Tag Archives: eternity

Committing Theological Fraud: St Basil the Great and David Bentley Hart

Posted on 7 February 2020 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Having already published one caustic review of That All Shall Be Saved, First Things has just published yet another piece on the book: “Theological Fraud” by Michael Pakaluk. The accusive title will no doubt bait many clicks. So what is … Continue reading →

Posted in David B. Hart, Eschatology | Tagged , , , , , , | 61 Comments

What Does God Know and When Did He Know It?

Posted on 2 November 2019 by Fr Aidan Kimel

To be God is to know … everything. He is the Creator who brings beings into being from out of non-being. If something, anything, exists, God knows it; and he knows it complete­ly, exhaustively, immediately. He knows the world from … Continue reading →

Posted in Hugh McCann, Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

God is Different Because of the World

Posted on 13 February 2017 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Norris Clarke is clear—he does not seek a repristination of the metaphysics of St Thomas Aquinas. He speaks, rather, of a “creative retrieval”; and some of his views can be pretty creative, at least by Thomist standards. Consider Clarke’s position … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Eternal Now That is Not Now

Posted on 30 November 2016 by Fr Aidan Kimel

In his book Creation and the Sovereignty of God, Catholic philosopher Hugh McCann seeks to vigorously defend the traditional understanding of timeless, or atemporal, eternity. If this world of becoming, mutability, and temporal succession has been created from nothing, then … Continue reading →

Posted in Hugh McCann, Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , | 22 Comments

Prisoner of Time: The Temporal Deity of Analytic Theology

Posted on 28 November 2016 by Fr Aidan Kimel

As a follow-up to my recent article on open theism, I thought I’d begin reading Creation and the Sovereignty of God by Hugh J. McCann. McCann stands in the analytic philosophical tradition and is known as a strong advocate of classical theism. I am … Continue reading →

Posted in Hugh McCann, Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Open Theism, Eternity, and the Biblical God

Posted on 14 November 2016 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Twenty some years ago I read the ground­breaking book The Openness of God—a collection of essays by evangelical theologians and philosophers who argue that the “biblical” God who does not foreknow the future. This understanding has since become known as “open theism.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Herbert McCabe & Friends, Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 63 Comments

Karl Barth, Valhalla, and the Feasting of Heaven

Posted on 13 October 2015 by Fr Aidan Kimel

A Twitter discussion last week directed me to an article on Karl Barth and the afterlife. Barth apparently rejected all notions of afterlife, identifying them as a pursuing of “pagan dreams of good times after death.” No Elysium. No Valhalla. … Continue reading →

Posted in Eschatology | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Does God Know What Hasn’t Happened Yet?

Posted on 5 August 2015 by Fr Aidan Kimel

In my article on Molinism, I quoted a lengthy passage on divine foreknowledge from David Burrell’s book Freedom and Creation in Three Traditions.  Several people found Burrell’s analysis confusing. While the passage is a tad clearer when when read within … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments