Church History

Episode 7: Coleman Ford on Augustinian Friendship

June 29, 2020 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Heaven & Earth features conversations between myself and another person who knows something fascinating. In these conversations, I play the role of the listener and ask questions to learn more about a topic.

Coleman Ford and I talk about Christian formation, Augustine, and friendship.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and/or Apple Podcasts. Also, see the host page at Anchor. And bookmark this page to see every episode.

Why You Should Read a 4th Century Bishop’s Letter Collection (Review of Bradley K. Storin’s Gregory of Nazianzus’s Letter Collection)

March 15, 2020 by wagraham 1 Comment

Gregory of Nazianzus (329–390 AD) is one of three people to receive the epitaph “Theologian.” The others are John the Apostle and Symeon (949–1022 AD). The title certainly indicates a deep knowledge about God, but it underscores the experiential knowledge of the Divine. So Gregory is one who not only knew about God but also knew him. Gregory also presided over the famous council of Constinople (381) for a short time. Actually, it was after leaving this council (being somewhat embittered because of his experience) that he was able to sponsor the collection of his letters.

The translation by Bradley Storin is excellent, and it was a pleasure to have a book that focuses on the author (Gregory) rather than the scholarly apparatus of the editor. The introduction is short and to the point while the notes carry the same kind of simplicity. Since the content here is king, consider these three reasons why you should consider purchasing this affordable collection of letters from a fourth century bishop. [Read more…] about Why You Should Read a 4th Century Bishop’s Letter Collection (Review of Bradley K. Storin’s Gregory of Nazianzus’s Letter Collection)

What Form of Church Government Did the Apostles Use?

February 7, 2020 by wagraham 2 Comments

After the fall of Jerusalem (AD 70), key Christian leaders migrated to Asia Minor and so to the churches established by Paul. Of these, John, Andrew (Peter’s brother), Philip, John the Elder (a disciple of Jesus), and Aristion (another disciple) all went to Ephesus or a place nearby. The three prophetic daughters of Philip, two of whom live into old age also went and ministered in Asia Minor. Ephesus and the surrounding area therefore become the apostolic hub during the years of AD 70–95.

One fascinating feature is that this migrated apostolic church formed a school that trains and produces some of the key leaders of the next generations: Polycarp of Smyrna, Papias of Hierapolis, and many other unknown leaders. Another notable feature is that the apostles themselves set up an episcopal model of the church that has already become common in the 90s.

By saying “episcopal model,” I need to immediately qualify that I do not mean something like the late antique episcopal models. Rather, I mean something akin to the role of a senior pastor in an evangelical church. [Read more…] about What Form of Church Government Did the Apostles Use?

Don’t Uncritically Call People Heretics

December 1, 2019 by wagraham 3 Comments

A few years ago, a number of prominent pastors called the eternal functional subordination view (EFS) outside of the bounds of orthodoxy. Some saw such attacks as imputing heresy to EFS. And one recent book considers EFS in the same orbit as Homoianism, a particular strand of Arianism (the denial that the Son shares the same divine essence as the Father).

It is worth, then, reviewing Gregory of Nyssa’s response to Eunomius, a so-called Anomoean who could call the Son “God” while also affirming that the Father is greater than the Son. It is worth doing so because many of us repeat the same arguments as Eunomius but with orthodox conclusions. [Read more…] about Don’t Uncritically Call People Heretics

What Did Thomas Aquinas Believe about Scripture?

July 15, 2019 by wagraham 1 Comment

Sometimes we think of church history as a pattern of discontinuity. First, the New Testament church births a pure church. Then it goes south. Then in 1518, Martin Luther and the rest return the church to its pristine form (or at least start a reform in that direction).

Yet many have pointed to key continuities between the medieval and the reformed churches (e.g., Richard Muller, Heiko Oberman). The reformed movement did not make a clean break from the medieval church. Instead, the reformed churches cleaned the pollutions of 15th century Romanism to restore the church to its biblical foundation.

And this biblical foundation finds continuity with much of the medieval (and the patristic) church. One such example of this is Thomas Aquinas’s view of Scripture. His view of Scripture has many continuities with the reformed faith and some discontinuities.

Review of The Triumph of Christianity by Bart Ehrman

June 16, 2018 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Christianity grew from a faith with a few hundred people to 30 million people in under four-hundred years. By the year four-hundred, half of the Roman Empire’s 60 million people believed in Jesus Christ. From being a persecuted minority to being the majority faith among the Romans, Christianity triumphed.

How exactly did this happen? That’s the question that Bart Ehrman asks in his latest work, The Triumph of Christianity. [Read more…] about Review of The Triumph of Christianity by Bart Ehrman