The Heretic King of Bohemia

I recently finished Frederick Heymann's George of Bohemia: King of Heretics (1965, Princeton University Press). It's a weighty and laborious read but necessary for anyone seeking to understand the history of Hussitism.

Musing on The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance and Forty Years that Shook the World (II)

All things considered, I don't disagree with Wyman's general narrative regarding the rise of the modern West and how it surpassed previous super-power states and cultures like that of the Ottoman Empire.

But rather than celebrate Capitalism and the way it has reshaped the world, I would offer some different narratives to consider.

Musing on The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance and Forty Years that Shook the World (I)

Patrick Wyman's The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance and Forty Years that Shook the World (published in 2021 by Twelve) focuses primarily on the years1490-1530. He argues this period was critical for understanding the modern world as the West moved through these four decades of transition.

In the process of surveying some of the main historical events of this period, he teases out key cultural markers that (he argues) set the stage for the coming period and the world we know today.

Norwich's History of the Papacy

Having recently finished Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy, by John Julius Norwich (first published in 2011), I must say I was in the overall – disappointed. My hopes were already diminished as I have interacted with some of his other works and found him to be wanting. This book was no exception. There were numerous errors and I found his analysis frustrating at many points. I wanted to give him another try as the nature of the volume intrigued me. He writes about topics that greatly interest me but there's something a bit off about his approach and degree of acumen.

Inbox: Protestantism as Progress

I was asked to elaborate a bit on the question of proto-Protestantism's relationship to Magisterial Protestantism and the question of conservative vs. progressive movements.

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.

Postscript: Magisterial Protestantism's Cultural Legacy and Aesthetic Schizophrenia

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XXI)

This topic may seem off-base or represent a strange sidetrack and it must be admitted not all will be interested in this discussion or even be able to follow it. Nevertheless these are issues of practical importance, all the more given the way in which such questions (presented within the framework of a holistic system) permeate Evangelical discussions and dominate airwaves, pulpits, and an endless stream of books and cultural commentaries.

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.