Wikipedia has been my true alma mater in so many ways, however there are days when something irks me in its endless pages. If we understand Evangelical to mean one who is a Christian and places their faith in the saving life, death, and resurrection of Jesus who meritted their salvation, then Evangelicalism can hardly be said to have emerged in the 17th century. The Middle … [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...]
Christ's Superabundant Cross
I'm currently reading through 1 Corinthians and the other day I read this verse:"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid;that foundation is Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 3:11St. Thomas Aquinas describes Christ's sacrifice on the cross as superabundant, it's like the famous evangelical worship song lyrics 'All of you, is more than enough for all … [Read more...]
Luther and the Refuge of God
Hey folks, this is kind of a personal post, I'm really struggling in my own spiritual life and things are incredibly busy so I can't really post alot, but I read this the other day which I think is absolutely beautiful, even a Catholic - I think - could respect this particular passage, and I think Luther wrote many great works out of his love for God that both sides of the … [Read more...]
Jansenism Pt. 2 and Emphasis in Theology
Emphasis is important in theology. A church can believe in a doctrine but not emphasize it over a period of time. An example is 'sola gratia' - grace alone. Dr. R.C. Sproul is a very honest Reformed theologian and he says in his book "Faith Alone" that the Catholic Church has always fought to maintain that salvation is by the grace of God alone (though obviously not by faith … [Read more...]