Virtus: The Power of God in Lactantius

Heinrich Emil Brunner’s doctrine of God has received a divergent view from biblical-theological scholars’ perspective. The doctrine of God has played a great significant and influential role throughout the era of Christian history, thus promoting the development and exploration of major theological doctrines in Christianity. The article therefore surveyed the canonical assessment of God’s doctrine in Brunner’s theology. It also sought to unlock Brunner’s hermeneutical method, contributors and opposers of his doctrine, and canonical approach in attaining salvific implications for contemporary Christians. The study employed a methodology of biblical-theological analysis to glean various literature materials. The findings revealed Brunner’s viewpoint that mankind can understand God through self-revelation. He opines that God possesses both communicable and uncommunicable tenets. Again, God is sovereign and supreme above all creatures in this world. In the light of this, God makes Himself known by His name. Thus, God as a Supreme Being, exhibits characteristic features of unknowable, innate, supernatural and He can be identified in His self-communication. God refers to Yahweh which depicts “I am that I am.” Thus, God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, immutable, honest, loving, and holy. Again, the doctrine of God unveils that God is infallible and hence He can assist human beings to live righteous life. The study concluded that the Lord is the creator, protector, and redeemer of humanity. The study unpacks that God’s salvific value could be realized through Jesus Christ. This study will be beneficial to biblical-theological historical students as it provides literature that will help advance and improve their studies. Keywords: Doctrine of God, Theology of Emil Brunner, Canonical, Evaluation.

Predestination is a doctrine which has occupied an uneasy place in the history of the church. It has always been problematic and has raised difficult questions for which there are only uncomfortable answers. Few have attempted to construct their theological system on the edifice of predestination. As most scholars now recognize, not even Calvin made predestination the central dogma from which all other doctrines derive. If predestination generates troublesome questions, it also invites theologians to grapple with the most profound implications of a religion which proclaims a sovereign creator. Taken seriously, it forces one to consider the ultimate questions of meaning, existence, and salvation. How one understands the relationship between God and humankind is fundamentally affected by one’s acceptance or rejection of predestination. It touches on all the main theological doctrines: the doctrine of God (theology proper), the doctrine of humanity (anthropology), the doctrine of sin (hamartology), the doctrine of salvation (soteriology), the Christian life (sanctification), eternal judgement (eschatology), as well as the perennial quest for the ultimate cause of the initial impetus in individual salvation. Without necessarily occupying the centre, a strong doctrine of predestination is like a pebble dropped in a pond; it creates ripples throughout the entire theological system.

Pp.viii, 219 , Aldershot/Burlington , Ashgate Publishing Ltd , 2005 , £50/£16.99, $94.95/$29.95,€79.29/€26.67. Pp. 312 , Nottingham/Downers Green , Apollos/Inter-Varsity Press , 2006 , £14.99, $22,€61.56. Corner tackles a thorny topic for philosophy. He examines the place of miracles as central to belief in God, arguing that they are not necessarily to be dismissed as pre-enlightenment and unscientific. Although he considers the nature and place of miracles generally in world religions (and amongst the non-religious), primarily he examines their place in the Judaeo-Christian tradition, approaching miracles from an historical as well as philosophical perspective. Corner's work is in three parts: ‘Miracles in Philosophical Perspective’; ‘Miracles in Historical Perspective’; ‘Miracles in a Non-Christian and Contemporary Perspective’. Part one opens with a discussion on the nature of a miracle - miracles as wonderful events, or as coincidence, or as God's intervention - which inevitably brings up questions about the laws of nature and the problems inherent in recognizing miracles; Corner then proceeds to give a workable definition of a miracle (p.13f), workable, that is, in the context of his study. This leads into an analysis of the sceptical philosophical considerations of David Hume. He then considers miracles as acts of God - initially in Biblical exegesis - then posits a distinction between ‘general’ and ‘special’ divine action (GDA & SDA, p.33), the role of human beings in these acts, and how the need arises to distinguish divine from human action in relation to internality in the world/nature. Inevitably Corner devotes much space to miracles and modern science; he considers how scientific thinking has changed - specifically the place of Newtonian and post-Newtonian thinking - and the question of SDA and the universe. This leads into a consideration of the anthropic principle, quoting Barrow and Tippler, Peacock and Polkinghorne amongst other so-called ‘scientific’ theologians, which opens to a reflection on transcendental Thomism. Corner then turns to the problem of evil, which raises questions about selectivity and the limits to our knowledge, also theodicy and the parenthood of God. Part two looks at miracles in an historical perspective: the miracles of Jesus the reluctant miracle worker and reluctant messiah: ‘The gospel accounts of Jesus' miracles present them less as a deliberate policy of self-aggrandisement and more as an almost incidental part of his ministry, towards which he is moved by compassion or even persuasion.’ (p. 86). Corner then considers miracles after Jesus: Paul, the apostles, the role of miracles in the conversion of ‘barbarians’, and the relationship between ecclesial power and claims to the miraculous in ecclesial history. Miracles after the Reformation leads Corner into a consideration of the enlightenment and the concept of a self-sufficient universe. He then turns to the central question in Christianity, the Resurrection (p.127f), and what this tells us about the nature of God. Part three considers miracles in a non-Christian and contemporary perspective: miracles in non-Christian religions and miracles in the modern world. Corner's work is inevitably wide-ranging; he concludes that miracles ‘within Christianity alone involve central theological and philosophical issues concerning the relation of God to the world, the way in which God acts and the goodness of God’ (p. 197); Corner's conclusion reassesses what he has established throughout his work by drawing on wisdom from Rabbinic Judaism, which warns against the importance of miracles, considering them ‘less as a physical impossibility than as a possible source of corruption … the tradition concentrated its fire on those whose miracles are a means of self-aggrandisement’ (p. 204). Corner concludes that whether or not miracles happen it is difficult to see how religious belief could survive without them; however, he ends by quoting (p.205) again from Rabbinic Judaism that ‘the height of folly is to place reliance upon miracles; the depth of wisdom is to know that miracles take place’ (Neusner and Neusner The Book of Jewish Wisdom: The Talmud of the Well-Considered Life, 1996 p. 171). Does Corner's work advance our understanding - our acceptance or rejection - of miracles? In a general sense this is a valuable philosophical work, and would make good reading for theology and philosophy undergraduates, though he does not really advance thinking on miracles beyond a cautious but open-minded scepticism; applying the same hermeneutic of suspicion to a scientifically grounded so-called ‘enlightenment’ would perhaps have been progress. Roy's book is in many ways comparable to Corner's work on miracles - both are about the relation of God to the world, both draw on the Hebrew-Judaeo-Christian tradition, and is it not so that questions about Trinitarian omniscience often fall into the same categories as questions about miracles? However, methodologically this work is biblical theology; more pertinently, it is by a systematic theologian producing a comprehensive biblical study; Corner's work is essentially philosophical. Questioning God's foreknowledge may on the surface seem blasphemous to many Christians; however, such inquiring and searching is valid and will lead to wisdom about God's purposes. Like Corner's work this study is wider than a single religious perspective, and essentially draws from both Judaism and Christianity. Roy's work leads off from what he terms the current debate about omniscience (specifically, foreknowledge), which, he asserts, has not given full consideration to the biblical revelation. As a correction to this perceived imbalance, Roy analytically cites scores of passages - both from the Hebrew and Christian scriptures - to be used for worship and prayer, guidance and suffering, and for teaching on theodicy and evil, though, ultimately, to engender hope in God's triumph. Roy poses two questions: ‘Does the Bible teach that God's foreknowledge is exhaustive and infallible?’; and ‘Does Scripture affirm that God foreknows the free decisions of human beings?’ He defines the problem as arising ‘when this doctrine of God's exhaustive, infallible foreknowledge is combined with an indeterministic, libertarian understanding of human freedom’ (p. 13). Central to his study is so-called ‘open theism’, the open view of divine foreknowledge, which is in effect a variation on classic Armenian theology: that God is personal and significant (in terms of libertarian human freedom), and is perceived through an initiating and responsive love. Open theists hold to an ‘open view’ of foreknowledge, yet they also affirm omniscience and claim that God is ignorant of certain details about certain elements of the future - or more critically, this must be what we term ‘the future’, within what we perceive to be temporal reality. Roy argues that this ‘openness’ is reflected in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. His introduction sets the scene well for his study by immediately positing a workable definition of God's omniscience, thereby identifying and defining the problem and citing how the dilemma has been solved in the past; he then explains the position of ‘open theism’ and evaluates its strengths within a proposal of God's limited omniscience. He then examines in depth the ‘Old Testament Evidence of Divine Foreknowledge’: initially this is through an exegesis of Psalm 139, then by examining what he terms predictive prophecy, for example, seen in the promise and fulfilment of 1–2 Kings. A key section of scripture - the evidence of divine foreknowledge in Isaiah 40–48 - is exhaustively analysed, emphasizing the ‘utter superiority of Yahweh over all the gods of the pagan nations’ (p.43), which inevitably leads into a consideration of the Old Testament messianic prophecies, which Roy regards as essential to ‘open theism’ as a matter of predictive prophecy. He then turns to the ‘New Testament Evidence of Divine Foreknowledge’: initially this is through a consideration of the New Testament language of foreknowledge (for example in a consideration of Acts 2:23, Romans 8:29 & 11:1, 1Peter, etc.), which opens up the question of divine foreknowledge and prayer - in particular in Jesus' exhortation to his disciples. It is then necessary to consider foreknowledge, or limited omniscience, in Jesus: for example, in predictions of his passion, or the behaviour of his disciples, which raises the question of the purpose and value of Jesus' predictions. Having considered the biblical evidence Roy then posits ‘A Different View of Divine Foreknowledge’: ‘In spite of the kind and amount of biblical evidence cited…open theists do not affirm that God infallibly foreknows free human decisions. In addition to philosophical arguments offered in support of their position, they also appeal to biblical texts to support their nonexhaustive view of divine foreknowledge’ (p. 125). In pursuing this line of thought Roy considers the repentance of God in the light of human sin and as a response to intercessory prayer; also the evidence of creedal statements - but also considers biblical passages that assert God does not repent (!). This allows Roy to present metaphorical models and anthropomorphisms (p.159f), raising other texts to support ‘openness’, particularly in the testing of God's chosen people, the Hebrew-Jewish nation, and the use of ‘perhaps’ attributed to Yahweh (p.185f), concluding with consideration as to whether God's questions are rhetorical. He then widens the base of his study to consider ‘Two Critical Interpretive Questions’ (p.195–228): ‘Has our analysis of the biblical evidence been so shaped by the influence of Greek philosophy that we have not read these scriptural texts fairly?’ and ‘Does the Bible teach a twofold understanding of the future and of God's knowledge of it?’; much of the remainder of this section is devoted to wrestling with these questions, and Roy does consider whether conceptual similarities necessitate a causal influence, and whether causal influences as a Greek philosophical category must be viewed negatively; however, this still leaves the question unanswered as to whether our future - from God's perspective - is fixed or partially open. It is at this point that Roy could have extended his work with a systematic study of time-temporality and cause-effect, acknowledging the fallen, paradoxical and incomplete nature of our knowledge, our epistemic limitations, in respect of temporal and divine matters; such a consideration may have released the philosophical log-jam, so to speak, which remains in his work; and, of course, there are also considerations of free will and grace (Augustine). Perhaps he continues to focus too much on ‘open theism’? It is this absence of a full consideration of time-temporality, and for that matter, a full systematic consideration of free will and grace in relation to such an understanding of God's omniscience that leaves me unconvinced of an open theistic perspective, despite his discourse through scripture. He does, however, move on to consider the ‘Practical Implications’ (p.229–278) of his developing argument - essentially from an ecclesiological and pastoral perspective.

Brief Report| June 01 2021 Brief Synopses of New Arabic-Language Publications: Annotated Arabic Bibliography: Brief English Reviews of New Arabic-Language Releases in Critical Arab Scholarship Gabi El-Khoury Gabi El-Khoury Librarian and Head of Documentation, Centre for Arab Unity Studies, Beirut Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Contemporary Arab Affairs (2021) 14 (2): 118–126. https://doi.org/10.1525/caa.2021.14.2.118 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Gabi El-Khoury; Brief Synopses of New Arabic-Language Publications: Annotated Arabic Bibliography: Brief English Reviews of New Arabic-Language Releases in Critical Arab Scholarship. Contemporary Arab Affairs 1 June 2021; 14 (2): 118–126. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/caa.2021.14.2.118 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentContemporary Arab Affairs Search Heba Gamal El Deen M. El-Azab, Spiritual Diplomacy and the Abrahamic Interfaith: Colonial Plan of the New Century (Beirut: Center for Arab Unity Studies, 2021). 256 pp. ISBN 9789953829296 Many questions have been raised in recent years in the debate relating to the notion of “Abrahamic interfaith” as a major approach to global religious peace and a basis for eliminating extremism and violence, and even for eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development. Interest in research and investigation into the concept of Abrahamic interfaith and its objectives has become prevalent as the notion has featured in the discourse of several American and Israeli circles in relation to the monotheistic religions (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) in an attempt to politically exploit the common denominators between the three religions and use them in a larger framework of what has become to be known as “spiritual diplomacy.” The author argues that the concept of... You do not currently have access to this content.

Original Sin and the Fall: Five Views

A myth illuminates the changes that have transformed the American state in the years since 9/11. It is the myth of the Greek titan who stole the secret of fire from the gods and was then punished eternally for bringing to birth a new world. American exceptionalism, its traditional sense of being different from other nations, is bred from the Biblical injunction to be a city on a shining hill and a light unto the heathen, but these days it carries a distinctively pagan inflection. Prominent members of the State and Defense Departments call themselves Vulcans from their conviction that the use of American force is overwhelmingly good and unavoidable (Mann 2004). Neo-conservatism, the most influential intellectual current in American politics today, rejects Catholic just war theories1 and draws inspiration from Leo Strauss's cryptic interpretations of pre-Christian philosophers (Singer 2004). Individualism, maverick defiance, talent for innovation, belief in the future, and a sense of responsibility for bringing the future to fruition—those traits that Americans most passionately believe about themselves—uncannily evoke the myth of Prometheus. [End Page 133] The story of Prometheus draws on pre-Christian themes to reinvent the dying savior as one who does battle not with evil incarnate—Satan—but with the traditional gods, the Olympians, keepers of law and tradition. Still god-like in capacity, he is no longer the ethical Jewish savior but the heroic Greek, and his mortal enemy is not the law-breaking Lucifer but the establishment on Mount Olympus. Like the trickster god who wrested the secret of fire from Zeus on behalf of humankind, the intellectuals of the New World Order, the new Prometheans, see themselves as using stratagems to wrest the leadership of the world from the old order of international bodies, international law, diplomacy, negotiation, and compromise. Since overt coercion would be unacceptable and since only a handful of elites can be bribed into complicity by tangible rewards, it is the force of myth-making that allows the state to rewrite detentions and torture outside its boundaries as well as allow repression within it as the inevitable and virtuous operation of the law. Pagan Inflections We can identify certain concrete themes in the program of the Prometheans: A fascination with advanced technology, not only of weaponry but especially of communication and information The exploitation of information networks and the rampant use of psychological operations (psy-ops) and mind-control techniques A tendency to secrecy, covert actions, and the creation of extralegal channels An emphasis on maneuverability, flexibility, lightness, and speed in the deployment of forces A radical reordering of the military that blurs the line between military and civilian functions Penetration of the civilian population through the use of guard and reserve forces [End Page 134] The training of police SWAT teams, and the deployment of covert paramilitary forces The embrace of privatization and operational models drawn from business An unconstrained and unapologetic symbiosis between business, government, and military A nationalist and patriotic rhetoric that is almost religious in tone. Totality and Secrecy Analyzed, these disparate elements reveal a pattern—a tendency toward unity and secrecy. Between private and public, civil and military, domestic and foreign, the mental and the physical, even the simulated and the real, boundaries are erased and made seamless through physical restructuring, the financial mechanism of the market, and networks of propaganda. Every part of the Promethean program also tends toward invisibility—from covert operations to the exploitation of far-flung bases, from stealth air strikes to satellite spying in outer space, from nonlethal weaponry and psychological operations to back-room deals, each element is masked. Indivisible and invisible, the state, totally hidden, presents itself as an inevitability and the end of history. This is the essence of the current revolution in military affairs (RMA) theorized by such futurists as Andrew Marshall. In today's RMA, belief in the centrality of surveillance and the information war...

The Fathers of the Church from the beginning of the Christian thought were under a strong influence of the Greek philosophy which was in this time understood mainly as the path to unity with the Supreme Being. Christian Apologists tried to convince in their apologies that Christianity is the true philosophy because it allows to reach its goal in the best and the most certain way. Apologists commonly claimed that thanks to the biblical revelation Christians have the knowledge of God which is the most perfect and accurate. We can observe such claims also in the writings of Alexandrian Fathers for whom God is somehow known even at the highest mystical experiences. The Christian doctrine of the knowledge of God changed radically in the fourth century AD in the writings of Cappadocian Fathers who defended the orthodox faith against the Arians. The most famous of them - Eunomius claimed that the essence of God is to be unbegotten. Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa answered him that we cannot know the essence of God and none of his attributes can be understood as his essence. The Cappadocian Fathers were the founders of the Christian doctrine of unknowability of God, and they formulated it in the precise philosophical language. They also made a great contribution to the further development of this doctrine. Dialectic arguments showed only one aspect of unknowability of God; another one was the darkness in the ultimate mystical experience. Gregory of Nyssa explained it well in his Life of Moses, but this teaching reached its ultimate figure in writings of Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagite - unknown author from the end of the fifth century AD. Pseudo-Dionysius claimed that the best knowledge which we can have of God is ignorance. The man can reach this knowledge only at the highest stage of mystical life at the apophatic way. The conclusion of this brief analysis of unknowability of God in the Patristic tradition is the statement that there were two main stimulants of its evolution: theoretical and mystical. For both of them the key role played the Greek philosophy which was an inspiration in creative explanation of the Holy Scripture made by the Fathers of the Church.

Susan James offers an interpretation of a work that is itself about interpretation Spinoza's Theologico‐Political Treatise. By setting the Treatise in its seventeenth‐century Dutch context, and identifying the wide range of philosophical, theological, hermeneutic, historical, and political debates to which Spinoza was responding, she elucidates the character of his argument and the ends it was designed to achieve. Although the Treatise engages with many opponents, the most central because most powerful were the conservative theologians of the Dutch Reformed Church and their political allies, who continued to oppose Cartesian philosophy throughout Spinoza's lifetime, and resisted what was known as the freedom to philosophize. Appealing both to philosophical arguments that he develops in more detail in the Ethics, and to a theory of biblical interpretation, Spinoza aims to comprehensively discredit the Church's theological doctrines. At the same time, he sets out to undercut its political commitment to a mixed constitution where power is divided between secular and religious authorities. In the United Provinces, Spinoza claims, the best way to secure freedom is to uphold a republican form of government in which the people are sovereign, and where, within certain limits, individuals are free to worship and philosophize as they wish. At first glance, the sinuous argument of the Treatise appears to lack unity, and many commentators focus on one part of it at the expense of others. Once its context is taken into account, however, it emerges as an integrated defence of philosophical, religious, and political freedom, firmly situated within the framework of Spinoza's philosophical system.

From earliest times, angels have been seen as instruments of salvation and retribution, agents of revelation, and harbingers of hope. In effect, angels are situated at the intersections of diverse belief structures and philosophical systems. In this book, Meredith J. Gill examines the role of angels in medieval and Renaissance conceptions of heaven. She considers the character of Renaissance angelology as distinct from the medieval theological traditions that informed it and from which it emerged. Tracing the iconography of angels in text and in visual form, she also uncovers the philosophical underpinnings of medieval and Renaissance definitions of angels and their nature. From Dante through Pico della Mirandola, from the images of angels depicted by Fra Angelico to those painted by Raphael and his followers, angels, Gill argues, are the touchstones and markers of the era's intellectual self-understanding, and its classical revival, theological doctrines, and artistic imagination.

BackgroundDevelopment of graphical/visual presentations of cancer etiology caused by environmental stressors is a process that requires combining the complex biological interactions between xenobiotics in living and occupational environment with genes (gene-environment interaction) and genomic and non-genomic based disease specific mechanisms in living organisms. Traditionally, presentation of causal relationships includes the statistical association between exposure to one xenobiotic and the disease corrected for the effect of potential confounders.MethodsWithin the FP6 project HENVINET, we aimed at considering together all known agents and mechanisms involved in development of selected cancer types. Selection of cancer types for causal diagrams was based on the corpus of available data and reported relative risk (RR). In constructing causal diagrams the complexity of the interactions between xenobiotics was considered a priority in the interpretation of cancer risk. Additionally, gene-environment interactions were incorporated such as polymorphisms in genes for repair and for phase I and II enzymes involved in metabolism of xenobiotics and their elimination. Information on possible age or gender susceptibility is also included. Diagrams are user friendly thanks to multistep access to information packages and the possibility of referring to related literature and a glossary of terms. Diagrams cover both chemical and physical agents (ionizing and non-ionizing radiation) and provide basic information on the strength of the association between type of exposure and cancer risk reported by human studies and supported by mechanistic studies. Causal diagrams developed within HENVINET project represent a valuable source of information for professionals working in the field of environmental health and epidemiology, and as educational material for students.IntroductionCancer risk results from a complex interaction of environmental exposures with inherited gene polymorphisms, genetic burden collected during development and non genomic capacity of response to environmental insults. In order to adopt effective preventive measures and the associated regulatory actions, a comprehensive investigation of cancer etiology is crucial. Variations and fluctuations of cancer incidence in human populations do not necessarily reflect environmental pollution policies or population distribution of polymorphisms of genes known to be associated with increased cancer risk. Tools which may be used in such a comprehensive research, including molecular biology applied to field studies, require a methodological shift from the reductionism that has been used until recently as a basic axiom in interpretation of data. The complexity of the interactions between cells, genes and the environment, i.e. the resonance of the living matter with the environment, can be synthesized by systems biology. Within the HENVINET project such philosophy was followed in order to develop interactive causal diagrams for the investigation of cancers with possible etiology in environmental exposure.ResultsCausal diagrams represent integrated knowledge and seed tool for their future development and development of similar diagrams for other environmentally related diseases such as asthma or sterility. In this paper development and application of causal diagrams for cancer are presented and discussed.

Most scholars agree that Christian art first appeared around the end of the second century or the beginning of the third century. Among these earliest examples are the wall paintings and epitaphs found in the Roman catacombs. At first the iconography was primarily simple and symbolic (e.g., doves, anchors, boats, and praying figures). More complex images included the Good Shepherd with his sheep and representations from the Hebrew Bible, including Jonah, Noah, Daniel, and the Three Youths in the fiery furnace. By the end of the third century, Christians had begun commissioning sarcophagi with relief carvings that depicted narrative episodes from the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Following the legalization of Christianity and the imperial support that following the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, Christian art was dramatically transformed in style, technique, context, and motifs. From the mid-fourth through the end of the sixth centuries, Christians built and decorated churches and baptisteries; designed and made liturgical vessels; produced private devotional objects in gemstones, pottery, glass, ivory, fabric, and precious metals; painted panel portraits of their holy men and women; and began to illustrate their sacred texts. Older types and motifs, such as the Good Shepherd and Jonah, were gradually replaced by new iconography that emphasized the glory and triumph of Christianity over the traditional Roman gods. Along with the iconographic changes, new media emerged, in particular polychrome glass mosaic for walls, apses, and domes of church buildings.

The major unresolved issue bequeathed to contemporary theology by the immense influence of existentialism is the problem of an adequate doctrine of God in a fully existential theology. This problem emerged with sharpness only after such thinkers as Rudolf Bultmann and Fritz Buri demonstrated that the promise of existentialism for theology requires taking up the hermeneutical question in its full range, that is, only when they showed that it is necessary to apply a rigorous existential methodology not merely to the fides qua creditur but to the fides quae creditur as well. This move is summed up by Bultmann and Buri’s claim that the objective, mythological content of all theological doctrines must be interpreted as expressions for a non-objective self-understanding, as expressions of existential possibilities. The problem is self-evident. If the notion of existential possibilities is not just a heuristic device helpful for a random illumination of various doctrines but a rigorous methodology to be carried through exhaustively, is the content of “God” to be reduced without remainder to certain human possibilities of existential self-actualization?1 If not, is there any way of preserving the independent reality of God without violating the limits of an existential methodology?

Known since the Renaissance as the “Christian Cicero,” Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (d. 324 a.d.) was a professor of Latin rhetoric, Christian apologist, and theologian at Constantine’s court. Writing in response to Diocletian’s persecution, he attempted a complete synthesis of third-century Latin Christian thinking about theology, ethics, and political order. This work explores the character and quality of that synthesis in his major work, The Divine Institutes of the Christian Religion by focusing on the core notion of virtus. The early chapters explore the socio-political (Chapter 1) and philosophical traditions that informed arguments about virtus in classical Roman (Chapter 2) and early Latin Christian writers—especially Tertullian, Minucius Felix, and Cyprian (Chapter 3). Their apologetic and doctrinal works provide essential context for tracing the fundamental meaning of virtus (Chapter 4) in the Divine Institutes and for exploring Lactantius’s use of the term in Christology (Chapter 5) and ethics (Chapter 6). A final chapter explores practical moral arguments about wealth, sexuality, and warfare that Lactantius developed as an expression of true virtus. In this, his major work appears as the first attempt at a complete synthesis of traditional Christian thinking about the implications of God’s revelation in Christ for classical Roman thinking about the divine and moral order. This work explores the character, sources, and logic of Lactantius’s influential work.

The conventional approach to causality is based on partial orders. Without additional structure, partial orders are only capable of expressing AND causality. In this paper we investigate a syntactic, or logical, approach to causality which allows other causal relationships, such as OR causality, to be expressed with equal facility. In earlier work, [3], we showed the benefits of this approach by giving a causal characterisation, in the finite case, of Milner's notion of confluence in CCS. This provides the justification for the more systematic study of causality, without finiteness restrictions, which appears here. We identify three general principles which a logic of causality should satisfy. These principles summarise some basic intuitions about events and causality. They lead us to geometric logic — the “logic of finite observations” — as a candidate for a logic of causality. We introduce the formalism of geometric automata based on this choice; a geometric automation is a set E together with a pair of endomorphisms of the free frame (locale) generated by E. Our main result is to show that Winskel's general event structures are a special case of geometric automata. This is analogous to the transition from topological data (sets of points) to algebraic structures (lattices of open subsets) in “pointless topology”, [6]. This result links our ideas on causality with Winskel's theory of events in computation; it provides a syntax for describing event structures and it opens the way to giving a causal interpretation of event structure phenomena. We show further that geometric automata give rise to domains of configurations which generalise the event domains of Winskel and Droste.

Śrivaiṣṇavism is a devotional tradition within the Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta school, centered on the worship of Mahāviṣṇu, accompanied by Śrī (Mahālakṣmī). The tradition, shaped by the philosopher Rāmānuja, integrates threefold religious activities: Upaniṣadic philosophy, Āgamic temple rituals, and the Tamil Prabandha devotional poetry of the Āḻvārs. Bhakti (devotion) and kaiṅkarya (service) are central tenets, with the ultimate goal being mokṣa (liberation), defined as eternal service to Viṣṇu. Śrivaiṣṇava practice involves daily observances (āhnikas) and participation in temple worship, with rituals such as Pañcasaṃskāra—a fivefold purification rite including branding, marking the body, adopting a devotional name, receiving mantras, and performing acts of surrender (śaraṇāgati). The sect is divided into Tengalai and Vadagalai branches, differing in philosophical interpretations and religious practices. The role of the Ācārya (spiritual teacher) is crucial, acting as a mediator between the jīva (soul) and Lord Viṣṇu. The tradition's literature, composed in both Sanskrit and Tamil, emphasizes devotion, discipline, and spiritual surrender (Śaraṇāgati). The extensive body of Śrivaiṣṇava texts addresses theological doctrines, ritual practices, and metaphysical debates, making it a rich and enduring religious tradition.