Church History
Hanukah and Christmas
Hanukah occurs in December (Dec 20 this year). I think that Hanukah has become a modern Jewish substitute for Christmas (presents are given). Originally this festival celebrates the Maccabees’ defeat of the Greeks in 165 BC. The Greeks had stopped the sacrifices at the Temple. They were oppressing God’s people and trying to bring an end to God’s one true religion. But…
Why Study Church History?
There is great value in the study of church history. As we take the time to look back and read about various individuals who have gone before us and of various events that have occurred in the life of the church, there are incredible lessons to be gained. Why study church history and why highlight various heroes from church history? The study of church history is filled…
The Five Solas
On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses (written in Latin) to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. This historical event was not the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, but was a means that started discussions and debates about the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church’s indulgences. After a series of events, Luther’s discussion…
Thomas Watson and Divine Providence – Part 2
These propositions of providences and the practical exhortation given as a result of the truths contained in the propositions, serve as an excellent framework of the Puritan’s theology of providence and the place it has in one’s practical divinity.
Where did Old Testament believers go when they died?
Heaven is the eternal home of the people of God. The Apostle Paul had the confident expectation that when he died he would be with the Lord (cf. 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23), but what happened to Old Testament believers when they died? This question has resulted in interesting discussions and varying…
The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards, the 18th-century revivalist, sat down at age 17 and penned 21 resolutions by which he would live his life. Each week he did a self-check. He regularly summed up how he was doing and sought God’s help in the process.
A Portion of Papyrus and the so called “Wife of Jesus”
There are over 5,300 manuscripts containing parts of the New Testament (small and large portions) and it is estimated that almost an entire translation of the New Testament could be formed based on the writings of the early church fathers alone.
“Christianity – very near as old as creation”
This is the first promise that was made of a Saviour
Book Review: “William Tyndale” by Brian Moynahan
William Tyndale: If God Spare My Life, by Brian Moynahan, Abacus, 2003. William Tyndale was a pioneering Bible translator, whose work on the English Bible indirectly became 84 percent of the King James Version. Tyndale was converted to Lutheranism after studying at Cambridge – in fact he…
True Christianity is a Fight
J. C. Ryle “The man of granite, with the heart of a child.” 1816-1900Martyn Lloyd-Jones described Ryle’s writings as “a distillation of true Puritan theology presented in a highly readable and modern form.” “I am bold to say that perhaps few men in the nineteenth century did so much for God, for truth, for righteousness, among the…