From the little I've read so far, I've seen that Luther's ecclesiology was what one might call functional. The Church was neither an invisibile platonic form as the Reformed taught that each peculiar church agrees or disagrees with to some extent, neither was it the eschatologically present and glorified victorious church of Rome and the Papacy, or the holy flock of the … [Read more...]
The Puritans' War on Christmas
Comedic Pundits like Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart constantly celebrate Advent by mockingly referring to what Social Conservatives would call "The War on Christmas", which they see as emblematic of American society's rejection of Christianity. It would shock many to know that the first people who warred against Christmas were not post-60's liberals however, but one of … [Read more...]
The Liturgical Calendar?
For some readers the Liturgical Calendar like the prefix "St." is scary and reminscent of the Inquisition, Clerical sex-scandals, and everything they hate about religion in general. However, in years past, more and more people with that initial gut reaction have been rethinking their own positions, and have warmed to words like "Lent" and "Advent". I remember first … [Read more...]
St. Irenaeus of Lyons
Today is the feast of St. Irenaeus of Lyons, one of the most important early Christian writers. He was an apologist for the faith and wrote a famous work called "Against Heresies". This lengthy work is very early and so many apologists of modern confession positions (Catholics & Protestants) use it to prove their own system. Just look at one section. In Book III, … [Read more...]
Constructing a Systematic Theology
I've been trying to figure out this argument to build a Protestant worldview against the attacks of Catholicism. Here is the outline of it:1st line of Argument1. The Gospel According to St. Matthew is a historically reliable source, it teaches at least that a Rabbi named Jesus existed and chronicles his teachings.2. The Gospel of Matthew says in Chapter 28 that Jesus commanded … [Read more...]