Christians have long talked about life as a journey, whether as runners or pilgrims or travelers or something else. Journeys tend to involve forks in the road, decisions to make, and obstacles to overcome. Sometimes, the decisions of this journey are between light and darkness, holiness and sin, redemption and backsliding. In these instances, theContinue reading “Orthodoxy and Relevance”
Tag Archives: Reason
Ep24: Reason or Revival
In this episode of the Church Debates series, we look at the roles of Reason and Revival in the Christian faith, particularly the movements that coalesce around these emphases between 1600 and 1800.
Reflections on Imago Dei
What does it mean to be made in the image of God? This topic has a long and varied history of discussion, spanning at least the four thousand-or-so-year history of Judeo-Christian religion. For Christians, our reflections on this topic must begin with the words of Genesis:
Platonism and Paul?
The dialogue between faith and reason has long held a place of prominence in the Christian tradition. Sometimes this relationship has been understood positively—construed in the words of Anselm of Canterbury as “faith seeking understanding”—and other times it has been construed negatively—perhaps best represented by Tertullian of Carthage when he asked, “What has Athens toContinue reading “Platonism and Paul?”
Reflections on Mary: Theotokos
This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on Mary and her role in Christian theology. I begin these reflections on the Marian topic with which I am most comfortable: calling Mary the “Mother of God” or (in the language of the early Church) the theotokos (God-bearer). There are several reasons for my affirmationContinue reading “Reflections on Mary: Theotokos”
Reflections on the Institute for Creation Research
The topic of “Creation versus Evolution,” at least in many circles, often elicits a good deal of debate, many times in rather a heated manner. The point of this post is not to provoke strong emotions in anyone, but only to offer a few thoughts about the Institute for Creation Research, an outspoken advocate ofContinue reading “Reflections on the Institute for Creation Research”
Religious Secularity
This post is part of an ongoing series investigating “Conceptions of the Ultimate”, the ways in which the world religious approach and understand the Divine. Today’s post engages a chapter of Mark C. Taylor’s work, After God. In this reflection, I want to focus on Taylor’s chapter “Religious Secularity,” specifically his discussion of the doctrineContinue reading “Religious Secularity”
Maurice Wiles and the Definition of Theology
There are many questions in life with the potential for multidisciplinary and eternal significance. Among these are such questions as “Is there a god?”, “Do right and wrong exist?”, and “What happens when we die?” [1] Theologian Maurice Wiles adds to this list yet another question in his book titled What is Theology? To beginContinue reading “Maurice Wiles and the Definition of Theology”
Poems, Protest, and a Dream
Of the various perspectives within the confines of post-Reformation Church history, perhaps none is more interesting than the writings of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. A Catholic writer (and later a Catholic nun) living in the New World during the 15th century (xxiv), Sor Juana’s theological perspective exhibits the increasingly uneasy place of traditionalContinue reading “Poems, Protest, and a Dream”
Pursuing Veritas 