The Wider Implications of The Ukraine War (II)

The hypocritical and frankly spurious ICC indictment of Putin for war crimes was timed perfectly to coincide with Xi's recent trip to Moscow, and meant to embarrass the Asian leader who got to claim the credit for the Riyadh-Tehran agreement. Washington's posture regarding the ICC is hypocritical, self-serving, and even ridiculous as the American government consistently claims the court (which it helped to create) has no jurisdiction over either the United States or Israel because they are not signatories to the treaty. However, when it comes to non-signatories such as Russia (who also refuses to acknowledge the court), the ICC has full jurisdiction – or so it is argued.

The Wider Implications of The Ukraine War (I)

These are mostly points that have been touched on over the past year and even well before the war erupted in February 2022. However, some of these points demand revisiting as the dynamics continue to change and the implications of this war are becoming more pronounced and profound. The Ukraine War is affecting global politics and economics but it's also starting to look like the opening chapter in what history may reckon a much larger war of consequence – even possibly a world war. There are certainly those clamouring for it. Perhaps some readers are tired of hearing about Ukraine but in reality one can barely discuss anything right now that touches on geopolitics or the economy without discussing the war in Eastern Europe.

Scholasticism and Muller's Concession

https://derekzrishmawy.com/2015/06/30/dont-underestimate-the-scholastics-or-gleanings-from-richard-mullers-prrd/

Critics of the Calvin vs. the Calvinists thesis often seem to suggest that those who posit the notion have erected a straw man – the supposed epistemological and methodological divide between the first generation of Magisterial Reformers and their seventeenth century descendants just isn't there.

Melia and The Waldenses (II)

Many of the doctrinal points Melia wishes to make (which he does by means of collating numerous quotations and references) are troublesome to the type of Protestant history one encounters with someone like JA Wylie. Melia wants to show how Catholic the Waldenses were and thus drive a wedge betwixt the group as they appeared in history and the romanticised narratives of later historians.

And yet for someone like myself who argues the First Reformation was essentially different on many key points than the Magisterial Reformation, these claims made by Melia are not troubling in the least.

Melia and The Waldenses (I)

The Origin, Persecutions, and Doctrines of The Waldenses by Pius Melia. The original was published in 1870. The copy I read was a 1978 AMS re-print of James Toovey's 1870 edition published in London.

It's a short book but packed with useful information. The Jesuit theologian pulls no punches. It is his intention to dismantle and deconstruct many of the popular narratives surrounding The Waldenses. The book despite its significant flaws is not without value.