Long ago, St. Augustine of Hippo wrote a book commonly called "The City of God". In it he chronicled that: "we have learned that there is a city of God, and its Founder has inspired us with a love which makes us covet its citizenship. To this Founder of the holy city the citizens of the earthly city prefer their own gods, not knowing that He is the God of gods" - St. Augustine … [Read more...]
The Power of Prayer in the Life of St. John Chrysostom
*I am indebted to Dr. Ravi Zacharias for finding this quote for me, and I've borrowed some of his insight as well* "Prayer is an all-efficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted... the mother of a thousand blessings... The potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire, it hath bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest; extinguished … [Read more...]
Can Man Love God?
Unlike so many, I'm sad to hear that Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury will be stepping down soon as primate of the Church of England. Here's something interesting of his that I read again the other day: "...which of us does "love" God? I remember, ages ago, talking to a young Chinese Marxist student, who amazed me by saying, "of course, priesthood [I had him I … [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...]
The Freedom of the Will: John Calvin & Justin Martyr & Martin Luther
St. Augustine of Hippo One of the fundamentally differing premises between Catholicism and Protestantism, was the doctrine of the human will. Where Catholics argued that the will was weakened by original sin, but free to do good or evil, Protestants argued that the will was free only to choose between sins; free only to do evil. Here's a quotation from John Calvin's "The … [Read more...]