As I've read more and more about Cardinal John Henry Newman, I realize I know very little about him, and that he is not as simple as I had imagined. But I read this story the other day about how he was away from England and was quite sick and had to be brought home, and how at the same time he was in this spiritual journey from Anglicanism to Catholicism, and so he wrote this … [Read more...]
The Theology of the Cross in the Lives of (Bl.) Martin Luther & St. Francis
Martin Luther taught in his Heidelberg Disputation of 1518, that there were two ways of doing theology. The first was the 'theology of glory'. It meant using human reason to mix philosophy and theology into a clean system whereby God aided man in his natural striving for the good. It was a theology that made sense, and was optimistic about man's intellectual and moral … [Read more...]
The Protestant Canon In The Early Fathers
In historical theology my working motto has been "Yea let God be true, but every man a liar" (Rom 3:4) when approaching the early church fathers. In other words, I've said, I want to respect the Tradition that has been passed down to me, but if it is the case that the fathers reject any doctrine I feel to be truly contained in the Scriptures then I will reject that fathers' … [Read more...]
The Father of Modern Missions – William Carey (Part 2)
"One of the first, and most important of those duties which are incumbent upon us, is fervent and united prayer. However the influence of the Holy Spirit may be set at nought, and run down by many, it will be found upon trial, that all means which we can use, without it, will be ineffectual. If a temple is raised for God in the heathen world, it will not be by might, nor by … [Read more...]
The Father of Modern Missions – William Carey (part 1)
Regardless of whether or not, William Carey ought to be considered the 'founding father of modern missions', his influence was immense. In fact, the man was so heroic, he was supported by as diverse an array of figures as: Adoniram Judson, the Lutheran king of Denmark, and the Episcopal Church (who ironically gave him a saint's day celebration). As with any hagiography his … [Read more...]