A Podcast All About Christianity
One of the highlights when I teach New Testament introduction courses is to have “story-time” with a reading from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Why would I read from such a book? Critics attempt to cast doubt on the New Testament canon by suggesting that there were plenty of other books that could have been … Read More “What is the Infancy Gospel of Thomas?” »
One of the most controversial issues in the Christian church today is the role of women in leadership. The phrase “women in ministry” is not very helpful in that the New Testament expects all followers of Jesus to be ministering in some way. The challenge for this topic is that the New Testament seems to … Read More “Paul and Gender – Review” »
My training is in New Testament studies and not history. However, I see a very close relationship between the two. I come at New Testament studies from the perspective of history. How does one go about history in any other area? People who study Alexander the Great, the Han dynasty in China or the Napoleonic … Read More “The Relationship of History and New Testament Studies” »
I am a firm believer that understanding the New Testament requires some understanding of its Jewish context. I don’t mean that Judaism is only Christian context, it has great value as a major faith. But the New Testament was written in a Jewish context by (mostly) Jewish authors. I’m always looking for good resources in … Read More “Judaism Before Jesus – Review” »
I am especially interested in the development of new religions in the 19th century, including the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. I taught a course on this for Tyndale University College. As a part of the background, I put together a bit of timeline of the major religious figures from the 19th century (and early 20th … Read More “Historical Timeline of Religion in the 19th Century” »
My intention is not to make a theological critique of Peter as pope but rather a historical one. Having said that, I am a protestant Christian and so I do have some theological opinions on the matter. I am just putting my bias on the table. Roman Catholics and protestants debate the meaning of Matthew … Read More “Was Peter the First Pope?” »
The city of Constantinople is extremely important in the history of Christianity, arguably as important as Rome. It was the centre of Christianity in the East and it was here that Christians resisted the Muslim advance. Constantinople had held out against incredible odds for a long time. But it could not last forever. This interesting … Read More “Fall Of Constantinople 1453” »
In the previous volume of The Story of Christianity, Justo González took us to the dawn of the Reformation. In this second volume, he brings us from the Reformation to the present day. Although more centuries were covered in the first volume, the sheer amount of change in the Christian church over these few centuries … Read More “The Story of Christianity: Volume 2 – Review” »
I just finished teaching a course on Contemporary Religious Movements at Tyndale University College. One of the things that I enjoyed about the course was seeing the connections between the different groups. We focused on groups that developed during the 19th and early 20th centuries. What was interesting was that there were two basic types of … Read More “Prophets and Bible Teachers in New Religions” »
One of the most significant events post-Reformation for the history of theology was the teaching of Jacob Arminius. Arminius considered himself to be a true Calvinist, in the sense of being faithful to the teachings of John Calvin. However, Arminius developed a theology the reinterpreted the idea of predestination. Predestination was more about God having … Read More “Dutch Revolt and Arminianism” »
