Author: Roland

  • Form vs structure, and what it means for virtual existence

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    A common but mistaken tendency when trying to understand hylomorphism is to equate form and structure and matter with the elements in that structure.1 This tendency is unsurprising, since modern science has taught us how to think about reality in terms of its physical and biological structure, but it is still a mistake. When Aristotle introduces… →

  • Summary of the book of Job

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    Below is a summary of the dialogue in Job that I put together as part of working through the book. The book is long, and the purpose of this was to capture the gist of what each person was saying so that I could get a handle on what they were arguing. The story starts… →

  • Through the law I died to the law

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    I was recently listening to a sermon on Galatians, and the following statement by Paul caught my eye: For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. (2:19) This got me thinking that the law might have a more important role in salvation history than I had previously… →

  • God, matter, and necessary existence

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    Reader Ante asks the following question in the comments of my response to his previous question: The issue I have is with regards to God’s necessary existence. Since God’s essence and existence are identical, He exists necessarily. But the same thing could be said of matter as well, as it seems to me. Why could… →

  • Monty Hall explained in two sentences

    Since the host will never open a door with the car behind it, the remaining door will have a car behind it in exactly those cases where you originally pick a door with a goat behind it. Since there is a 2/3 chance of you originally picking a door with a goat behind it, there… →

  • Potentiality and inertia

    A key thing to appreciate about potentials is that they are indifferent to what is actually the case. It’s because of this that they are able to play the role they do in accounting for the reality of change, together with actualities. I have the potential to sit down even when I am standing up,… →

  • Divine simplicity and freedom

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    In the conversation on divine simplicity over at the Theopolis Institute, Mullins’ most recent response draws attention to the three premises that are “only affirmed by proponents of divine simplicity”: All of God’s actions are identical to each other such that there is only one divine act. God’s act to give grace is identical to God’s one… →

  • Breaking the silence

    This year has been very busy for me, and which has unfortunately led this blog to fall by the wayside. Among the things that have been keeping me busy is a new project I’ve started with a friend called Faith Seeking Understanding: a ministry geared towards equipping Christians to develop a biblical worldview, grounded in… →

  • Eternity’s relation to time

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    A few months ago, reader Ante asked this question on my What I Believe page: I am very much struggling how to combine a presentist account of time (like the A-theory for example) and the view that God is outside of time, in a Thomistic sense. I would be very thankful for your help, since it seems to… →

  • Paul’s eschatological ethics

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    There was a distinct moment when it dawned on me that I had missed something important in Paul’s thinking on the Christian motivations for doing good works. During a Bible study we were busy discussing the following passage: Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled… →