A Podcast All About Christianity
One of the most influential Christians of the twentieth century was Martin Luther King, Jr. Many of the things that we take for granted in terms of racial equality can be traced back to his activism. One of the reasons that King was so successful was that he was extremely talent communicator. He had the … Read More “I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World” »
When we think of the history of the church, we usually think of events from centuries ago. However, the history of the church is still being written in real-time as Christians attempt to be the church. Contemporary history is worth studying. One of the best examples of this is the recent Rise and Fall of … Read More “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” »
One of the most common sectarian religious groups that we might encounter are the Jehovah’s Witnesses. You likely have had them know at your door. But where did this group come from? They appeared for the first time in the nineteenth century. It was a time of expectation of Jesus’ return, of private Bible study … Read More “Origin of the Jehovah’s Witnesses” »
Where did the Southern Baptists come from? Why are they called “Southern”? What is their relationship to some other Baptist groups in the USA? This video, although coming from the American Baptist Churches USA perspective, gives a fair description of how the Southern Baptists began.
Does the Church have a good history or a bad history? The answer is yes. The Church has included some of the worst and some of the best. Thus, John Dickson’s new book, Bullies and Saints, is aptly named. Many of the histories of Christianity are written with either of two aims: to make the … Read More “Bullies and Saints – Review” »
One of the saddest chapters in Canadian history is the horrible experience of residential schools that attempted to eradicate indigenous culture. Not only was their purpose unacceptable, in practice it included terrible cases of abuse and in many cases death. I am talking about this here because this was not just on the government but … Read More “Canadian Residential Schools” »
Quite often, I encounter people on social media who identify as “1689 Baptists.” What does that mean? I’m a pastor of a Baptist church and I can only think of one person in our congregation that might know what it is. It was created in the formative years of the Baptist movement. There were General … Read More “The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith” »
The holy foreskin, or holy prepuce, is exactly what it sounds like: the foreskin of baby Jesus. We know that Jesus, like all Jewish boys, was circumcised. On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. (Luke … Read More “What is the Holy Foreskin?” »
As a Baptist, I was a little surprised to see Baptists grouped with Unitarians and Quakers in this video. But watching the video, it makes sense. What Ryan Reeves does is to look at the Anabaptists and how that movement affected other groups. Characteristics of Anabaptists found in later groups, even though those groups may … Read More “Unitarians, Baptists, and Quakers” »
I have been doing some research into the idea of the image of God for my interest in Disability Theology. One of the books that I read was God’s Many-Splendored Image by Nonna Verna Harrison. Many scholars who look at this topic come from a biblical or a philosophical perspective. Harrison, who is a patristic … Read More “God’s Many-Splendored Image” »
