In this article, I explore the technical poetic strategies by which George Herbert represents the... more In this article, I explore the technical poetic strategies by which George Herbert represents the relation between divine and human agency. In Herbert's poetry, God works upon the human will not by external influence but by indwelling human nature and enabling it from within. I show that Herbert follows the contours of an Augustinian theology according to which God is both immanent and transcendent, both "in and beyond" the human being. My reading of Herbert considers two groups of poems: first, poems of divine revelation that depict God and humanity engaged in a dialogue in which only one voice speaks ("JESU," "Heaven," and "Coloss. 3.3"), and second, poems about believers' growing awareness of the interpenetration of divine and human agency in their lives ("Aaron," "The Odour"). In both groups of poems, God's action is represented as both internal to and beyond the resources of human agency.
Is the doctrine of providence a guide to interpreting history? The early work of John Milton is o... more Is the doctrine of providence a guide to interpreting history? The early work of John Milton is optimistic about the possibility of such providential discernment. Milton lived during one of the most turbulent periods of English history and was actively involved in the cause of revolution and social reform. His poems typically centre on moments of historical change that seem to illuminate the ultimate meaning of history. After his revolutionary hopes had been shattered, Milton came to perceive a much more ambiguous relationship between history and providence. What history reveals, he now thought, is mostly a pattern of repetition and decline. Milton ends Paradise Lost with the reflection that belief in providence is not so much a species of knowledge as a practice of life. This article traces Milton's movement from providential optimism to providential pessimism and argues for a conception of history in which even acts of divine intervention do not unambiguously alter the course of history.
In spite of recent developments within the fields of cultural and intellectual history, much cont... more In spite of recent developments within the fields of cultural and intellectual history, much contemporary theology suffers from a rationalistic conception of doctrinal history. Few theologians today would be willing to speak of a linear ‘development’ of doctrine; but the assumption that there is a relatively stable Christian tradition, moving through history with its own immanent doctrinal ‘grammar’, remains entrenched in some of the most influential contemporary theologies.
This paper reflects on the context of lockdown in a global pandemic, where entire populations hav... more This paper reflects on the context of lockdown in a global pandemic, where entire populations have experienced severe curtailments of the opportunity to exercise agency. The experience has made me notice the surprisingly large role that resignation has played in Christian moral thinking in earlier ages. This paper takes the devotional poetry of George Herbert as a case study, since Herbert had a particular preoccupation with the psychology of religious belief in circumstances where the will cannot be deployed to any end. Herbert reflects on the predicament in which the moral life has to continue even though opportunities for the exercise of agency have collapsed. After examining Herbert's poems of affliction, I conclude by setting out a brief case for understanding resignation as a moral practice-a practice that centres not on the will but on imagination and the emotions.
This article argues that theology belongs in the university not because of its relationship to th... more This article argues that theology belongs in the university not because of its relationship to the other disciplines but because of its relationship to the church. It discusses Schleiermacher's understanding of theology as a practical science oriented towards Christian leadership in society. It argues that Schleiermacher's account provides an illuminating perspective on the history of academic theology in Australia. Theology belongs in the university not for any internal methodological reasons but because of specific contextual conditions in societies like Australia where Christianity has exerted a large historical influence. The article concludes by arguing that the ecclesial orientation of university theology is compatible with the aims of public theology, given that service to the Christian community is a means by which the common flourishing of society can be promoted.
On the relation between exegesis and the spiritual senses in the work of Origen, plus a bit of Gr... more On the relation between exegesis and the spiritual senses in the work of Origen, plus a bit of Gregory of Nyssa and Sarah Coakley.
Abstract John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (1667) offers a creative seventeenth-century recon... more Abstract John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (1667) offers a creative seventeenth-century reconstruction of the doctrine of predestination, a reconstruction which both anticipates modern theological developments and sheds important light on the history of predestinarian ...
According to Sir Walter Raleigh, the entire plot of Paradise Lost“radiates” from a single point: ... more According to Sir Walter Raleigh, the entire plot of Paradise Lost“radiates” from a single point: the moment when Eve plucks and eats the forbidden fruit. 1 Referring to this moment, Raleigh remarks that “there is not an incident, hardly a line of the poem, but leads backwards or ...
One of the dominant trends in contemporary English-language Barth studies is to view Barth's... more One of the dominant trends in contemporary English-language Barth studies is to view Barth's thought as a project that overcame the problems of modernity by returning to the roots of classical dogma; thus Barth becomes the champion of a renewed (because more deeply ...
... already turned toward them. At this point in the narrative, there is more to the grace of God... more ... already turned toward them. At this point in the narrative, there is more to the grace of God than is dreamt of in Adam's theology. -BENJAMIN MYERS, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia 16 Page 4. NOTES 1. Quotations ...
In this article, I explore the technical poetic strategies by which George Herbert represents the... more In this article, I explore the technical poetic strategies by which George Herbert represents the relation between divine and human agency. In Herbert's poetry, God works upon the human will not by external influence but by indwelling human nature and enabling it from within. I show that Herbert follows the contours of an Augustinian theology according to which God is both immanent and transcendent, both "in and beyond" the human being. My reading of Herbert considers two groups of poems: first, poems of divine revelation that depict God and humanity engaged in a dialogue in which only one voice speaks ("JESU," "Heaven," and "Coloss. 3.3"), and second, poems about believers' growing awareness of the interpenetration of divine and human agency in their lives ("Aaron," "The Odour"). In both groups of poems, God's action is represented as both internal to and beyond the resources of human agency.
Is the doctrine of providence a guide to interpreting history? The early work of John Milton is o... more Is the doctrine of providence a guide to interpreting history? The early work of John Milton is optimistic about the possibility of such providential discernment. Milton lived during one of the most turbulent periods of English history and was actively involved in the cause of revolution and social reform. His poems typically centre on moments of historical change that seem to illuminate the ultimate meaning of history. After his revolutionary hopes had been shattered, Milton came to perceive a much more ambiguous relationship between history and providence. What history reveals, he now thought, is mostly a pattern of repetition and decline. Milton ends Paradise Lost with the reflection that belief in providence is not so much a species of knowledge as a practice of life. This article traces Milton's movement from providential optimism to providential pessimism and argues for a conception of history in which even acts of divine intervention do not unambiguously alter the course of history.
In spite of recent developments within the fields of cultural and intellectual history, much cont... more In spite of recent developments within the fields of cultural and intellectual history, much contemporary theology suffers from a rationalistic conception of doctrinal history. Few theologians today would be willing to speak of a linear ‘development’ of doctrine; but the assumption that there is a relatively stable Christian tradition, moving through history with its own immanent doctrinal ‘grammar’, remains entrenched in some of the most influential contemporary theologies.
This paper reflects on the context of lockdown in a global pandemic, where entire populations hav... more This paper reflects on the context of lockdown in a global pandemic, where entire populations have experienced severe curtailments of the opportunity to exercise agency. The experience has made me notice the surprisingly large role that resignation has played in Christian moral thinking in earlier ages. This paper takes the devotional poetry of George Herbert as a case study, since Herbert had a particular preoccupation with the psychology of religious belief in circumstances where the will cannot be deployed to any end. Herbert reflects on the predicament in which the moral life has to continue even though opportunities for the exercise of agency have collapsed. After examining Herbert's poems of affliction, I conclude by setting out a brief case for understanding resignation as a moral practice-a practice that centres not on the will but on imagination and the emotions.
This article argues that theology belongs in the university not because of its relationship to th... more This article argues that theology belongs in the university not because of its relationship to the other disciplines but because of its relationship to the church. It discusses Schleiermacher's understanding of theology as a practical science oriented towards Christian leadership in society. It argues that Schleiermacher's account provides an illuminating perspective on the history of academic theology in Australia. Theology belongs in the university not for any internal methodological reasons but because of specific contextual conditions in societies like Australia where Christianity has exerted a large historical influence. The article concludes by arguing that the ecclesial orientation of university theology is compatible with the aims of public theology, given that service to the Christian community is a means by which the common flourishing of society can be promoted.
On the relation between exegesis and the spiritual senses in the work of Origen, plus a bit of Gr... more On the relation between exegesis and the spiritual senses in the work of Origen, plus a bit of Gregory of Nyssa and Sarah Coakley.
Abstract John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (1667) offers a creative seventeenth-century recon... more Abstract John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (1667) offers a creative seventeenth-century reconstruction of the doctrine of predestination, a reconstruction which both anticipates modern theological developments and sheds important light on the history of predestinarian ...
According to Sir Walter Raleigh, the entire plot of Paradise Lost“radiates” from a single point: ... more According to Sir Walter Raleigh, the entire plot of Paradise Lost“radiates” from a single point: the moment when Eve plucks and eats the forbidden fruit. 1 Referring to this moment, Raleigh remarks that “there is not an incident, hardly a line of the poem, but leads backwards or ...
One of the dominant trends in contemporary English-language Barth studies is to view Barth's... more One of the dominant trends in contemporary English-language Barth studies is to view Barth's thought as a project that overcame the problems of modernity by returning to the roots of classical dogma; thus Barth becomes the champion of a renewed (because more deeply ...
... already turned toward them. At this point in the narrative, there is more to the grace of God... more ... already turned toward them. At this point in the narrative, there is more to the grace of God than is dreamt of in Adam's theology. -BENJAMIN MYERS, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia 16 Page 4. NOTES 1. Quotations ...
Another article on Bonhoeffer's Life Together, based on talks I gave at the defence chaplains' an... more Another article on Bonhoeffer's Life Together, based on talks I gave at the defence chaplains' annual retreat.
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