Anthony Costello

If “x” then “y.” This simple formula of logic is often used metaphorically to demonstrate one of the most deeply rooted phenomena about human moral action, the principle of retribution, or retributive justice. Most religions, societies, and their corresponding systems of justice, and most personal relationships, seem governed by the simple rule that if one does evil, then he should reap punishment, while if one does good, she should reap reward. However, for those who hold to the authority of the biblical revelation, it raises the question, “How does the God of the Bible relate to this principle of justice?” Or from a more human perspective, “is there some other justice, outside of retribution, that applies to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as He interacts with mankind?” This paper will endeavor to find answers to those two questions in three Old Testament Wisdom books: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job.

Few philosophers have influenced the “post-modern” dialogue on human nature and human sexuality as deeply as the critical theorist, Herbert Marcuse. At the same time, the work of Marcuse and others in the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory (e.g. Horkheimer, Adorno) often goes unnoticed or unanalyzed both in theological circles, and in evangelical communities more broadly. Marcusean critical theory, however, and its significant and widespread impact on the culture of sex in the post-WWII western world, cannot be overlooked by those committed to the traditional teachings of the historical confessions of the church with regard to human sexuality, gender, and marriage. This paper will give an overview of Critical Theory with a deeper analysis of Marcuse’s particular thought on human sexuality in order to shed some light upon the intellectual backdrop against which current debates within the American church on homosexuality and gender are taking place. In conclusion, I will touch on how Critical Theory has infiltrated the thinking of the church and should be exposed before so-called “epistemic crises” concerning sexual ethics achieve any sort of resolution.

This paper looks at Daniel Dennett's version of the evolution of religious belief as naturalistic phenomena as argued in his book "Breaking the Spell." It then challenges one part of his naturalistic account of the origins of religious belief, namely that animism was the earliest form of religious belief. This is done by presenting Winfried Corduan's defense of Wilhelm Schmidt's "Urgotttheorie" or "High God Theory" of early, or original, monotheism.

Unity in diversity, individuality in community; this dialectic reality is the wellspring of some of history’s greatest achievements (e.g. Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and some of its greatest tragedies (e.g. National Socialism). As fallen beings, if we push too hard in one direction the hunger for unity can mutate into faceless uniformity. Push too hard in the opposite, and the cacophony of individual voices drowns out the common good. It is a classic, philosophical enigma, one that haunts every generation. For what, if anything, ultimately unites us? And, if united, must the self be sacrificed? In his letter to the Romans (Rom 12:4-5), the church in Corinth (1 Cor 6:15-20; 12:12-13, 27), and his general epistle to Ephesus (Eph 4:4-6), the apostle Paul offers an answer: it is the Holy Spirit of God, who, in His infinite wisdom and power, unites all who have believed in the Son into the very body of Christ, a single body that is the Church. But, is this body merely a metaphor for the spirt-empowered horizontal relationships that exist between believers, or is there a way we can understand the Body of Christ as an ontologically robust reality? This paper will explore key passages in the NT that hint at something more metaphysical than metaphorical and then offer a philosophical model for one possible candidate for this reality that is the Church.

Acting justly in the midst of morally complex states of affairs is one of the most daunting challenges a human person can face. War presents us with the paradigmatic framework of acting amid such morally complex conditions. Thus, for the Christian who feels called to the vocation of soldiering, the question of how he or she can best prepare for such complex moral conditions found in war naturally emerges. One way to prepare is through the cultivation of certain kinds of virtues that may help the Christian soldier overcome emotional and psychological pressures in the midst of "the fogs of war," allowing atrocity to be avoided, and just violence to be applied. In this paper I will argue that the training of one's emotions to properly responded to the aesthetic qualities of beauty, and its antithesis, here referred to as "the grotesque," can function as a tool for making right decisions under such morally complex and difficult circumstances.