Patristics Carnival XV- August, 2008

Welcome to Patristics Carnival XV! It has been a busy and controversial month, what with Nancy Pelosi's comments on abortion and Augustine which stired up a firestorm among patristics-literate Roman Catholics. I hope you enjoy the offerings!

New Under the Tent

Roger Pearse (of Thoughts on Antiquity fame) launched his own self-named blog this month. Look especially at the articles on scanned books on Archive.org, on the availability of the Acta Conciliorum Oecumenicorum, especially the works of St. Cyril of Alexandria in that collection, on hunting for Christian Arabic sources, on ancient theosophies, and on a curious version of Josephus' Testimonium Flavanianum from a Christian Arabic writer. This is definately a patristic blog to watch and should be on the blogroll of anyone interested in patristics.

Front Gate: Introductions to the Fathers

No entries this month.

The Midway: Articles on the Fathers

Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers blog discusses Marcus Aurelius' persecutions and the effect it had on the Church.

Jason Engwer on Triablogue discusses Roman Catholic claims that the early Church Fathers bore little resemblance to evangelicals.

I usually don't include reposts of articles (although I make exceptions), I was sufficiently intrigued by this critique of the use of the Fathers by the Watchtower Society (i.e. Jehovah's Witnesses) to justify their position against blood transfusions.

Brett Stroud on The Theology of Skittles blog discusses St. Gregory Nazianzus controversy against the Eunomians.

The budding theologian on his self-named blog reprises a philosophy paper he wrote on Heresy and Orthodoxy in part one and part two.

humblemonkey on the No Such Thing as Silence blog argues that, until the 6th century, the Christian Church held an inclusivist/universalistic view of salvation. Yes, you read that right. I took a double take as well.

Robert on the Black Cordelias blog discusses tradition, the Fathers and Scripture against a Calvinist interlocutor.

Jeff Vehige of the St. Peter Canisius Apostolate blog considers St. Greogory of Tour's account of the Assumption.

Jay Rogers on The Forerunner blog defends the argument for a 2nd century New Testament canon.

Andrea Elizabeth on her self-named Word Press blog discusses Plato and Father John Romanides’ Patristic Theology.

JB on the Gift of Self blog considers the Fathers on peace and violence.

The Principium Unitas blog discusses the Didache on the Church.

Taylor Marshall on the Canterbury Tales blog discusses Irenaeus, apostolic tradition and tradition.

Bret Saunders on the Per Caritatem blog discusses St. Augustine, the French post-modernist Jean-Luc Marion and ressourcement.

James Kelley on the Orthodox Patristics blog discusses St. Athanasius on whether God can do evil.

nebulaO on the About Mormonism blog compares the Mormon concept of exhaltation and the patristic teaching on theosis.

Ben Johnson on the Western Orthodoxy blog discusses Nancy Pelosi's suggestion that St. Augustine taught that life didn't begin until the third trimester, using a more broad patristic catena.

Maureen on the Aliens in This World discusses the Latin and context of the St. Augustine passage quoted by Nancy Pelosi.

Irenaeus on the Catholidoxy quotes the now infamous Nancy Pelosi interview in which she mentioned St. Augustine, and offers commentary and a wider patristic catena.

Michael from Texas on the To and Through St. Vlads blog discusses an introduction lecture on patristics by Father John Behr.

Weekend Fisher on the Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength analyses Jewish content in the Gnostic Gospels and finds that they don't use much.

JCHFleetguy on the Brain Cramps for God blog discusses the canonization of the Scripture, also favouring a 2nd century canon.

bfju on the Black Cordelias blog discusses the Early Fathers on Purgatory.

Eric Sowell on the Archaic Christianity blog discusses non-violence in the Early Church.

Kevin Edgecomb on the biblicalia blog discusses the tradition of the Christian conversion of the Jewish patriarch Hillel II reported by St. Epiphanius of Salamis, follows this entry up with Epiphanius' story of the Jewish patriarch Gamaliel V's crush on a Christian woman and the magical means used to 'cure' him. He also discusses the hidden sense in hagiographical literature.

Philip Sumpter on the Narrative and Ontology blog discusses B.S Childs and the problem of Jewish and Christian appropriation of the Hebrew Testament, republishes Christopher Seitz's recommended reading for understanding figural reading of Scripture, and continues his discussion with consideration of the relationship between the New Testament and the Old Testament. Ther are several other articles in this series, but they seem to focus on Biblical Studies issues more than patristic ones, so I didn't directly link them. Yes, I know that is an artificial distinction, but I have to draw a line somewhere.

Rick Brannon on ricoblog discusses why he likes the Martyrdom of Polycarp and discusses the Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 1.3.3-4.

Thos on the Ecumenicity blog reflects on the 2nd century view of the role of bishops.

Tim Trautman on the Army of Martyrs blog discusses the development of doctrines and the Council of Nicaea.

Father Z on the What Does The Prayer Say? blog discusses St. Augustine's bones. He also has extended coverage of the Nancy Pelosi controversy.

On this blog, I discuss the irony of historical/critical scholarship.

The Marketplace: Book Reviews

Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers blog reviews Gawdat Gabra's Treasures of Coptic Art in the Coptic Museum and Churches of Old Cairo.

Alan Ward on the Precipice Magazine blog reviews Brian Litfin's Getting to Know the Church Fathers and muses on the Fathers as pioneers.

Kevin Edgecomb on the biblicalia blog reviews Mike Aquillina's new book, Signs and Mysteries.

Nick Norelli on the Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth blog reviews Tarmo Toom's Classical Trinitarian Theology: A Textbook.

Paul S. on the St. Athanasius and St. Cyril Theological Library blog reviews Rodney Whitacre's A Patristic Greek Reader.

Carlos on the Thoughts and Ruminations of a Man on a Quest blog reviews Pope Benedict XVI book, Jesus, the Apostles, and the Early Church.

On this blog, I review Hubertus Drobner's The Fathers of the Church and Jason Bayasse's Praise Seeking Understanding.

Exhibition Place: Biographies of the Fathers

Bob Thune on the Coram Deo blog discusses St. Clement of Rome and the lessons he learned from him. He follows up with a consideration of St. Justin Martyr's legacy.

The Rodeo: Patristic catenae

David Waltz on the Articuli Fidei blog presents a brief catena on the perils of private judgement.

Dr. Keaton on the Dr. Keaton's Questionable Content blog offers a brief sampler of patristic thoughts.

Taylor Marshal on the Canterbury Tales blog offers a patristic catena against Nancy Pelosi's comments on abortion and the Fathers.

William Pelletier on the Woodside Bible Church blogs offers a patristic catena on the age of the Earth.

The Foreign Exchange Tent: Translations

Fr. Stavrophoremonk Symeon on the Oblation blog begins a series on St. John Cassian's Conferences with parts one and two.

On this blog, I continue my series on Sulpicius Severus' Life of St. Martin.

The Apocryphal Aisle: Christian Apocrypha

apologianiak on the Deeper Waters blog recommends that those wondering why the apocryphal gospels were excluded from the canon should read them.

April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog discusses her questions about the newly discovered Apocalypse of Gabriel and Israel Knowl's response to her concerns.

A Glasgow Gnostic on his self-named blog offers a Gnostic reading of Paul as a better alternative to an orthodox reading.