Last week, I wrote a post which dealt with the sort of strange position Creedal Protestants find themselves. They attempt to preserve parts of Christianity by appeal to Tradition and the continual Faith of the Church when they’re arguing against novel interpretations of the Bible propagated by some (here, Evangelicals); but then turn around and… Continue reading The Faith of the Early Church Fathers
Tag: ECFs
Getting to the Point
As readers of this blog know, I’m paid by the word. Or at least, it would seem like it. I have a terrible tendency of saying in many words what could be said in a lot fewer. Which is to say, I’m very verbose and repetitive, generally unintentionally, but that it’s… Well, you get the… Continue reading Getting to the Point
Listening to the Church Fathers
Yesterday, I shared part of an ongoing debate I’ve been having with Brian, a Creedal Protestant ex-Catholic who runs a blog dedicated to fighting against theological novelties in the field of eschatology. He fights for traditional, Creedal Christianity, the faith of the Church Fathers (as he understands it) against those who are completely fine with… Continue reading Listening to the Church Fathers
Proving Too Much, Part II
I came across one of David Green’s opponents — a friendly seeming young guy named Brian — defending the notion of historic Christianity against innovations like hyper-Preterism. I asked him, more or less, what I posed in yesterday’s post: how can you reject theological novelties like hyper-Preterism on the basis that they are novelties, without… Continue reading Proving Too Much, Part II
St. Justin Martyr on the Eucharist
St. Justin Martyr, in his First Apology (written between 153 and 155 A.D.), lays out one of the earliest descriptions of the Mass. It’s great, because it’s a dumbed-down version of Catholic theology intended for those who had no idea what a “bishop” was, or even what “Amen” meant. It’s like stumbling upon a children’s… Continue reading St. Justin Martyr on the Eucharist
Early Church Fathers on the Eucharist (c. 200 – c. 300 A.D.)
A few weeks ago, I posted brief snippets of the writings of the earliest Church Fathers, from the time of the Apostles until 200 A.D., showing what they believed on the Eucharist. Long story short, these men believed that the bread and wine became the Body and Blood of Christ, that this happened at the… Continue reading Early Church Fathers on the Eucharist (c. 200 – c. 300 A.D.)
Protestantism, Church History, and Psychological Defects
Happy New Year Everyone! There’s an interesting dispute going on in the combox of one of my older posts, but I wanted to provide some background first. It seems to me that the average person sort of assumes that the Bible just showed up one day, or at least that the Apostles were passing out… Continue reading Protestantism, Church History, and Psychological Defects
Malachi 1 and the Eucharist
After complaining of the insufficiency of the Jewish sacrifice in Malachi 1, God provides a fascinating foretaste of the New Covenant in Malachi 1:11: “My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because… Continue reading Malachi 1 and the Eucharist
The Unanimous Consent of the Fathers
I mentioned earlier that I’ve been a bit under-impressed with Keith Mathison’s The Shape of Sola Scriptura, and that he doesn’t seem to have a good grip on the topic he’s written a book on. The book attempts to take the creedal Protestant sola Scriptura view, and show its alleged superiority to both the Evangelical… Continue reading The Unanimous Consent of the Fathers
Answering the Specific with the General
I’m wondering how many times I’m going to make the comments section of iMonk’s post on Catholic radio an integral part of my posts, but hopefully two isn’t too many. The reason I’m posting from the now-closed comments section is that I’ve observed a trend lately which I think needs exploring, and I think this… Continue reading Answering the Specific with the General