Tag Archives: creatio ex nihilo

Ainulindalë: The Secret of the Secret Fire

Posted on 7 March 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

You cannot pass. I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass. Gandalf’s confrontation … Continue reading →

Posted in Ainulindale, Inklings & Company, Mythopoeia | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Ainulindalë: Eä!

Posted on 4 March 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Then there was unrest among the Ainur; but Ilúvatar called to them, and said: ‘I know the desire of your minds that what ye have seen should verily be, not only in your thought, but even as ye yourselves are, yet … Continue reading →

Posted in Ainulindale, Inklings & Company, Mythopoeia | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ainulindalë: The Creation of the Angels

Posted on 3 February 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Eru engë, i estaina ná Ilúvatar Ardassë; ar ónes minyavë Ainur, i ner i híni sanweryo, ar nentë ósë nó ilúvë ontaina né. There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy … Continue reading →

Posted in Ainulindale, Inklings & Company, Mythopoeia | Tagged , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Avicenna and Aquinas: Ruminating Divine Freedom and Necessity

Posted on 7 November 2022 by Fr Aidan Kimel

I recently wrote the following letter to Dr Rahim Acar, a Muslim scholar and expert on the philosopher Avicenna. For purposes of publication, I have revised and significantly expanded the letter, adding quotations from his book, as well as specific … Continue reading →

Posted in Aquinas, Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Eternal God and the World That Need Not Be

Posted on 4 October 2022 by Fr Aidan Kimel

As I write this article, I am sitting on my deck with my two Collies, Tiriel and Fëanor. They are keeping vigilant watch. The clouds are gathering. The thunder is getting closer. With each peal they scramble around the deck, … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Creation, Theodicy, and the Problem of Evil

Posted on 12 April 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

by Robert F. Fortuin This essay sets forth the claim that the absolute freedom of God’s act of creation informs the nature and meaning of evil. Because God created the universe without prior constraint or necessity, His moral nature and … Continue reading →

Posted in Gregory of Nyssa, Robert Fortuin | Tagged , , , , | 34 Comments

David Bentley Hart and the Moral Argument Against Hell

Posted on 24 January 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

This article has been revised, expanded and republished under the title “God’s Eschatological Salvific Will” by Tom Belt I’ll get right to the point. I’m shocked that reviews of David Bentley Hart’s recent That All Shall Be Saved which reject his … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Tom Belt, Universalism and Eschatology | Tagged , , , , , , | 49 Comments

When Hell Becomes Dogma: The Closing of the Catholic Mind

Posted on 2 January 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

My working principle: once eternal damnation is accepted by an ecclesial community as dogmatically binding, three things happen: Holy Scripture and the patristic tradition will be read through the dogma. Preaching and theological speculation will be governed by this dogma, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, David B. Hart, Universalism and Eschatology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 64 Comments