In the previous post 03.8.2 The Sanitizing of the Writings of the Church Fathers I wrote about the sad state of affairs where the Roman Catholic Church made it the law of the land where Christians persecuted and even killed heretics and burned their writings. As a result the record of what happened after the […]
Part of the Good News is Bad News Read More »
This is a 2018 post in which I have added a little more information for clarification. The writing of the early church fathers is a wonderful resource for learning what early Christians believed and how different elements of the church including doctrines and rites developed. However, the problem with reading the early church fathers is
03.8.2 The Sanitizing of the Writings of the Church Fathers Read More »
The Roman response to Christianity varied from severe persecution to an attitude of “Don’t ask … don’t look for them.” This latter attitude was initiated by the Emperor Trajan. Before we discuss Trajan it needs to be noted that the Roman Empire was a huge place, and obviously, people couldn’t travel nor communicate at the
01.1.1.1 Trajan’s Response to Pliny as an example of the Roman View on Christianity Read More »
Augustine was born of a pagan father and a Christian mother in Thagaste in Algeria in 354[i] AD. It was an interesting time. There was a strong clash between the liberal Christianity in the West of the Empire and the dogmatic, conservative Christianity of the eastern part of the Empire. Christianity in the west was
04.01 Augustine’s Crooked Path to Catholicism Read More »
On September 20, 1295 Pope Boniface VIII named Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory the first “Doctors of the Church.” This made official what had been accepted for centuries, that these men were: Great teachers who were Inspired of the Holy Spirit and were orthodox in what they taught These were only the first. At last
12.95 Doctors of the Church Read More »
Wayne Grudem, in his SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, says that Augustine’s On the Trinity, “is considered the most thorough development of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity in the history of the church.”[i] That is just one example of how the accolades for Augustine abound everywhere in Christian texts. Williston Walker begins his chapter on Augustine with
04.0 Augustine, the Most Influential Christian Theologian of All Time Read More »
There have always been divisions in the church. This article talks about sects that abounded in the mid-second century and some of the fallout. According to Encyclopedia Brittania, the Antonine Era is the period of years between 132 and 180 AD when “the Roman emperors Antoninus Pius (reigned AD 138–161) and his adopted son and heir, Marcus Aurelius (reigned AD
01.6.0 Church Sects during the Antonine Era Read More »
As discussed in an earlier post, 15.0.1 At the Heart of the Reformation was the Call to Return to the Practices of Early Christianity, one of the things happening in the 15th century were comparisons of Greek texts to Latin Vulgate translations. Here is an example: In the year 1440, a humanist scholar named Lorenzo Valla examined
The beginning of the 16th century was one of the worst times in Christianity. Corruption was everywhere from the pope down. “The decline and corruption of the papacy was well-known. After its residence at Avignon, where had it had served as a tool of French interest, the papacy had further weakened by the Great Schism,
As stated in the previous post, Martin Luther is credited with starting the Reformation, but in truth he had predecessors. John Huss was one of these. As we saw in the article about John Wyclif people were already talking about the abuses of the church and a desire to find a simpler, more scriptural church
14.1 Jan Huss, Fiery Reform Preacher, before Martin Luther Read More »
While Martin Luther is credited with starting the Reformation, the truth is that he had predecessors. About a century and a half before Luther posted his 95 theses there was a man named John Wyclif. Wyclif rose to become a master at Oxford, Balliol College. He was considered the “ablest theologian of its faculty”.[i] The
13.7 John Wyclif, Pre- Luther Reformer, Wrote of Early Christianity Read More »
The teaching in church this week centered on the inspiring story of Esther. In a nutshell when Xerxes was king of Persia the Queen was named Vashti. And in a moment of defiance Vashti refused the command of the King. After consulting with his advisers the king decided on a process to find a new
The Marvelous Story of Esther, Absent From Early Canons of Scripture Read More »
We have all seen the following scenario: little Joey and Tommy are playing in the playground. Joey starts hitting Tommy. Joey’s mom comes over and separates the boys and tells little Joey that he needs to say I’m sorry. Little Joey doesn’t want to say I’m sorry, but after a while reluctantly agrees, and mutters
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The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod’s president Rev. Mark G. Schroeder made the statement: “We rejoice that even in the Catholic Church (where we believe the gospel has been distorted) there are many Catholics who hold to a simple faith in Jesus Christ as their savior and who will ultimately be saved,”i I focus here of
Tertullian’s writings form the basis of the rise of Roman Catholicism with the trinity, sacraments, and so forth
01.5.0 Tertullian’s Writings’ Impact on Modern Theology Read More »
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also
Communion’s Deep Meaning – Christ’s Sacrifice Has Freed Us From The Power of Sin Read More »
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also
Almost All Christian Churches Practice Communion Read More »
First, it should be noted that not all Quakers consider themselves Christians but many doi, and since they do that is why they’re being considered here. On the other hand the Salvation Army considers itself “an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church” ii, and they appear to be unique as a group that as
Neither Baptism Nor Communion Services for Quakers and the Salvation Army Read More »
From the very first the church has baptized; And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for
Almost All Christian Churches Baptize Read More »
“The earth is heating up!” “We are at record warming levels.” So the global warming warnings go. I’m watching Nova on PBS. The episode is Making North America: Origins. As the narrator displays palm frond and coral reef fossils he makes a startling statement. He’s finding these artifacts in Alaska. And he says this, “This
Communication breakdowns happen everywhere in life: at home, at work, even on vacation. One of the reasons for this is that what someone says and what the other person hears a lot of times are different. Part of it is because who we think we are is different than the person talking to us thinks
Knowing As We Are Known – The Six People In Every Conversation Read More »
I have heard people say they are suspicious about the accuracy of traditions that are passed down by word-of-mouth. Anyone familiar with the “telephone” game knows that in any given crowd if one person passes a sentence to another person and so forth, that the resulting sentence by the 10th or 20th person sometimes bears
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In the first century, there wasn’t any New Testament. There weren’t any gospels, epistles, or book of Revelation. For gosh sakes, the original believers still went to Temple. But they lived together, ate together, and fellowshipped together around a simple faith based on what they had seen in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of
The Christian Creed – Now and Then Read More »
All old things from fossil bones to caveman artifacts are radioactively dated. Amazingly, the dates for these artifacts are presented in very definite terms. Carbon dating has been used by scientists to show that man is older than the dates offered by Bible records. One dating example is that of the Shroud of Turin. For
Carbon Dating Accuracy Read More »
There once was a serial killer. He had a dark passenger that drove him to terrible depths. He had overpowering urges to kill. And he acted on those urges, repeatedly killing ritualistically, stabbing his victims through the heart after binding them to his table, his altar of death. Like other serial killers, he appeared normal.
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