A nice passage to contemplate by Hans-Helmuth Gander on Gadamer’s historically-friendly description of a human being as “biography”:
“Reflection on history means as well, therefore, that the one reflecting is himself always already involved in history. No one simply ‘takes up’ history, and no one begins it; for this reason a single reflection on history is [...]

In Solzhenitsyn’s Nobel Lecture (given in the 70’s), he recalls something that Dostoevsky once said—something that he used to consider quite puzzling, viz., “Beauty will save the world.” (“Мир спасет красота”). He goes on to say, “There is […] something special in the essence of beauty, a special quality in art: the conviction carried by [...]

Having examined Calvin’s view on faith, we now turn to Aquinas. As is commonplace with St. Thomas, he takes his starting point from St. Augustine, who defines believing as “thinking with assent” ( cum assentione cogitare). Given his 13th century context and the categories that were now operative as a result of the [...]

When Calvin argues against the “Schoolmen” in his Institutes does he include St. Thomas in this group or does he primarily have men like John Eck, John Cochlaeus, Andreaus Osiander, and Albert Pighius (all contemporaries of Calvin who taught at the Sorbonne) in mind? As Arvin Vos convincingly argues, the latter are the targets of [...]

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,that though he was rich,yet for your sakes he became poor.2 Cor 8:9
***All praise to thee eternal Lord,clothed in a garb of flesh and blood;choosing a manger for thy throne,while worlds are thine alone.
Once did the skies before thee bow;a virgin’s arms contain thee now;angels who did [...]

If anyone is interested, I have just uploaded a new paper on Luther to my website. You can read it by clicking, Luther: Continuities and Discontinuities with His Late Medieval Context.
I hope to post more on Gadamer in the days to come. Until then, Merry Christmas to all!
Cynthia

In stark contrast to a modern aversion to prejudice or bias as a hindrance to “objectivity,” Gadamer presents a positive view of prejudices in his view of hermeneutics. According to Gadamer, all of us come to the text with our own prejudices or “horizons” and these biases are not be understood as solely negative or [...]

In Kathleen Wright’s article, “On What We Have in Common: The Universality of Philosophical Hermeneutics,” she writes the following regarding Gadamer’s understanding of the universality of hermeneutics:
“the universal aspect of hermeneutics has to do with the community we join and the communion we feel in and through the fusion of horizons.”
What Wright wants to highlight [...]

In an excellent introductory essay to Gadamer’s work, Philosophical Hermeneutics, David Linge discusses the ways in which Gadamer’s phenomenology of the game overcomes a number of hermeneutical difficulties. For example, instead of attempting to explicate understanding from the subjective points of view of the author or interpreter, Gadamer describes understanding as analogous to what [...]

Dru has an excellent post on Karl Rahner’s symbolism as found in Rahner’s Theological Investigations. Here is an excerpt from Dru’s post:
“From his Theological Investigations, Rahner begins the theology of the symbol with the suggestion that all beings are plural. Since we are plural, we are expressive because we must reconcile with our plurality. This [...]

Below is an excerpt from the recent paper that I presented at Baylor. I would be interested in your feedback (positive and negative)—specifically, I would love to hear ideas as to how what I suggest might be brought into conversation with the hermeneutical insights of Gadamer [whom I have just begun to read this week [...]

Since I recently finished my last exam and need a few days to “unwind” before attempting any “serious” posts, I thought that I would inquire as to some of your favorite films/movies. I am always seeking thought provoking films and am continually disappointed by most of what I am able to find at local video [...]

With this [see Part II] background in place, we are now ready to examine what Marion means by the “white theology” of Descartes. A good place to begin is with a brief glance at the work’s table of contents, whose basic twofold structure offers a helpful way in to the question. Book One of Théologie [...]

By Derek Morrow
[Part I can be accessed here].
So why does Marion place Descartes’ “white” theology in the middle of the trilogy? To answer this question, we first need to take a step back and look at what is meant by the “gray” ontology of the first book. In that book, Marion examines The Rules for [...]

The following is a three-part series on Jean-Luc Marion based on a recent lecture presented at the University of Dallas by Derek Morrow. Though I have been at UD for two years, this was my first semester to met Derek, and it has been my great pleasure to get to know him and become friends. [...]

In a section entitled, “Towards a Theology of History,” Murray A. Rae highlights the Bible as a theological account of history “that is shaped by the conviction that all that takes place does so within the context of God’s providential care for the created order” (p. 283). That it is a theological account in [...]