A book that has sat on my shelf for some time is From Jesus to Christianity by L. Michael White. Since I am interested in both the New Testament and the early church, it was […]
From Jesus to Christianity – Review
A History of the Christian Church – Review
One of the required texts when I studied Church History at McMaster Divinity College was A History of the Christian Church by Williston Walker. I read it back then and just reread it recently. I […]
Billy Sunday Warns America
Before there was a Billy Graham, there was a Billy Sunday. Billy Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an influential evangelist in the first third of the 20th century. This short video from […]
What is Fundamentalism?
The term ‘fundamentalism’ is thrown around a lot, usually as an insult. If you encounter a religious person who is more conservative than what you would like, you might accuse them of being a fundamentalist. […]
Episode 34 – The Apostle’s Creed and the Didache
There are two ancient Christian writings that are attributed to the Twelve Apostles, even though they unlikely wrote them. One, the Apostle’s Creed is well known, the other, the Didache, less so. And yet both […]
Billy Graham and the New York Crusade
One of the most influential figures in what we know as evangelicalism was Billy Graham. There is no preacher today who has the influence that Graham back in the mid-20th century. This video is from […]
What is Pentecostalism?
Pentecostalism takes its name from the event at Pentecost as described in Acts 2. In that passage, there was coming of the Holy Spirit that was accompanied by speaking in tongues. Pentecostals identify with that […]
What is Docetism?
Docetism was a doctrine in the early years of the Christian church that claimed that Jesus didn’t have a physical body. The name comes from the Greek dókēsis which means “to seem.” It refers to the belief […]
Heresies: Now and Then
Heresies have been connected to Christianity from the beginning. Because this is a historical more than theological blog, I’m defining a heresy as a smaller group breaking off from the main group with significantly different […]
Rekindling the Word – Review
When historians look at their sources, they are very interested in how close they can get to the events. It is not always as simple as the oldest sources being the most accurate, but it […]