Who would guess that the ancient heresy of Pelagianism would rear its head again in our generation in the context of the sexual revolution? Yet there it is, underlying a significant argument for the legitimacy of same-sex attraction.
Male voices reign in the first few centuries of the Church reflecting, of course, the androcentric Greco-Roman culture in which Christianity developed. Nevertheless, it is not the case that the female voice is altogether absent from this period and its presence, though minimal, serves as a critique to the patriarchy that became normative. Nowhere is the female voice more prominent than in the martyrdom literature.
The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 has gotten a lot of attention of late. Those who want to change The United Methodist Church’s position on same-sex practices cite it frequently. Did James and the other apostles decide that portions of the Mosaic law no longer applied to them? In what ways is our current debate similar to and different from the Jerusalem Council?
Origen spent his life teaching theology, by which he meant, in harmony with all the Fathers, “scripture interpreted according to the Church.” He calls this practice “lectio divina” or “divine reading.” Jackson Lashier dives deeper into Origen’s approach in this installment of “In the Company of the Fathers.”
From his birth to high-ranking Roman colonists parents to his death on March 17 in the late 5th century, St. Patrick was best known for his evangelistic fervor, courage, and humility, even in the face of difficult opposition from druid religious leaders. Here are seven quick facts you may not know about St. Patrick and St. Patrick’s Day.
Contemporary Pentecostalism is in many ways an offshoot of Wesleyan-Arminian spirituality and theology via the American Holiness movement. Pentecostals specifically identify conversion, sanctification, divine healing, and the premillennial second coming of Jesus as Wesleyan-Arminian-Holiness themes that particularly impacted the formative stages of their movement’s development.
What is post-Christendom and what does this mean for how the church engages in gospel ministry? Chris Backert of Ecclesia Network and Missio Alliance shares.
In today’s post Jackson Lashier shares why Irenaeus’ voice needs to be heard today. Irenaeus shows us that the incarnation is a new revelation of God, but also that it is fundamentally misunderstood if its newness is not interpreted in profound continuity with the salvific work of the Creator, Covenant God of Israel.
Valentine’s Day is a popular day of celebration in the United States and beyond, but most people know surprisingly little about the origins of the holiday. This isn’t necessarily surprising, as surprisingly little is known about Saint Valentine except his name. Here are some other quick facts you may not know about Valentine’s history.
In the first class I took in seminary, the professor made an almost casual suggestion that remains perhaps the single most important piece of advice I received in my theological education. For every semester of seminary, he said, we should read the works of one Church Father to become grounded in the great tradition.
Michael Hawn, a professor of church music at Perkins School of Theology, uses two basic categories when speaking about music in the church: cyclical and sequential. Modern worship music has morphed into a form somewhere between the two.
