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Author Archives: Matthew Phillips
Winning Hearts and Minds
On March 6, 1522, Martin Luther returned permanently after an approximately ten-month stay in the Wartburg Castle. The electoral duke of Saxony, Frederick the Wise, had sent Luther to the Wartburg after the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, issued the … Continue reading
Posted in Martin Luther, Reformation, theology
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Universal Nature and Injustice
“Injustice is sin. When universal Nature has constituted rational creatures for the sake of each other–to benefit one another as deserved, but never to harm–anyone contravening her will is clearly guilty of sin against the oldest of the gods: because … Continue reading
Posted in justice, Marcus Aurelius, reason
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Trust the Science
“Then came the explosion of this myth. It climaxed in the horrors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and in the fierce fury of fifty-megaton bombers. Now we have come to see that science can give us only physical power, which if … Continue reading
Posted in Martin Luther King Jr, theology
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God Descends into Dust
“Majesty compressed himself to join to our dust the best thing he had, which is himself. God and dust, majesty and weakness, utter lowliness and utter sublimity were united in a single person. Nothing is more sublime than God, nothing … Continue reading
Posted in Bernard of Clairvaux, Christ, Christmas, Incarnation, theology
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God Crowns His Own Gifts
One day someone asked Martin Luther whether godly persons should expect merit for their good works that result from their justification. Luther answered that even the justified were still sinners, who pray for forgiveness and live under grace. While God … Continue reading
Posted in Augustine of Hippo, justice, Martin Luther
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Arise O Lord: The Political Origins of Luther’s Reformation
In his sermon given at the funeral of Duke John of Electoral Saxony (John the Steadfast) in 1532, Martin Luther stated, “a prince is also a human being and always has ten devils around him where another man has only … Continue reading
Posted in Martin Luther, Reformation
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The Laws of Tyrants
“Most foolish of all is the belief that everything decreed by the institutions or laws of a particular country is just. What if the laws are the laws of tyrants? If the notorious Thirty* had wished to impose their laws … Continue reading
Posted in Cicero, government, justice
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The Lust For Domination
“I know how great is the effort needed to convince the proud of the power and excellence of humility, an excellence which makes it soar above all the summits of this world, which sway in their temporal instability, overtopping them … Continue reading
Posted in Augustine of Hippo, community, grace, pride
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More Than a Feeling
“For virtue is nothing else than an affection of the mind ordered according to reason, and such affections are said to be very numerous according to the various inclinations of the same mind, yet having one root and origin, the … Continue reading
Posted in Bernard of Clairvaux, Christ, Cross, Hugh of St Victor, Incarnation, Love, medieval, theology
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The Spirit of Resistance
“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I like … Continue reading
Posted in government, Thomas Jefferson
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