tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181695122012-01-28T12:23:24.072-08:00Academic Writing by <a href=http://rgrydns2.blogspot.com>Richard Greydanus</a><br><br> Click here for <a href=http://rgrydns.blogspot.com/2005/11/my-papers.html>Main Archive</a>Richardnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-18654777305407023202007-12-14T13:01:00.000-08:002007-12-14T13:39:48.518-08:00

The two readings assigned for today, the Dialogue with Trypho (I-IX) by Justin Martyr (100-65) and The Prescription Against Heretics (I-XII) by Tertullian (155-230) come from a troubled time in the history of the Early Church. In the face of mounting, though sporadic, persecution and diminutive accusations of being the irrational, demonstratably self-contradictory, doctrine of an “uncultured”

Richardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-62575319455876347392006-12-22T23:43:00.000-08:002006-12-23T00:02:42.404-08:00

Chapter 7; "Civilizing Knowledge"Richard GreydanusMy PapersAllen’s project seems to encompass both a critique of knowledge and a critique of culture/civilization; but I find it difficult to discern the direction of his critique. Is he coming or is he going—to cities, that is? Where Allen wants to end up—the what ought to be—is not always clear. A. Quotations. The way things were: 1. “The original

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1162527617872731722006-11-02T20:17:00.000-08:002006-11-02T20:20:25.430-08:00

Richard GreydanusMy PapersWhy is all this attention given to the obscure origins, in a military consolidation of a rather small tract of land, of an equally obscure Semitic tribal people? Nothing cosmopolitan that would suggest relevance for our contemporary world is immediately suggested by the establishment of the Hebrew people in Canaan. At the other foundation of the Western canon, by

Richardnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1162527318146325652006-11-02T20:09:00.000-08:002006-11-02T20:15:40.633-08:00

Richard GreydanusMy PapersTraditionally Reformed (Calvinist) students have been taught that the principle divergence between Protestant and Roman Catholic understandings of the Christian faith has been over the conception of spiritual authority. On the side of the former, the Scriptures stand alone; while on the side of the later, the Scriptures are joined by Holy Tradition and the Magestrium.

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1159500140400642722006-09-28T20:17:00.000-07:002006-09-28T20:44:06.490-07:00

by Richard GreydanusMy PapersMy first bit of commentary is a general one directed at the beginning of Chapter 10. I should add that my training in the study of history predisposes me to a stance of dissent from the generally held opinion. The term paradigm was popularized by Thomas Kuhn a little less than a half a century ago. Certainly we are in a paradigm shift. But what gives us the confidence

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1158637639356351272006-09-18T20:45:00.000-07:002006-09-20T19:06:11.926-07:00

by Richard GreydanusBack to My Papers Index“As Different as Night and Day,” written by Carl F. Starkloff, S.J., explores the merits of civilized humility found in Ignatius’ Presupposition for those who would follow Christ’s command to, “Go.” (Matt. 28.19-20) His treatment focuses on the benefits of approaching Native American spiritual practice of the “Peyote Way” with a willingness to “believe

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1156787549897590042006-08-28T10:44:00.000-07:002006-08-28T10:52:32.616-07:00

Back to My Papers IndexDear Comment,Albert Wolters graciously responded in the most recent hard publication of Comment to a series of commentaries and articles that followed his “What is to be Done…Toward a Neocalvinist Agenda.” To my comment that Neocalvinism has not had much success grasping divine mystery, he pointed to M.C. Smit’s article “The Divine Mystery in History” as evidence that my

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1156370498084494652006-08-23T14:55:00.000-07:002006-08-24T21:32:13.470-07:00

An Interpretive Essayby Richard GreydanusThis paper was written in July, 2006.Back to My Papers Index1. Introduction: History and Perspectives on the Turkish Spy(sections omitted)6. Conclusion: An Impossible Taskor... View the entire paper.rich

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1156370124817980642006-08-23T14:54:00.000-07:002006-08-23T15:02:25.553-07:00

In his classic Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen (1966), Peirre Goubert calls us to consider carefully the impossible task summed up so well in the simple dictum l’etat et moi which the king and his agents took it upon themselves to complete.[1] How much more impossible, by comparison, must the vision of a universal order governed by the precepts of Reason, guided by an enlightened monarch

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1156369896596014432006-08-23T14:39:00.000-07:002006-08-23T15:00:52.876-07:00

This paper begins where it shall end; that is, considering the significance of a presentation on 15 April 1683 of a draft manuscript by a Genoese political refugee, Giovanni Paolo Marana, to Louis XIV, a man who has become synonymous with foundations of modern political absolutism. This guiding consideration frames an analysis of uses of the image of the “Turk” as a mode of critical engagement of

Richardnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148146248710655742006-05-20T10:30:00.000-07:002006-05-20T11:45:11.356-07:00

A Comparison of Perspectives on Human Sexualityby Richard GreydanusThis paper was written in March, 2006.Back to My Papers Index1. Introduction2. The Jovinianist Controversy3. Comparison of Jerome and Augustine on Human Sexuality4. Sinfulness, A Theological Aside5. Christian Sexuality in Late Antiquity: Some Final Historiographical Notes rich

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148146203974717772006-05-20T10:28:00.000-07:002006-05-20T10:30:03.983-07:00

If this paper has accomplished its purpose, it should be apparent that if Jerome did not in fact condemn marriage, nor did he have the language to defend it intelligibly. That task would be Augustine’s to complete. A social-critical lens grants the reader access into the late antique Christian world on a number of different levels simultaneously. On the plane of intellectual discourse, Jerome and

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148146093635437212006-05-20T10:21:00.000-07:002006-05-20T10:28:38.446-07:00

The purpose of this comparison between Jerome’s and Augustine’s views on sexuality has so far been to draw out comparable points in their perception and construction of their mutual experience of the late antique world. In the process, no doubt, obvious theological differences have been downplayed—though hopefully not erased. As was mentioned earlier, cleavages between their perspectives become

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148145696690539782006-05-20T10:15:00.000-07:002006-05-20T10:21:36.716-07:00

My purpose here is to demonstrate how reading Jerome through a social-critical lens provides a possible answer to the question posed above. A comparison of three example treatments of Jerome from recent and contemporary late antique historical scholarship will serve to position this approach. Hunter writes, “Although Jerome could sometimes call marriage a “good” and even a “gift of God,” the

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148145344277511642006-05-20T10:14:00.000-07:002006-05-20T10:15:44.283-07:00

Coming into historical focus sometime in the late 380s,[6] Jovinian publicized his views principally in Rome. They were first condemned in Milan in 390 and then in Rome in 393, the same year Jerome published his polemic Adversus Jovinianum. In his defense of equal moral standing of marriage to the ascetic life, Jovinian was the more-articulate successor of Helvidius, for whom the arguments

Richardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148145250229417132006-05-20T10:11:00.000-07:002006-05-20T10:14:10.246-07:00

In the context of Christian debate over the nature of the virtuous life in late antiquity, marital and ascetic practice went hand in hand. For a Christian to choose to marry was to close the door, in this life at least, on the option of perpetual virginity. Mitigating circumstances like the death of a spouse or the indiscretions of youth, however, meant that in lived practice the believer was

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148144354889477342006-05-20T09:58:00.000-07:002006-05-20T11:40:36.906-07:00

by Richard GreydanusThis paper was written in March, 2006.Back to My Papers Index1. Introduction2. Kuhn’s Sociology of Scientific Knowledge3. Incommensurability: Philosophers of Science take Kuhn to Task4. Myths of Origin and Progress: Post-Structuralist Critiques5. Historiographical Reconsiderations6. Some Historiographical Comments by Way of a Conclusion rich

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148144314180166552006-05-20T09:57:00.000-07:002006-05-20T09:58:34.186-07:00

In my preliminary paper presentation, I accused Kuhn of treating historiographical categories in a clumsy manner. In the course of researching and writing this paper, my assessment of Kuhn’s theoretical strategy, navigating a course between structuralist and post-structuralist approaches to the history of science in an attempt to remain neutral as to the nature of scientific knowledge, has

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148144234233385952006-05-20T09:55:00.000-07:002006-05-20T09:57:14.240-07:00

As Kuhn himself says, the purpose behind writing Structure was specifically aimed at developing a different picture of the scientific enterprise drawn from a study of the activity of scientific research. Both of the above lines of criticism explored above possess historiographical implications, though neither will address themselves directly to questions of historical import. Very generally, the

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148144101105320842006-05-20T09:51:00.000-07:002006-05-20T09:55:01.113-07:00

Questions explored in the previous section will be recast in order to give an account of post-structuralist criticism as the nature and veracity of human knowledge remains a principle concern in an examination of post-structuralist perspectives on Kuhn’s work. If a comparison can be made, rationalism of the logical positivists (or structuralism) is to post-structuralism what Popper and von Dietze

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148143700684088282006-05-20T09:45:00.000-07:002006-05-20T09:51:03.383-07:00

In the immediate fallout after the first publication of Structure, philosophers of science took issue with two the of Kuhn’s rather hesitant claims: 1) that different paradigms seem “incommensurable,”[29] and 2) that as scientists move from one paradigm to another, it is as if the world changes.[30] Many of Kuhn’s critics assumed that what seemed truly was the case. In the late 1960s, Kuhn

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148143492321838602006-05-20T09:41:00.000-07:002006-05-20T09:44:52.333-07:00

The wide-ranging influence of Structure seems at odds with the specificity of Kuhn’s purpose. The argument the book takes up is directed at a presentist (and therefore overtly revisionist), “development-by-accumulation”[6] historiographical model employed to tell the story of the development of modern science. This model was built on a rationalist assumption that the proper application of the

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148143287044678612006-05-20T09:40:00.000-07:002006-05-20T09:41:27.050-07:00

That the Scientific Revolution, as it has been traditionally conceived, initiated by Nicolas Copernicus’ proposal that the universe is heliocentric rather than geocentric universe ever really happened, has been called into question as of late. A synthesis of recent historical scholarship, Steven Shapin’s The Scientific Revolution (1996) boldly claims, “There was no such thing as the Scientific

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148143233397732192006-05-20T09:39:00.000-07:002006-05-20T11:34:42.806-07:00

by Richard GreydanusThis paper was written in April, 2006.Back to My Papers Index1. Introduction2. The Old Guard: Economic and Political Imperialism3. Christianity and National Culture in England4. The Imperialization of Britain’s Missionary Nationalism5. The Reception of Britain’s Missionary Imperialism by Missionaries 6. Late 19th Century Imperial Culture in Britain 7. Conclusionrich

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148084649731733702006-05-19T17:23:00.000-07:002006-05-19T17:33:58.736-07:00

Historians of the British Empire whose work addresses the role played by religion in the expansion of empire that have been treated in the later sections of this paper fall generally into two camps: 1) those who adopt hold to a model of cultural production similar to Said’s which place much more emphasis on the role of the metropole than that of the colony, and 2) those who do not. Every

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148084595547791482006-05-19T17:22:00.001-07:002006-05-20T11:27:52.266-07:00

Books treated in the preceding discussion of the missionary reception of Britain’s imperial culture only dealt tangentially with the domestic arena. Even studies of missionary societies (as opposed to missionaries working abroad) can offer limited insight into the attitudes of the general British public, which is arguably much more important to the construction of a missionary imperialist culture

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148084567557847302006-05-19T17:22:00.000-07:002006-05-20T11:26:59.046-07:00

The view that missionaries were complicit agents in constructing an imperial hegemony has become commonplace. I will suggest, however, that theoretical deconstructions of dominant imperial discourse like Britain’s missionary imperialism has the potential to obscure historical subject matter which contains stories of reactions against or outgrowths—or both—from the dominant imperial culture.

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148084530204176262006-05-19T17:21:00.001-07:002006-05-20T11:23:53.096-07:00

The transition from the Old to New Testament, from a Jewish parochialism to a Christian universalism, provides a model for a theoretical reconciliation of the national and imperial British self-identification in an overtly missionary understanding of the Christian communities place and purpose in the world. Adrian Hastings notes, We have seen the national model recur again and again, yet if one

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148084503871395572006-05-19T17:21:00.000-07:002006-05-20T11:25:44.693-07:00

If one is to speak of anything approaching a national imperial consciousness—which arguably lacks the necessary cohesion to be called a historically intelligible phenomenon before the later decades of the 19th century—one should also try to identify its cultural sources. In a similar manner, if one is to trace the origins of a missionary impulse at the intersection of religious beliefs and

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148084474503074112006-05-19T17:20:00.000-07:002006-05-20T11:22:57.206-07:00

The most conspicuous facet of the historiographical approach to the history of the British Empire of the previous generation of historians is the absence of subject matter commonly designated “religious.” The extent to which this absence is due to widespread influence of modernity’s secularization thesis in academic scholarship which held that the influence of religion on society was in decline

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1148084436044829022006-05-19T17:18:00.000-07:002006-05-20T11:21:33.386-07:00

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5.14-6 This historiographical essay will survey recent literature

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1141519894737985332006-03-04T16:50:00.000-08:002006-03-05T10:14:12.516-08:00

VOLUME 22, ISSUE 6 DECEMBER 8, 2004 REDEEMER'S STUDENT VOICEby Richard GreydanusStudent-led colloquial dispels myths and prejudicesBack to My Papers________________________________________If you think the Mongols, Huns, and other nomadic tribes of the eastern steppes were nothing more than barbarians, then Rob Joustra and John den Boer have a few things to say to you about your civilized

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1141518256401674502006-03-04T16:19:00.000-08:002006-03-08T21:08:49.333-08:00

by Richard GreydanusThis paper was written in January, 2005.Back to My Papers Index1. a preliminary expectoration on a gendered analysis human knowledge2. in which my purpose is stated, after which my understanding of Kuhn’s purpose is given3. in which I subject Kuhn to a socio-historical reading, highlight narrow scope of his study, his use of ambiguous terms, and sound a word of caution4. in

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1141517837600142262006-03-04T16:15:00.000-08:002006-03-04T23:21:59.883-08:00

I apologize for the length of this presentation. As I read through reflections of Kuhn’s work, I realized that I would have to incorporate the first two lines of criticism before elaborating upon my own in order to show that I had in fact done my homework. My line of argument has been building towards a synthesis of readings assigned from Herbert Butterfield, The Origins of Modern Science, 1300-

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1141517709955118802006-03-04T16:14:00.000-08:002006-03-05T14:39:50.146-08:00

1. Building on this foundation, I intend to explore three separate but interrelated lines of criticism. The first concerns epistemological difficulties surrounding Kuhn’s notion of a paradigm as scientific communities’ “incommensurable ways of seeing the world and practicing science in it.” (Structure, 4) I find that Kuhn the sociologist of scientific knowledge is woefully unprepared take up

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1141517673621169372006-03-04T16:12:00.000-08:002006-03-05T14:25:27.076-08:00

As the title of his book claims, Kuhn is interested in uncovering The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962). What caught my attention was at one and the same time how narrowly Kuhn delineates his objects of study and the ambiguity of the terminology he employs; though these is not problematic in and of themselves. Practicing historians ought to have an ingrained sensitivity to the piecemeal

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1141517540342490752006-03-04T16:11:00.000-08:002006-03-05T14:16:24.856-08:00

The opening line of Thomas Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) famously begins, “History, if viewed as a repository for more than anecdote or chronology, could produce a decisive transformation in the image of science by which we are now possessed.” (Structure, 1) My purpose here rests on a similar claim, that history has something more to say. I will analyze Structure with the

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1141517493543324842006-03-04T15:51:00.000-08:002006-03-04T16:58:53.923-08:00

Long ago, during the last age of reason, certain proud thinkers had claimed that valid knowledge was indestructible—that ideas were deathless and truth immortal. But that was true only in the subtlest sense…and not superficially true at all. There was objective meaning in the world, to be sure: the nonmoral logos or design of the Creator; but such meanings were God’s and not Man’s, until they

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1140385821159311872006-02-19T13:46:00.000-08:002006-02-19T17:05:24.840-08:00

Life in the Late Medieval Periodby Richard GreydanusThis paper was written in January, 2005.Back to My Papers Index1. Introduction2. Late Medieval Perception of Life3. Social Stability in a World Divided Against Itself4. ConclusionAdmittedly, this does not fall under the conventional label of book review. In fact, There is very little by the way of criticism. But then, having only been introduced

Richardnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1140385570525067842006-02-19T13:43:00.000-08:002006-02-19T16:58:40.600-08:00

The ‘tone of life’ was changing. Incredible social tensions and trials tried the dualistic medieval form of life in the 14th and 15 centuries and ultimately affected its undoing. Huizinga describes a form of life stretched to the breaking point by the contradictory principles, one transcendent and the other violently unpredictable and very real. No doubt those living in Burgundy and the

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1140385403913741652006-02-19T13:42:00.000-08:002006-02-19T16:58:08.946-08:00

Life during the medieval period was, as Thomas Hobbes would a few centuries later describe in his mythical state of nature, ‘nasty, brutish, and short.’ Tensions between visions of the realm of grace and nature inherent in the medieval mind, it would seem to us, to at any moment be on the verge of tearing the world apart. We might be led to conclude that this was an age lacking in social

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1140385343191914892006-02-19T13:40:00.000-08:002006-02-19T16:56:55.343-08:00

Upon entering the medieval mind we encounter a world of sharp contrasts and divides that initially appear to us almost nonsensical. The first and most obvious place this can be found is in the interpretive lens of faith, which impressed itself so strongly on the medieval perception of the world around. There was, Huizinga writes, ‘a state of tension between two spiritual poles that is no longer

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1140385185955245422006-02-19T13:38:00.000-08:002006-02-19T16:56:01.023-08:00

Comprehending what life was like in the later centuries of the medieval period is an extremely difficult and delicate exercise. Our world makes sense: “A” seems to always equal “B;” and even if we cannot be sure of this with absolute certainty, we are encouraged to adopt this statement as a truth of utility. Our mind has been trained to look for sequences and patterns. That which doesn’t fit,

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1140384212354109182006-02-19T13:17:00.000-08:002006-02-19T13:58:55.700-08:00

by Richard GreydanusOctober, 2004Back to My PapersMeerut, May 10th 1857. Welcome to Meerut, a military settlement north of Delhi. The day is May 10th, 1857. Before you stand thousands of Indian soldiers all in British uniform. These are the sepoys, and they have been standing here under a blistering sun at attention for nine hours while more than sixty of their comrades are manacled in irons for

Richardnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139804652829178472006-02-12T20:19:00.000-08:002006-02-12T20:31:51.626-08:00

by Richard GreydanusThis paper was written in December, 2004.Back to My Papers Index1. Introduction2. The Christian North to the 11th Century3. Al-Andalus: The Taifa Kingdoms4. El Cid5. Interlude: Origins of the Almoravids6. El Cid, Continued 7. Conclusionrich

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139801593301640302006-02-12T19:29:00.000-08:002006-02-12T20:45:22.856-08:00

I have attempted to show here that Spain during the 11th century through a lens provided by the life of Rodrigo Diaz cannot be understood in terms of the Reconquista. One could object by pointing to Rodrigo’s exemplary nature along with his many conflicts with Alfonso and saying he was a talented exception to the rule. But to call him an aberration ignores the nature of the paria relationship and

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139801330074212742006-02-12T19:26:00.000-08:002006-02-12T20:40:40.466-08:00

Reconciliation and Rejection. At Sagrajas in 1086 Alfonso met Yusuf and his Almoravid forces in battle and was soundly defeated. Yusuf, for his part, retreated immediately across the straits to Morocco. Alfonso found himself in desparate need of good commanders. Though the Almoravids had failed to complete their victory, the Leonese-Castilian army had suffered great losses. So in 1087 Rodrigo

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139801197783506762006-02-12T19:25:00.000-08:002006-02-12T20:39:32.170-08:00

From the fringes of the desert in southern Morocco arose a religious group within Islam whose sudden appearance can be compared to the initial rise of Islam to religious primacy among Arab tribesmen. Kennedy writes, “The appeal of the Almoravids was simple: they summoned men with the slogan, ‘The spreading of righteousness, the correction of injustice and the abolition of unlawful taxes’, aims

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139801111490648192006-02-12T19:19:00.000-08:002006-02-12T20:38:01.166-08:00

What follows is a brief overview of Rodrigo’s life with particular attention paid to the confused nature of the political relationships between Christian and Muslim polities. The story presented here and the conclusions taken from it are largely those of Fletcher. At points throughout, the perspectives presented in the Poema, by Ramon Menendez Pidal, or by some other historian on different events

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139800778272186202006-02-12T19:17:00.000-08:002006-02-12T20:44:39.070-08:00

The first portion of this independent study dealt with the development of Andalusian politics from the first days of the Muslim presence in Spain through to the downfall of the caliphate and the establishment of the taifa kingdoms. Therefore, this paper will avoid an extensive discussion of the development of the caliphate. Instead, a brief look will be taken at the Andalusian state of affairs

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139800637769973772006-02-12T19:13:00.000-08:002006-02-12T20:41:49.826-08:00

After the defeat of the Visigoths at the hands of invading Muslim forces, Christian government in Spain was effectively eliminated. This did not mean, of course, that Christian centers of resistance to Muslim authority ceased to exist. As early as 718 the Christian kingdom of the Asturias in the mountainous northwestern region of the Iberian Peninsula was established. Ethnic conflicts between the

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139800087047619192006-02-12T19:04:00.000-08:002006-02-12T20:34:41.333-08:00

Don Quixote della Mancha, Miguel Cervantes’ (1547-1614) renowned buffoon, spent much time before setting out on his adventures reading the histories of, as he called it, “knight-errantry.” Among the volumes he perused, at least one must have been dedicated to Rodrigo Diaz, better known in popular history as the Cid, for he mentions on several occasions a certain Ruy Diaz—Rodrigo is a variant of

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139460073142522752006-02-08T20:38:00.000-08:002006-02-19T17:11:56.556-08:00

Dooyeweerd’s Take on the Nature-Grace Synthesisby Richard GreydanusThis paper was written in December, 2004.Back to My Papers Index1. Introduction2. Review3. CritiqueUnfortunately, for my purposes in this paper, the Review and Critique relate only in that they treat a common soucre. Why? In the former I give an account of Dooyeweerd's understanding of the historical consequences of the

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139459860358310322006-02-08T20:36:00.000-08:002006-02-08T20:51:24.870-08:00

Introduction. The usefulness Dooyeweerd’s method of epistemological critique should not be underestimated. It is a powerful tool that can be used very effectively to analyze philosophies that purport to be constructed with “scientific” precision. By exposing philosophy’s religious root, the possibility of there existing neutral philosophic ground on which the thinkers can meet and discuss as

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139459774707043492006-02-08T20:32:00.000-08:002006-02-08T20:54:12.083-08:00

Review. The first portion of Chapter 5 “The Great Synthesis” is dedicated to outlining the historical development of the dualistic nature-grace ground-motive characteristic of Roman Catholic thought. Contributing to this synthesis was the dualistic Greek form-matter ground-motive, which Dooyeweerd had discussed in the previous chapter. This ground-motive was characterized by a belief to the

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1139459472077278652006-02-08T20:29:00.000-08:002006-02-08T20:52:57.380-08:00

Before I begin a disclaimer seems appropriate: I am approaching this critical review of Chapter 5 of Dooyeweerd’s Roots of Western Culture, not with the concerns of a philosopher primarily, but the concerns of a student of history. I intend to shape my critique of Dooyeweerd philosophy around historiographical and anthropological concerns. I place this on the table before I begin my

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137960083961422462006-01-22T11:55:00.000-08:002006-02-23T13:04:26.933-08:00

by Richard GreydanusBack to My Papers IndexThough a literary genius and masterful teller of historical narrative, any mention of Edward Gibbons (1737-1794) is bound to give the present generation of Christians a bad taste in their mouths. A gifted pen, however, cannot always convince; this is a consideration that certainly must be taken in account of any unfavorable reception of History of the

Richardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137728319704159312006-01-19T19:36:00.000-08:002006-01-19T20:10:42.693-08:00

Richard GreydanusHis 751Professor V. AksanDec. 1, 2005Back to Main PageResponse to Empires East and WestWhat have we learned in the course of studying European and Muslim encounters? To begin with, it seems the West, as it is traditionally conceived, has a problem with how it perceives, represents, treats its Others. While I would root this lamentable condition in part the limited capacity for

Richardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137726816431851142006-01-19T19:09:00.000-08:002006-01-19T20:10:39.823-08:00

Richard GreydanusHis 751Prof. V. AksanDecember 8, 2005Back to Main PageResponse to Modern PerspectivesHaving reached the end of the course, it is appropriate that we should try to formulate some response to Bernard Lewis’ question, What Went Wrong? I hesitate, however, to formulate some definitive answer, for Lewis’ most fatal flaw is his need explain. Lewis’ (in)famous book reads like cultural

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137300915962645542006-01-14T20:52:00.000-08:002006-01-14T21:11:30.033-08:00

Changed perspectives of the paterfamilias, of whether Christian teaching informed Constantine’s legislation on marriage and family, and of what constitutes a distinctly Christian family has directed historians to rethink how and to what extent Christian rhetoric shaped of the late antique familia. Driving this reconsideration is an increased sensitivity to the diversity of factors that converge

Richardnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137300734586184032006-01-14T20:49:00.000-08:002006-01-14T21:12:24.560-08:00

Despite his sensitivity in dealing specifically with Constantine’s legislative reforms, the thrust of Brown’s perspective, which implies a radical break between pagan and Christian forms of the family, is at odds with recent scholarship. Christianity was supposed to have introduced new social mores that radically altered the shape of the family during late antiquity, reforming attitudes towards

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137300592272768252006-01-14T20:48:00.000-08:002006-01-14T21:07:46.226-08:00

Traditionally conceived, the break between pagan and Christian Roman history takes place with the conversion of Constantine to Christianity.[17] Constantine effected sweeping legislative reforms, some of which addressed changing gender roles and family life. These have been seen as naturally continuing in the spirit of the initial conversion. Recent scholarship turns away from the narrative of

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137300496579473292006-01-14T20:45:00.000-08:002006-01-14T21:05:19.023-08:00

The existence of a distinct set of traits characteristic of Christian families presupposes the existence of an alternative set of characteristics possessed by pagan families, out of which the former would have grown and, alongside of which, would have continued to exist. The literature surveyed re-evaluates the portrayal of the paterfamilias as a paternal autocrat with the power to give and take

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137300332523242272006-01-14T20:43:00.000-08:002006-01-14T21:03:16.460-08:00

The wealth of material Peter Brown has bequeathed to the study of late antiquity is an excellent example of how the weight of words impresses itself on succeeding generations of scholars. Brown worked to set the minds of great men and women of late antiquity in social context, overturning a scholarly prejudice against the study of social actions held by generations of historians more concerned

Richardnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137299521714446562006-01-14T20:29:00.000-08:002006-01-14T21:01:19.686-08:00

This historiographical survey of secondary literature published in the last decade and a half will examine changing perspectives on the family, both pagan and Christian, during late antiquity. Following the secondary literature, family will be accessed through a variety of different categories like gender roles, marital relations, or sexuality. The size of the subject, however, makes it

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137299372828280682006-01-14T20:24:00.000-08:002006-01-14T21:23:30.350-08:00

by Richard GreydanusThis paper was written in November, 2005.Back to My Papers Index1. Introduction2. Peter Brown's Legacy3. Changed Perceptions of Paterfamilias4. How Christian was Constantine’s Legislation?5. The Christian Familia6. ConclusionI enjoyed writing this paper. Peter Brown has been much criticized for his approach to the subject at hand. While I can agree with the particulars of many

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137220247202542282006-01-13T22:22:00.000-08:002006-01-13T22:44:31.406-08:00

Said’s critique of Orientalism has not been employed beyond those Latin Christian and nationalist perspectives to which it most readily applies. The approaches of Glick and Bulliet offer a historical-sociological route of escape from making simple assignments of praise or blame to a period of history worthy of a response fitting of its complex and variety character. As well, Castro’s dialectical

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137219709903716252006-01-13T22:16:00.000-08:002006-01-13T22:44:18.196-08:00

Since the publication of Conversion to Islam in the Medieval Period (1979), no significant treatment of medieval Spanish history has been able to ignore Richard Bulliet’s, admittedly highly-speculative, “curve of conversion.”[37] A logistic curve based on a quantitative analysis of the adoption of Muslim names among subject populations over time, the curve of conversion attempts to draw a casual

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137219394541439182006-01-13T22:06:00.000-08:002006-01-13T22:50:52.920-08:00

The debate over the nature of convivencia is dominated by a comparison of Christian and Muslim tendencies towards certain forms of societal organization. Often the Jewish component is ignored; this is an ironic turn of events considering Castro’s interest in convivencia was preceded by a German school of Jewish scholars in the late 19th century. “[T]he founders of Jewish Studies thought they had

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137218780907125642006-01-13T21:55:00.000-08:002006-01-13T22:40:13.406-08:00

Convivencia has not always held the place of interest among historians that it presently occupies. The foundations of the traditional narrative of medieval Spanish history were laid alongside those of the modern state of Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs by papal decree, on the Inquisition and expulsion. These were laid on top of even deeper foundations set down by 12th

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137218052121961892006-01-13T21:51:00.000-08:002006-01-13T22:49:32.006-08:00

The intelligent critic must judge for himself as he looks around, examining this, admiring that, and choosing the other…Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah This paper will attempt to sketch a portrait of the medieval Spanish convivencia as it presents itself in recent and contemporary historical debate. Originally proposed by the great 20th century Spanish literary and cultural historian, Americo Castro,

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1137217854933382792006-01-13T21:45:00.000-08:002006-01-14T20:24:14.373-08:00

by Richard GreydanusThis paper was written in December, 2005.Back to My Papers Index1. Introduction2. Setting the Stage: Latin Christian and Nationalist Interpretations3. Features of the Convivencia in Recent Historical Scholarship4. Convivencia and Religious Conversion5. Conclusionrich

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1134356794131719952005-12-11T19:05:00.000-08:002005-12-11T19:30:26.746-08:00

What can the Christian intellectual concerned for accounting for the complexity of God’s creation without destroying its integrality take from The Technological System? It is certain that the Christian cannot support Ellul’s conclusion that humanity no longer possesses the ability to choose for himself. Such a conclusion is the equivalent of saying that humankind bears no moral responsibility for

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It remains to be seen that human life is not caught in a dialectical tension between human freedom and material necessity. Simply because a system of thought is built on dialectical principles doesn’t make it wrong per se. Instead, we must show that such an ontic presupposition does not help us account for the complexity of the world of human experience. In Ellul’s account it is very possible

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1134356596766762372005-12-11T18:58:00.000-08:002005-12-11T19:28:24.190-08:00

Christ is conspicuously absent from Ellul’s account of The Technological System. I believe this is a good place from which to start understanding how our depressing French philosopher is able to make such startling conclusions about the nonexistent state of humanity’s historical agency. At the very conclusion of his book, Ellul reflects on the relation between the human person and technology:Man

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1134356269105591392005-12-11T18:55:00.000-08:002005-12-11T19:27:53.610-08:00

Ellul, for all intents and purposes, assumes the same dualistic relationship between nature and freedom that had been forcefully posited by Descartes when he theoretically assumed an ontic division between the lawful (determined) nature of the body and the unfettered human rationality. This is a conclusion I draw after having reflected upon the thrust of Ellul’s argument; and as such I cannot

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1134356069788540102005-12-11T18:51:00.000-08:002005-12-11T19:27:10.483-08:00

The Technological System does not simply fall out of the sky, but intstead belongs to a much wider intellectual conversation that took place during the early 20th century. In his book World History and the West, Paul Costello writes, The perspectives of western world historians in the twentieth century are dominated by an overwhelming sense of crisis, a feeling that Western civilization may be

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1134355885877980882005-12-11T18:50:00.000-08:002005-12-11T19:21:20.623-08:00

Uncovering what Jacques Ellul (1912-1994) believes concerning the nature of politics in The Technological System is an exercise in the art of extrapolation and the drawing of implications.[1] Ellul’s work is first and foremost a sociological enquiry that delves at times into reflections which are of a philosophic anthropological character. The number of times he reflects on politics at any length

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1134355813489812762005-12-11T18:49:00.000-08:002005-12-12T13:00:52.686-08:00

by Richard GreydanusThis paper was written in March, 2005.Back to My Papers Index1. Introduction2. The Context in which Ellul Writes3. A Description of The Technological System4. Autonomous Rationality in The Technological System5. Realism and The Technological System6. ConclusionI was not pleased with this paper. But Dr. Koyzis was: so I post it. I had hoped to do so much more with it. Due to

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Richard GreydanusHis 751Dr. V. AksanNovember 1, 2005Back to Main PageResponse to Travelers East & WestTraveler’s accounts should be viewed suspiciously. Having been a traveler myself, this comment is as much self-critical note as it is a historiographical point. I recall having eaten fish and chips with a Dane, a Norwegian, and a Newfie in a pub overlooking the English Channel all the while

Richardnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1133844216386531482005-12-05T20:37:00.000-08:002006-01-19T20:12:03.893-08:00

Richard GreydanusHis 751Dr. V. AksanNovember 9, 2005Back to Main PageResponse to The Turk in European ThoughtWho is a Turk? Who is an Ottoman? I believe the simple lesson to be taken from reading Jean Paul Marana’s first of eight volumes of the Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy, the other seven volumes for whom authorship remains in question, and Paul’s Rycaut’s The Present State of the Ottoman

Richardnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1133843821893059102005-12-05T20:36:00.000-08:002006-01-19T20:12:15.176-08:00

Richard GreydanusHis 751Professor V. AksanOct. 12, 2005Back to Main PageResponse to Renaissance Encounters Edward Said opened up an entire new field of historical scholarship and an entire new way of thinking about history. His analysis of portrayals of the “Self” as it relates to the “Other”—both an individual and corporate phenomenon—fits well with Michel Foucault’s thinking about the

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1133843506486036202005-12-05T20:30:00.000-08:002006-01-19T20:13:46.826-08:00

Richard GreydanusHis 751Dr. AksanNovember 24, 2005Back to Main PageResponse to Orient and the EnlightenmentThe ideal of objectivity in the historical discipline has a checkered reputation. (At the present, I do not think its reputation has faired well in any of the scholarly disciplines.) More often then not, scholarship presented as objective veils some unconsciously assumed perspective, labeled

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1133843310017006582005-12-05T20:26:00.000-08:002006-01-19T20:12:41.816-08:00

Richard GreydanusHis 751Dr. V. AksanOctober 19, 2005Back to Main PageResponse to 1453 and All ThatMy response will be directed towards the question of historical agency and the place occupied by Messire Giovanni Guistiniani Longo in the story of Constantinople’s conquest by Mehmed II. Each of the historians brought different perspectives on, for example, whether or not the conquest of the city

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1133843105755001552005-12-05T20:24:00.000-08:002006-01-19T20:00:54.493-08:00

History 751: European-Muslim Encountersfor Dr. Virginia AksanRichard GreydanusBack to My Papers-------------------------------------------------------------------------------->> Response to Crusaders in Palestine >>Response to 1453 and All That>> Response to Renaissance Encounters>> Response to Orient and the Enlightenment>> Response to Travelers East & West>> Response to The Turk in European

Richardnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18169512.post-1133843092328758682005-12-05T20:20:00.000-08:002006-01-19T20:12:57.113-08:00

Richard GreydanusHis 751Prof. V. AksanOctober 5, 2005Back to Main PageResponse to Crusaders in PalestineI will direct my response towards the changed perceptions of the European crusaders after they had entered the Holy Land, and the questions of conflict/ constructive engagement along “religious frontiers,” which was discussed in last weeks readings.From the three readings provided, one

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VOLUME 19, ISSUE 9 REDEEMER'S STUDENT VOICESize Does Matterby Richard GreydanusBusinesses expand, some to the point of becoming global entities. Organizations expand, and there is pressure to increase in size everywhere. The reasons vary. Grow larger or die, grow larger because of demand. Pressures are everywhere, but whether positive or negative, they are very real.Redeemer finds itself under

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VOLUME 20, ISSUE 4 REDEEMER'S STUDENT VOICEReformation Day and the Catholic ChurchRichard GreydanusReformation Day is upon us--I think. By my best guesses it falls on November 1. When this little-known, little-celebrated day is compared to Christmas and Easter it hardly registers on the holiday indicator. But still, what this day stands as an epitaph to is deeply ingrained on the Protestant mind

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VOLUME 22, ISSUE 2 OCTOBER 6, 2004 REDEEMER'S STUDENT VOICEProf Plantinga Probes Reformational History at Colloquiumby Richard GreydanusSolitary kooks are not only ones responsible for dissolution of Evan Runner’s Movement________________________________________On Tuesday, September 21, Professor Theodore Plantinga presented to Redeemer students, professors, as well as other interested persons,

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VOLUME 19, ISSUE 7 REDEEMER'S STUDENT VOICEPotter vs. Gandalfby Richard GreydanusThe Role of Magic ComparedGone are the papal bulls that condemned incorrect theological or philosophical writings during the Middle Ages. These days, the widespread Christian condemnation of certain questionable writings has a new target. The Harry Potter series, written by J.K. Rowling, has received criticism from

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VOLUME 20, ISSUE 1 REDEEMER'S STUDENT VOICEMassive Massby Richard GreydanusI went to see the pope this summer. His Holiness presided over the final mass in the weeklong World Youth Day celebrations. The pope portrayed with style the Platonic foundations of Catholic theology. It was evident that his spirit was still willing while his body was failing. Age is slowly taking its toll on the pope,

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VOLUME 19, ISSUE 6 REDEEMER'S STUDENT VOICEMarriage Muddleby Richard GreydanusRomance and Relationships at RUCRob Powell led two seminars entitled “Looking for Mr. or Mrs. Right?” , held during the activity periods on the 23rd and 30th of November.The purpose of these seminars was to provide the students with a biblical framework within which to look for a life partner. About thirty people

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I will be posting papers that I have written here as they return to me from my professors. If I received any less than a A-, chances are it won't be posted.Richard Greydanus--------------------------------------------------------------------------------ReviewsThe Barbarian Conversion by Richard FletcherOctober 2005Big Fish Fun, But MisdirectedJanuary 2004Holes by Louis SacharDecember

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The End of History and the Discovery of Ethical Obligationby Richard GreydanusOctober, 2005Back to My Papers Index1. Introduction2. The End of History; Volumes 1-6, 1990-96 3. Has History Really Ended? Volumes 7-12, 1996-20014. Ethical Questions and the Telling of World History, Volumes 13 -16, 2002-present5. ConclusionThis was a fun paper to write. Periodization is a perennial difficulty

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Sixteen years after he first defined the journal’s fields of study, Bentley remains convinced of the empirical need to do history in a “world” context. He identifies three main features of a truly world historical narrative: “rising human population, expanding technological capacity, and increasing prominence of cross-cultural interaction over time.”[36] He wants, however, to fashion this

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The third phase of the history of World History’s evolution is characterized primarily by a redefinition of the journal’s central purpose. When he witnessed first hand the detonation of a test nuclear weapon, J. Robert Oppenheimer quoted the Bhavagad Gita saying, “I am become death; destroyer of worlds.” Bentley appears to have come to something of a similar realization as the journal turned to

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The most forceful response to this question came from Huntington with the publication of his Clash of Civilizations,[18] which claimed that conflict of global significance had not ceased with the end of ideological conflict, but had instead assumed a religious identity. Already in 1994, only the fifth year of the journal’s publication life, World History’s confident face was beginning to crack.

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The reader is unable to escape the supreme sense of optimism with which William H. McNeill, author of The Rise of the West,[5] embraced the oppourtunity to pen the journal’s flagship article. All the dimensions of human history, he says, ought to be woven into the narrative of the rise and elaboration of separate civilizations and cultures and viewed as ecumenical processes comparable in

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This historiographical assessment of the Journal of World History will examine underlying theoretical accounts of the origins and the ethicality of those origins assumed in particular approaches to the subject of world history to chart a general course of the journal’s evolution through sixteen volumes since its first publication in 1990. Jerry H. Bentley, the journal’s editor notes, “Historians

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After the rash actions of al-Muzaffar, the caliphate no longer possessed the power to hold divisive ethnic tensions at bay. Islam proposes to be an egalitarian faith, yet its imperfect adherents were unable to shed old tribal loyalties. From the first years of Muslim presence in al-Andalus ethnic divisions had been given a lease on life on account of unguided settlement patterns. Those early

Richardnoreply@blogger.com2