A Podcast All About Christianity
One of the most intriguing figures in Christian history for me is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer argued for complete nonresistance and yet was implicated in a plot to assassinate Hitler. Bonhoeffer was too conservative for liberals and too liberal for conservatives. Eric Metaxas attempted to turn him into an evangelical culture warrior in his bestselling biography. … Read More “Letters and Papers from Prison” »
One of the biggest threats to what would become orthodox Christianity was Gnosticism. There had been other theological innovations in the early church but Gnosticism was the most radical. And the most confusing. A helpful book for moderns readers to understand this complex movement is The Gnostics: Identifying and Early Christian Cult by Alastair H. … Read More “The Gnostics – Review” »
What do we do with the Secret Gospel of Mark? Some scholars accept it as an early Gospel, earlier even than our Synoptic Gospels. Others see it as twentieth century hoax. In this episode, we look at the Secret Gospel of Mark, how it was discovered and some of the conflicting views concerning it. The … Read More “Episode 39 – What is the Secret Gospel of Mark?” »
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius (477-524) was born approximately fifty years after the death of Augustine of Hippo. Like Augustine, Boethius was a Christian philosopher who was heavily influenced by Hellenistic philosophy. You may enjoy this short video on Boethius’s most famous work, Consolation of Philosophy.
I am a firm believer that Christians should have good handle on history, especially church history. You can find the audio of a course on Christianity Through the Reformation taught by Anthony Heideman at Front Range Community College on iTunes here.
I believe that it is important for people, especially Christians, to be aware of church history. That is why I podcast and blog on this subject. But sometimes it is easier for people of faith and sometimes harder to study this history. Where I am in the podcast right now, it is easy for Christians … Read More “The Struggle for Christians and Church History” »
Christianity emerged out of Judaism and borrow many of its concept of God. You can find this post regarding a book that investigates monotheism in Judaism and Christianity. But how did the Christian concept of God relate to pagan thought? One God: Pagan Monotheism in the Roman Empire is a book that looks at a … Read More “One God: Pagan Monotheism in the Roman Empire” »
Christianity began as a Jewish sect. Judaism has a strong doctrine of monotheism. Christianity worships Jesus as divine. How did this come to be? Early Jewish and Christian Monotheism, edited by Loren Stuckenbruck and Wendy North, examines many of the issues surrounding this question. It is not a unified thesis giving one explanation of what … Read More “Early Jewish and Christian Monotheism” »
One of my favourite books of the New Testament is the letter of James (even if Martin Luther called an ‘epistle of straw’). While not as theologically rich as Paul’s letter to the Romans, James is full of practical advice for Christians, ancient and modern. As I was going through James, I decided to read … Read More “James (TNTC) – Review” »
Wherever one may be on the theological spectrum, there is no denying the importance of John Calvin or his best known work, Institutes of the Christian Religion. This is a book that I have planned to read for a long time but only recently finished. I’m not sure what I expected, but it was not … Read More “Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion” »
