Today the Latin / Western Church commemorates St. Augustine of Hippo. One great ecclesiastical historian around here has called him the grandfather of the Western Church. Jaroslav Pelikan said that the whole of catholic history was the church's struggle to understand and implement the doctrines of St. Augustine, and BB Warfield famously wrote that the Reformation was the … [Read more...]
St. Monica
For those of you who haven't read the Confessions of St. Augustine, St. Monica, is remembered as the gracious doctor's mother. She prayed for Augustine for over seventeen years, that he would be converted to the true faith. As the phrase usually goes: Augustine wouldn't have been a saint unless Monica had. The episode reminds me of a story wherein Pope Paul VI upon becoming … [Read more...]
St. Augustine the Monergist on Grace and Free Will
So what's Monergism anyway? According to my alma mater (wikipedia): "Monergism describes the position in Christian theology of those who believe that God, through the Holy Spirit, works to bring about effectually the salvation of individuals through spiritual regeneration without cooperation from the individual." This post will contend that the gracious doctor taught … [Read more...]
Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans and the Unfair Gospel of Christian Bible
"We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore that we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort" - The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Article XI) (Anglican/Church of England) "we are justified "freely" or "by grace" through … [Read more...]
Mormons, Mennonites, Roman Catholics and the IKEA Gospel of Fairness
"With repentance we can steadily improve in our capacity to live the celestial law, for we recognize that “he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory” (D&C 88:22)." (Mormon) "Salvation is variously expressed, sometimes as 'justification by faith', in which case it means that the just person has accepted the offer of a … [Read more...]