What Is the Book of Enoch?
The Book of Enoch is perhaps one of the most widely known pieces of literature from the corpus known as the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. It purports to be the work of Enoch, seventh in the line from Adam (on Seth’s side), though some of it is supposedly also written by Noah. When you are asked […]
What It Means to Be Protestant: A Review
Gavin Ortlund in his outstanding new book What It Means to be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church points to three aspects of renewal. These three aspects comprise what he calls “mere Protestantism”: A renewal of the gospel, A renewal of Scripture as our final authority, and A renewal of the teachings of Scripture […]
Church History Debates: What Is Monophysitism?
It seems clear from Scripture that Jesus was both human and divine. Could it be that both natures combined to form a single, hybrid nature? That’s the logic behind a view called “monophysitism.” Background and Summary To understand monophysitism, it’s helpful to go back and look at the debate over whether Jesus was one or […]
Church History Debates: Is Pelagianism a Heresy?
It’s clear from Scripture and our own experience that humans, though created in God’s image, are sinners. We have a decided inner propensity toward sin. But is it at least possible that a regular human who is capable of sinning could somehow live a sinless life? Theoretically? That’s where “Pelagianism” comes in. Background of the Pelagian […]
Church History Debates: What About Gentile Converts?
Although the first Christians were Jews, the first century began to see an influx of Gentiles into the church. How would church leaders respond to this ethnic shakeup? Background and Summary When the early church began to evangelize Gentiles, the question arose as to how extensively the converts would have to conform to the Jewish […]
Comparing New Testament Interpretations with the Church Fathers
I (Bobby) recall being part of a meeting where national church leaders discussed/debated the essential definition of church (the subject of “minimum ecclesiology”). After all, if we are going to plant churches together, then we need to have a shared definition of a church. One of the leaders stated that there should be little discussion […]
A Prayer for Forgiveness
The following is a prayer for forgiveness I composed during my own devotional times. The prayer itself is somewhat formal in nature—more so than my typical daily prayers—because I want to foster a sense of wonder and reverence. My hope is that this prayer from my heart may refresh your heart, draw you closer to […]
Book Review: On the Road with Saint Augustine, by James K.A. Smith
The point of a story is not to be original. The point of a story is to relate to other people. We may be different, you and me. We may even be vastly different. But there are some aspects of our stories that make it possible to see ourselves in each other. If I told […]
