The value and authority of human reason was a point of significant tension between Protestants and Catholics during the sixteenth century, and Protestants were particularly skeptical of its power to illuminate spiritual truths. As Johannes Bugenhagen (1485-1558) shows, however, Protestants did not dismiss the value of reason altogether. Instead, it was viewed as useful and…

We’re at the heart of Purgatorio, and the heart of the Commedia, but things get a little weird. There are all these dream visions, and then a lot of philosophy. To be honest, he starts to lose me a little; less seems to be happening than in earlier episodes. But what is all this talk about? Love. Love, remember, created the cosmos all the way down…