This is an open-comment theology blog where I will post various theological musings, mostly in sermon or essay form, for others to read and comment on. If what I say here interests you, you may want to check out some of my books. Feel free to criticize, to critique, to comment, but keep comments to the point and respectful. Many of these posts have been published elsewhere, but I wanted them collected and made available to a wider audience.
Friday, January 24, 2014
A Sacramental Theory
It uses modern turns in philosophy of mind/psychology wherein an object is not separate from that which perceives it. Not idealism but like mental externalism. There is this paper, e.g., that talks about rainbows and how the exist as a meeting of perceiver and certain features of the external world. I'm thinking about talking about faith and the encounter of God through sacraments in a similar way. I find a fascinating parallel in the arguments about, say, direct and indirect realism, how perceiver and perceived interact and the arguments about how a sacrament mediates Grace in relationship to the faith of the believer. Is the grace in the faith the sacrament inspired or in the element itself? To what degree is the faith of the recipient important in the economics of Grace which by definition is supposed to be a gift from God? I'm thinking of using this paper on rainbows to talk about faith putting one in right relationship with external circumstances (the sacramental elements)
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