Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
The Christian faith is based firmly on the Bible. But sometimes we act as if there is this great void between the time of the New Testament and our present experience. The fact is, that there have been centuries of Christians wrestling with the Scriptures just as we do. One of the most helpful resources … Read More “Apostolic Fathers” »
Very often in discussions on the Trinity the focus is on the divinity of Jesus. Yet we have to remember that there is a Holy Spirit in there as well. In reading the Shepherd of Hermas, a very early text (mid second century), I came across this verse: “The preexistent holy spirit, which created the … Read More “Early Evidence for the Trinity” »
I just finished reading Bart Ehrman’s Lost Scriptures. I quite enjoyed this book. It is a collection of non-canonical gospels, acts, epistles and apocalypses. It also includes the earliest canonical lists. There is a wide variety of theological views presented as texts are included from the Apostolic Fathers, New Testament Apocrypha and the Nag Hammadi … Read More “Lost Scriptures” »
One of the earliest examples of Christian apologetic writing is Mathetes’ Epistle to Diognetus. This is an anonymous letter as mathetes is simply Greek for ‘disciple.’ The author calls himself a disciple of the Apostles (ch. 11), and some have thought him to be a disciple of Paul. We do not know when the letter … Read More “Epistle to Diognetus” »
