By Jeff Spry . . .

Bookmark this page for some great theological resources. Thanks Jeff!

________________________

The various creeds of Christendom have aided the Christian church in the formulation of our faith through the centuries. They are not the Bible and they have never been considered equal with Scripture in any way by any orthodox believer. They are systematic commentaries on biblical doctrines. They are not authoritative unless they truly represent the teachings of sacred Scripture.  Any teaching which is orthodox concerning the Sacred Scriptures should be heeded by all for all time.

It is often remarked that creeds should not be held to or heeded because they are not authoritative, and not inspired by God. However, the history of the church and the creedal formularies they have made were never thought to be inspired in the first place, but rather to define and express cogently what is inspired.  If the Bible teaches that all men must wear white shirts, then the creedal statement of faith which explains this succinctly is attempting to teach Christians that the Bible says this, and that any false teaching (such as all men must wear black shirts) is erroneous.  The Inspired Scriptures are commented on by every able and true minister of the Word each Lord’s Day, but that does not make their sermons inspired.  Christians read books defining certain theological concepts but that does not make the book inspired, just helpful to the edification of the Christian. Continue Reading »

Reclaiming the Mind Ministries is in financial need. Please consider a small (or large!) tax-deductable donation. Thanks for visiting!

Join us in reclaiming the mind for Christ. Start The Theology Program in your church.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

 Provided by
 
D.A. LaGue

In 1741, a Colonial minister confronted the established clergy with this piercing question; ‘Do you a minister of Christ; know Christ in your own heart?’ He would go on to infuse new life into the pulpits of colonial America, challenging ministers to move from dead orthodoxy to living reality.

Gilbert Tennent was born on February 5th, 1703, in Northern Ireland. Gilbert’s father, William Tennent, came to the colonies in 1718 and gained recognition as a gifted Presbyterian pastor and teacher. Concerned about the growing number of Presbyterians and the lack of competent pastors, William Tennent established a small school for training ministers in a log cabin on the farm he owned in Bucks County. During the following decade, many Presbyterian ministers were educated in this ‘Log College,’ which became the forerunner of Princeton Seminary. Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Provided by
 
D.A. LaGue

As a group of African-Americans knelt for morning prayers in 1787, ushers tapped them on the shoulder and demanded that they move to the balcony so as not to mingle with white members. Outraged, they refused to comply and walked out of the church service. Within this group was a former slave that would become the first African American Episcopal priest in the newly formed United States of America.

Absalom Jones was born a slave in Sussex, Delaware, on November 6th, 1746. As a small child, he served as a house servant. By doing additional jobs, he saved enough money to buy a primer, a spelling book, and a New Testament and taught himself to read. In 1762, his family was split apart as his mother, five brothers and sister were sold to different masters. Jones was taken from rural Delaware to the urban setting of Philadelphia. Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

No one likes to be told they are wrong. Correction and critique are things we go out of our way to avoid. Those who can ask the tough questions about your life, probing deep when they suspect some spiritual sickness, are not often not welcome friends. We don’t pick up the phone when they call. We avoid them at work. We don’t return their emails. Why? Because they can tell us the skinny about our life and we don’t want to hear it. We are prideful people who, like the priest, choose to walk far around the problems in our life, and we ask others to do the same.

As problematic as this mentality is with regards to things having to do with moral integrity, I believe that the problem is just as severe with regards to theological integrity. Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

You’re all familiar with the adage, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” originally uttered by the Spanish poet-philosopher, George Santayana. We all know that history is important for this reason. But what about unrepeatable history? What about one-time events that have shaped the way we think today? If we forget them, are we bound to repeat the unrepeatable?

I think for the Christian there is another reason why we should study history. It is simply that God manifested himself in history. Although God is outside of time and space, he invaded it, ultimately, decisively, and magnificently, in the person of Jesus Christ. The life Christ lived cannot be repeated. So, what if we forget about him? Are we bound to repeat his story? Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Provided by
 
D.A. LaGue

Can a man be a Christian and a politician?  This question plagued a rising member of the English parliament in 1785, as the young politician contemplated how he should live out his newfound faith.

William Wilberforce was born in 1759 in Hull, England.  He was raised in a wealthy home, educated at Cambridge and won his first seat in Parliament at 21 years of age.  Although small in appearance and plagued with physical difficulties, he was a gifted and persuasive speaker and was soon known as ‘the nightingale of the House of Commons.’  By the age of 24, he was already a powerful force in the British government. Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

How can Protestants justify their belief in sola fide (salvation by faith alone) when it does not seem to be existent prior to the sixteenth century? How do Catholics explain their belief in the Assumption of Mary when it was not dogmatized until the twentieth century? How do Orthodox justify their under-developed and often unbiblical beliefs concerning the atonement? 

During the recording of Theology Unplugged today, Greg Cromartie (the ”muddying the water guy”) asked me a very difficult question that I have yet to make any definitive decision about. This should not surprise many of you knowing that there are many issues which I have yet to decide upon and many about which I assume that I, out of necessity, must be comfortable concerning my indecision until Christ comes. But the question touched on something that I feel is very important. Therefore, my indecision is an uncomfortable one. The issue has to do with the “doctrine of” the development of doctrine. Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Provided by
 
D.A. LaGue

In 155 A.D., an eighty-six year old man was brought out to the jeers of a crowded Roman arena.  As he was about to be nailed to a pyre and burned at the stake, he told the soldiers, ‘Leave me as I am.  The one who gives me the strength to endure the fire will also give me strength to stay quite still on the pyre, even without the precaution of your nails.’ Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

What is the “True” church? #2
During this program we attempt to further distinguish between the Protestant understanding of apostolic succession and that of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. In essence, Evangelical Protestants who find their roots in the Reformation define apostolic succession as a succession of teaching not necessarily succession in person. We also discuss theological accountability within the Protestant church. Oh boy . . . this is fun indeed.

Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Provided by
 
D.A. LaGue 

In 367 A.D. a Bishop of the church in Alexandria, Egypt was forced to live in exile for defending his belief - that Jesus of Nazareth was not only fully man, but also, fully God. His firm stance against the pervasive Arian heresy that taught that Jesus Christ was merely a created being would earn him the title of Athanasius contra mundum; Athanasius “against the world.”

Athanasius was born in Alexandria, Egypt around 297 A.D.. A small man with dark skin, Athanasius committed himself to the Christian ministry and attended the catechetical school of Alexandria. An intelligent and enthusiastic student, he wrote an influential work at the time entitled, On the Incarnation of the Word. Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Provided by
 
D.A. LaGue

In 1734, Jonathan Edwards, theologian and colonial pastor in Northampton Massachusetts, found his congregation in an ‘unusual ruffle,’ over the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Edwards is considered by many to be the greatest theologian in American history and has been described as the most brilliant thinker this continent has ever produced. Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Provided by
 
D.A. LaGue

On August 7th, 1768, a ship from Glasgow, Scotland sailed up the Delaware River bound for Philadelphia. On board was a 46 year old Scotsman who would be one of the leading figures tying a strong Christian conviction with political freedom. Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Fred Sanders and Klaus Issler have recently edited an important book on the relationship of Jesus to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus in Trinitarian Perspective: An Introductory Christology will be an outstanding follow-up volume for those of you who study the evidence for the deity of Christ that Rob Bowman and I have amassed in Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ. Once you’ve got a solid grasp on the fact of Jesus’ divine identity, you’ll want to spend some time wrestling with how that fact fits into a larger Trinitarian framework. Continue Reading »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!