St. Ignatius of Antioch (50-117AD *at the latest) was a bishop in the VERY early Church, he was the 3rd in line of succession to the apostles themselves as bishop of Antioch meaning that the church there was ruled by St. Peter then Evodius, then Ignatius, he was a friend of Polycarp (a disciple/successor of St. John himself, who lived with and was taught by Christ). All this to … [Read more...]
The Gift of God – Covenent, Salvation and Christology
I have been struggling with the age old issue that seperates Protestants and Catholics: What place do works have in salvation? I find that there are 3 key texts for understanding this (in my pathetic opinion) James 2, Ephesians 2, and Matthew 25. I've already done James 2, and I must say that Catholics win some ground in that it does *sound like a refutation of Sola Fide, … [Read more...]
Heresy, Scripture, and Tradition
I found a guy's blog with this quote in it and I thought I should put it up for discussion, it is from St. Vincent of Lerins "Commonitorium" written in 434 CE/AD:"But here some one perhaps will ask, Since the canon of Scripture is complete, and sufficient of itself for everything, and more than sufficient, what need is there to join with it the authority of the Church's … [Read more...]
Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthdoxy seems like the near perfect version of Christianity. I think they have an amazing balance of Tradition and Scripture. Scripture is still allowed to critique traditions and it is held in high esteem (even if the communion as a whole can't agree on the canon of it). I love the fact that they allow for mystery, and that they seem so ancient in how they do … [Read more...]