'history' Tagged Posts
Why Is Church History Important?
Believe it or not, history was one of my least favorite subjects in primary and secondary school. I did not understand the relevance of a bunch of dead guys for my life! After I became a Christian, I began to learn about the history of Christianity. It wasn’t until my college and seminary days where I was able to study the history of the church in more detail. My Christian faith changed my perspective on history in general, and especially…
Praise God for Chapters and Verses
If you have ever read theological writings from the sixteenth century (or before), you will notice something about the Scripture references used in the writings. For example, in Luther’s masterpiece, The Freedom of a Christian (1520), arguing for the Spirit’s role in freedom, he says: “As Christ says in John 4[:14], it is a ‘spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” The reason verse 14 is in brackets is because verse 14 was not what Luther wrote. An editor…
The Gospel is Not a Way of Life
The Gospel is Not a Way of Life A recent Star Tribune article sadly reported that many Minnesota “mainline” churches are losing membership and closing their doors. In so doing, “a way of life” comes to an end. The problem is that years ago these churches reduced the gospel merely to “a way of life.” The truth is that the Christian faith is a historical faith. Without the historical death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christianity does not exist. Pastor…