How do we know which books are from God, and which are not? Certainly the apostolic origins of a book can help identify it as being from God (see post here). And, the church’s overall consensus on a book can be part of how we identity it as being from…
*Note: This is the second installment in a three-part series. You can access the previous article here. Premises 1 and 2: As a natural law, the Sabbath pattern[1] is universally binding throughout every generation of human history. From the outset of creation, God sanctified one day to be reserved for resting from weekly labor and […]
See part 1, part 2, and part 3. Thus far, in our efforts to understand the origins, development, and trustworthiness of the New Testament canon,[1] we have examined two key premises that refute the notion that Christians did not have a concept of the New Testament canon until the fourth century. In Article 2, we […]
See part 1, part 2, and part 3. Thus far, in our efforts to understand the origins, development, and trustworthiness of the New Testament canon,[1] we have examined two key premises that refute the notion that Christians did not have a concept of the New Testament canon until the fourth century. In Article 2, we […]
See Part 1 and Part 2. Up to this point in the series, we have examined how the canonicity of the New Testament writings are proven by garnering a proper understanding of God’s absolute sovereignty over created reality, in supplementation to apprehending the interconnectedness between the New Testament canon[1] and the redemptive-historical inauguration of the […]
In Part 6, we discussed how Augustine would have refuted such claims that he either remained a Manichee or that he would sneak in some of their beliefs which were not in the Christian Church up to that point. As I have been continuing my reading through Augustine’s works, I came across some direct refutations …
The Importance of Trinitarian Orthodoxy for True Worship The doctrine of the Trinity is the most important doctrine of the Christian faith because it tells us who the God is that we worship.[1] In the progressive unfolding of redemptive history, God has disclosed Himself to be one being (ousia) who exists in three co-equal, co-essential and […]
This may seem like a strange topic; I admit that it is one that we don’t normally discuss. But I would like to know if your church would not allow Augustine to partake of the Lord’s Supper if he were to pop out of history and show up at your Church’s door on a Sunday …
Continue reading Would Your Church Admit Augustine to The Table? Some Reformed Churches Would Not.
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have been reading much of Augustine’s work lately as well as other Church Fathers, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since Dr. Wilson’s dissertation is available to freely view …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work, Part 12 – On Psalm 51 and Concupiscence
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have been reading much of Augustine’s work lately as well as other Church Fathers, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since Dr. Wilson’s dissertation is available to freely view …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work, Part 11 – On Psalm 51 and Original Sin
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have been reading much of Augustine’s work lately as well as other Church Fathers, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since Dr. Wilson’s dissertation is available to freely view …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work, Part 10 – On The Magnitude of The Soul
Below you will find a Table of Contents with all of my posts in this current series. I will link to each post and provide a brief synopsis of its argument, typically a summary of each post’s conclusion. Part 1 – Clement and Free Will Dr. Wilson argues that when Clement stirred up the believers …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work – A Table of Contents
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have been reading much of Augustine’s work lately as well as other Church Fathers, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since Dr. Wilson’s dissertation is available to freely view …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work, Part 9 – Breaking The Silence of Augustine
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have been reading much of Augustine’s work lately as well as other Church Fathers, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since Dr. Wilson’s dissertation is available to freely view …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work, Part 8 – Council of Carthage
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have been reading much of Augustine’s work lately as well as other Church Fathers, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since Dr. Wilson’s dissertation is available to freely view most …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work, Part 7 – What If We Rewrite the Stars?
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have been reading much of Augustine’s work lately as well as other Church Fathers, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since Dr. Wilson’s dissertation is available to freely view most …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work, Part 6 – The Depths of Augustine’s Manichaeism
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have been reading much of Augustine’s work lately as well as other Church Fathers, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since Dr. Wilson’s dissertation is available to freely view most …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work, Part 5 – Using Equal Scales in the Discussion
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have read more Augustine and other Church Fathers than probably almost anyone else I know, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since Dr. …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work, Part 4 – Athanasius and Original Sin
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have read more Augustine and other Church Fathers than probably almost anyone else I know, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since Dr. …
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have read more Augustine and other Church Fathers than probably almost anyone else I know, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work, Part 2 – Augustine, 412, and Original Sin
Introduction Recently, Dr. James White has been interacting quite a bit with Dr. Ken Wilson’s book (and dissertation) regarding Augustine’s “conversion” to a predestinarian. As I have read more Augustine and other Church Fathers than probably almost anyone else I know, I felt that I should enter this discussion with a layman’s perspective. Since Dr. …
Continue reading Discussing Ken Wilson’s Work, Part 1 – Clement and Free Will
Briefly today, I would like to respond to the statements in a paragraph in Dr. Clark’s latest blog post. After posing a question that he received from someone, Dr. Clark gives us an introductory paragraph in which he is laying out the early evidence that infant baptism was an established practice received from the Apostles …
Continue reading A Wrinkle in the Practice of Reformed Infant Baptism
Here is a great scriptural exhortation to loving the things of God and good works from Cyril’s 7th Catechetical Lecture. Knowing this, therefore, let us walk spiritually, that we may be counted worthy of God’s adoption. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. [Romans 8:14] …
Continue reading An Exhortation to Good Works from Cyril
A number of years ago, Everett Kalin wrote a well-known doctoral dissertation arguing that the early church fathers did not see inspiration as something that was uniquely true of canonical books. Why? Because, according to Kalin, the early Church Fat…
