“This language of loss and diminuition clearly suggests the possibility of coming to nothing, of annihilation stricto sensu.  That is what gives it the undeniable power it has.  For Augustine, as for most of the fathers of the church, the possibility of self-annihilation is suggested by a grammar of participation and gift.  On this view, the fact that you are is sheer unmerited gift, and what you are is a participant in the LORD. Continue reading Griffiths on The Lure of the Void →