Category: Christianity
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Church and State Part Two: Caesaropapism
This is the second installation in a series of articles in which I present my view of church history with a focus on the relationship between church and state. In my last article, I covered the early church. Today I cover Constantine and caesaropapism. In the next installation, I will cover conflicts between monarchs and…
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Church and State Part One: The Early Church
This is the first installation in a series of articles in which I present my view of church history with a focus on the relationship between church and state. Today I cover the history of the early church. In the next installation, I will cover Constantine and caesaropapism. Struggles between state and religion, papacy and…
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Does the Truth Change? (Part II)
In the previous post I explain some of the definitions St. John Henry Newman gives to doctrine, authority, and private judgement. Now I will seek to explore how Newman uses these definitions to construct a view of theology that can be said to “develop” without changing what Christ taught. First, there exists the issue of…
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Augustinian Predestination
At the moment, I am only going to post some objections to the Augustinian/Thomist view of predestination since I am starting to move away from that view due to the difficulties it poses. The Augustinian view of predestination suggests that after the fall all of mankind is destined for hell and that God, to show…
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Does the Truth Change (Part I)
Does the truth change? Does the eternal truth of Christ change? On one hand believers of all creeds will find the notion of truth changing to be anathema! How can the words of scripture, those spoken by Christ, provide foundation for theological doctrines that change over time? Many scholars will point out good evidence that…
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What Real Ecumenism Looks Like
For the past few years, Zach and I have had a running debate with Vlad about whether the term “Ecumenical” aptly describes Morning Walk. Zach and I advocate for its inclusion into our Mission Statement. Vlad, in all his belligerent Russian Orthodox fashion, thinks the word speaks too much like a festering of High Church…
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Christianity of the Third Millennium
I can see the merits of Sola Scriptura. I can see why so many people choose to adopt that ideology. Just as Jesus seemingly condensed the law into two rules, so a summary compilation of the tenets of the faith, the Bible, condenses the work of millennia. It’s easier to read, and, in theory, it’s…
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Rediscovering Lost Horizons
Rediscovering the relationship between faith and reason is necessary for understanding and engaging with the atmosphere of our times. Indeed, it has been the church’s constant tradition to show those outside its fold how they possess vague glimpses of what the church teaches, believes, and confesses. However, before analyzing the relationship between faith and reason,…
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The Point of Denominations
In my region of the world, it’s a taboo for a church to have a denomination. Churches that have one are said to be divisive and misleading. I disagree. Christianity is the only ideology that can span all times, cultures, and situations, but show me a single organization that could manage that much territory. No…
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Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin
Growing up I often heard the phrase “love the sinner, hate the sin” used as a way to approach the complexity of living in a world where we are called to love a broken and sinful people. This phrase actually comes from St Augustine in his Letter 211 where he writes, “Cum dilectione hominum et…
