Oral Tradition in the New Testament

That there is not only solid evidence of oral tradition in the New Testament, but that Christians were commanded to hold to the oral tradition (along with the written tradition) is also based on solid evidence, and I will draw the immediate implications of these facts. First, let’s examine the evidence (all emphases below added). [...]

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The First Edition of the New Testament

In my previous blogging about sola scriptura, one of my fellow parishioners emailed me about David Trobisch’s The First Edition of the New Testament (Oxford: 2000). I was intrigued. He offered it to me as a gift. And I am extremely grateful. I present here something of a summary and review of Trobisch’s argument. First, [...]

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The Good, the Beautiful and the True

Do we always search out the truth and then conform our reasoning to it later? Or do we find a position attractive, have an intuition as to its truth, and then follow the path of arguments so we arrive at that which we desired to begin with? I’d be a fool to insist on the [...]

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How to Find the New Testament Church Today

I was asked today, about the authority of the Church in relation to the authority of the Scriptures. I replied, “I am saying that the authority of the Scriptures derives from the authority of the Church via her union by grace with God in Christ. It is not a greater or lesser authority, but the [...]

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The Essence of Scripture

The three global monotheistic faiths—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—all have their Scriptures: the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Old and New Testaments, and the Koran. The Koran famously refers to Jews and Christians as the “People of the Book.”(cf. Suras 9:29; 29:46), and, indeed, all three faiths are known for their devotion to their Scriptures. What is [...]

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Temples of the Spirit

The sacramental understanding of the historic Church is predicated on, as is all Christian dogma and experience, the Incarnation. Matter matters because the God of matter became matter for our sake. This understanding extends to the human body. Christianity rejects the dualism of Plato, the Gnostics, the Manicheans, and Descartes that would in any way [...]

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Eric Jay, “From Presbyter-Bishops to Bishops and Presbyters”: A Review and Response

In our discussion on the now-silent thread Let Us Build Our Faith On Christ, Bobby Valentine inserted Eric Jay’s article, �From Presbyter-Bishops to Bishops and Presbyters� into the discussion (right about here, scroll down about half-way). A resume of my points of contention at that point in the thread would be helpful. I had argued [...]

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Today’s Father Reardonism

“If God didn’t want three-point sermons, He wouldn’t have given so many three-point Scriptures.” Father Patrick Henry Reardon

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2 Timothy 3:16-17 and the “Man of God”

Why the phrase “man of God” in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 does not refer to every Christian generally but to Church leaders specifically. Earlier, I examined 2 Timothy 3:16-17 to show why Scripture cannot be said to claim for itself all-sufficiency. Here are the verses once more: Every Scripture is God-inspired and profitable for teaching, for [...]

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Islam a Christian Heresy?

We are used to thinking of Islam as a religion separate from, though related to, Judaism and Christianity. Indeed, even many Christians appeal to a common heritage between these three faiths, all being so-called “Sons of Abraham.” But it would appear that Islam is not simply a separate faith that grew up out of its [...]

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