A Third Error Previously I wrote that there are two classes of Christological errors. That is not strictly true. There are three: those that deny the humanity, those that deny the deity, and those that deny the union of the two natures . . . Continue reading →
Ancient Church
Things Not To Say About Jesus At Christmas (Or Any Other Time)—Part 1
Like the celebrants of Festivus, Reformed folk have historically had a lot of problems with both the ecclesiastical calendar, including advent, and Christmas. It is not because we do not heartily affirm the incarnation of our Lord—we do!—but because neither the Scriptures . . . Continue reading →
Tertullian On The Trinity
In the course of time, then, the Father forsooth was born, and the Father suffered,—God Himself, the Lord Almighty, whom in their preaching they declare to be Jesus Christ. We, however, as we indeed always have done (and more especially since we . . . Continue reading →
Tertullian And The Athanasian Creed
Bear always in mind that this is the rule of faith which I profess; by it I testify that the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit are inseparable from each other, and so will you know in what sense this is . . . Continue reading →
Tertullian On The Natural Knowledge Of God
For indeed, as the Creator of all things, He was from the beginning discovered equally with them, they having been themselves manifested that He might become known as God. For although Moses, some long while afterwards, seems to have been the first . . . Continue reading →
Augustine On The Hermeneutics Of Love
While Augustine argues that ‘there are two things on which all interpretation of Scripture depends: the mode of ascertaining the proper meaning and the mode of making known the meaning when it is ascertained,’ it should be evident that the first step . . . Continue reading →
Augustine: Small Town Boy Makes Good
On this date, on the old calendar, Augustine of Hippo was born. Hippo is not his last name. It is the city where he served as bishop. The name of the town is funny in English, but it makes sense in Greek. . . . Continue reading →
Augustine On Christ’s Present Reign
Today is St Augustine’s birthday (354 AD). In honor of his birthday, today’s Heidelquote is by St Augustine. 3. Therefore let the Church of Christ, the city of the great King, full of grace, prolific of offspring, let her say what the . . . Continue reading →
Tertullian Anticipated Anselm On The Ontological Argument
The principal, and indeed the whole, contention lies in the point of number: whether two Gods may be admitted, by poetic license (if they must be), or pictorial fancy, or by the third process, as we must now add, of heretical depravity. . . . Continue reading →
What Tertullian Really Said About Jerusalem And Athens
These are “the doctrines” of men and “of demons” produced for itching ears of the spirit of this world’s wisdom: this the Lord called “foolishness,” and “chose the foolish things of the world” to confound even philosophy itself. For (philosophy) it is . . . Continue reading →
Nunc Super Tunc
The title is Latin for “Now is superior to then.” It is a shorthand way of getting at an attitude that is widespread among American Christians—that whatever we think and do, now is necessarily superior to anything that was thought and done in the past. Continue reading →
Did Christians Teach Predestination Before Augustine?
A reader named David recently wrote to the Heidelblog to pass along a question that someone else asked of him: “What do the church fathers prior to Augustine believe about free will? I was told that all of the church fathers prior . . . Continue reading →
Polycarp Vs. The Christian Nationalists
The Christian Nationalists are proposing an American Revolution. Some of them want, in place of free churches, voluntarily attended by free Americans, to institute a federal church, directly contrary to the First Amendment of the Constitution—”Congress shall make no law respecting an . . . Continue reading →
I Believe In God The Father Almighty: The First Article Of The Faith
Dr Clark gives a brief devotion on the first article of the Apostles’ Creed: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. Continue reading →
Interpreting Scripture For Love: Augustine’s Threefold Hermeneutic (Part Three)
The final aspect of Augustine’s hermeneutic that we will observe is this: Augustine believed biblical texts could have more than one meaning or interpretation. Scripture, for Augustine, was not a one-dimensional black-and-white text filled with brute facts of history and bare propositions.1 . . . Continue reading →
Interpreting Scripture For Love: Augustine’s Threefold Hermeneutic (Part Two)
“Thou has pierced my heart with Thy Word, and I have loved Thee.”1 In the last article, we examined Augustine’s vigorous Christ-centered interpretation of Scripture. Another significant aspect of his biblical interpretation is love. For Augustine, the proper interpretation of Scripture leads . . . Continue reading →
Laboring For The Spoils Of Scripture: Augustine’s Threefold Hermeneutic (Part One)
“Like fingernails on a chalkboard.” Sometimes that phrase captures my response to a bizarre interpretation of Scripture. For example, I recently read a modern commentary on the story in Mark’s Gospel, where Jesus heals a man with leprosy: “Jesus stretched out his . . . Continue reading →
Tertullian Acknowledged The Existence Of Infant Baptism
God’s approbation sends sure premonitory tokens before it; every “petition”4 may both deceive and be deceived. And so, according to the circumstances and disposition, and even age, of each individual, the delay of baptism is preferable; principally, however, in the case of . . . Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: Hill On The Eschatology of Jude’s Grandsons
Charles Hill explains the significance of the testimony of Jude’s grandsons for our eschatology. Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: Justin Martyr On The Abiding Validity of the Moral Law
These are some of our favorite Heidelquotes. Something to think about from the Heidelcast. If you are subscribed to the Heidelcast or the Heidelblog (see below) you will receive these episodes automatically. All the Episodes of the Heidelcast How To Subscribe To Heidelmedia . . . Continue reading →