Tag Archives: Paul Griffiths

When Hell Becomes Dogma: Damning to Nothingness

Posted on 15 February 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 the dogma, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, David B. Hart, Eschatology, Paul Griffiths | Tagged , , , , , | 27 Comments

Universalism’s Convenientia

Posted on 9 December 2020 by Fr Aidan Kimel

by Paul J. Griffiths Among the criteria that theologians use to determine what to say next and how to say it – to know how to go on in theology, that is – is appeal to convenientia.1 Fittingness, that is, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Eschatology, Paul Griffiths | Tagged , , , , , , , | 90 Comments

The Vulnerability and Invulnerability of the Natal Flesh of God

Posted on 20 May 2019 by Fr Aidan Kimel

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. John 1:14 To fully understand human corporeality, we … Continue reading →

Posted in Paul Griffiths | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Eros and Flesh in the Devastation

Posted on 12 May 2019 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Human flesh, like all forms of flesh, is locatable in timespace. We can measure it, we can map it, we can clock its movements. The same may be said for material inanimate entities, yet an important difference remains. We inhabit … Continue reading →

Posted in Paul Griffiths | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Flesh in the Devastation

Posted on 8 May 2019 by Fr Aidan Kimel

“Fleshly creatures in the LORD’s image and likeness”—Paul J. Griffiths proposes this formula as a provisional definition of human beings (Decreation, p. 157). One could easily write a series of books unpacking this definition. In this post and the next, … Continue reading →

Posted in Paul Griffiths | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Resurrection Prolegomena

Posted on 30 April 2019 by Fr Aidan Kimel

We are in the midst of Paschaltide; and our thoughts are focused on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and its implications for the Church, the cosmos, and our personal lives. Last week I summarized the reflections of the fine British … Continue reading →

Posted in Herbert McCabe & Friends, Paul Griffiths | Tagged , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Annihilating Angels

Posted on 10 November 2018 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Catholic theologian Paul J. Griffiths has proposed a controversial thesis: annihilation is a novissimal possibility for angels and human beings; they may find their last thing in a decreative return to the nothingness. One point needs to be clarified, though. … Continue reading →

Posted in Eschatology, Paul Griffiths | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

The Novissimum of Annihilation

Posted on 4 November 2018 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Novissima, the last things—there was a time when Western pastors would systematically preach on the last things under four topics: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. During my thirty years of active ministry, I preached on the last things during Advent … Continue reading →

Posted in Eschatology, Paul Griffiths | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments