God is eternally what he is. Athanasius’ refusal to [...]

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Augustinian Metaphors in Athanasius’s Theology

As then the light from the Sun which illumines the world could never be supposed, by men of sound mind, to do so without the Sun, since the Sun’s light is united to the Sun by nature; and as, if the Light were to say: I have received from the Sun the power of illumining [...]

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The Folly of Image Worship

Athanasius writes, in his Contra Gentes, that the worship of created things is forbidden by the Scriptures and dishonorable to the created thing.  He explains:
Again, in worshipping things of wood and stone, they do not see that, while they tread under foot and burn what is in no way different, they call portions of these [...]

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A Little Help From the Readers

So I need some help folks.  I’m working on a paper about the life of Athanasius.  I’ve read all the major secondary sources and a good bit of the primary stuff.  Surprisingly, I have yet to come across the famed “contra mundum” statement.  So this is where you come in.  Did Athanasius ever actually say [...]

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Mrs. Fidget

In The Four Loves, C S Lewis explains one particular perversion of affection.  This sort of “love” turns the posture of giving into an idol.  The giver has to give in order to feel necessary.  The giving itself makes demands.  It lords generosity over others.   It fulfills its own need by giving, and indeed, [...]

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You Know

There are a whole bunch of places where I disagree with what I used to believe.
And I haven’t even been thinking for very long.

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