Tolkien, Liberalism and Modernity

It is not uncommon to hear it suggested that Tolkien's idealised depiction of The Shire reflects the type of society envisioned by Libertarians. They would point to the fact that despite having a mayor and a few officials The Shire is largely self-governing and self-regulated.

Tolkien mentions an unofficial system of patronage in which some of the wealthier hobbits provide for those in need so that no one is truly destitute.

Today's NIV

Recently I reported in a comment of an experience I had at a local Evangelical Church that related to the newer edition of the New International Version (NIV).

Starting in 2011, the NIV switched over to gender-neutral pronouns. As to the reason why, I'm sure some justifications have been given but at the end of the day it must be admitted it's a capitulation to the gender-climate and political correctness.

Gnosticism through a Dominionist Lens Part 5

In the world but not of the world

Gnosticism through a Dominionist Lens Part 4

Elitist Knowledge

Gnosticism through a Dominionist Lens Part 3

The Matter of This Age

Gnosticism through a Dominionist Lens Part 2

Varieties of Contra Mundum

Gnosticism through a Dominionist Lens Part 1

The Hellenistic-Judaizing Spectrum

After watching this brief lecture from Ryan Reeves a professor at Gordon-Conwell I've decided to use it as something of an object lesson, a framework with which to interact. The information is fairly basic but is viewed and interpreted within a framework that I would argue is something less than Scriptural.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXc-vvCivp4

Ockham's Razor, Scepticism and Biblicism Part 5

Recovering Authoritative Scripture and Questioning the Western Heritage

Ockham's Razor, Scepticism and Biblicism Part 4

Anchoring and Scepticism

Ockham's Razor, Scepticism and Biblicism Part 3

The Razor and Rationalist Views of the Text

Ockham's Razor, Scepticism and Biblicism Part 2

Saving Faith and Scepticism

Ockham's Razor, Scepticism and Biblicism Part 1

This is a re-working of a post from 2010 on Nominalism and Thomism. I have updated, clarified and expanded the original article.

 I apologise in advance as there is a degree of redundancy and overlap with the 'Riddles of Fundamentalism' piece. That said, this essay ventures into other realms not covered in that series.

Part 1: History and Inference

Nominalism is often blamed for the philosophical scepticism that arose in the 14th century leading to a climate that allowed The Great Schism to happen, a breakdown in the authority and prestige of the Papacy and ultimately the basis for the social consensus. It had sowed the seeds which led to the breakdown of the Scholastic justification of the Papal System and even Christendom itself.