church-history
Historical studies on the development of Christian doctrine, early church writings, councils, and controversies.
GREGORY & CHRIST’S BEGETTING Paid Members Public
I quote the words of Gregory of Nyssa who refutes the claim that Christ is a creature of God due to his being eternally begotten. His insights and application of Romans 9:5 to the Son are simply masterful, and truly illuminated by the sovereign Holy Spirit. All emphasis will
ST. AMRBOSE & CHRIST’S DEITY Paid Members Public
The following extract is taken from St. Ambrose who refutes the claim that Christ’s begetting implies that was created. All emphasis will be mine. Chapter 7. The likeness of Christ to the Father is asserted on the authority of St. Paul, the prophets, and the Gospel, and especially in
EARLY CHURCH & THE CARMEN CHRISTI Paid Members Public
In this post I will be sharing some of the interpretations of Philippians 2:5-11 among the various Christian writers, theologians, bishops etc. for the first 400 hundred years of the Church. All emphasis will be mine. 100s AD Tertullian Of course the Marcionites suppose that they have the apostle
Follow up Q & A on Justin Martyr Paid Members Public
Rev. Dr. Christiaan Kappes Questions have come to me about alleged difficulties still left unanswered after my article on St. Justin Martyr proving a difference between “another God” (heteros theos) – meaning a personal difference in the same essence – and “other god” (allos theos) – meaning another essence numerically distinct and separate
THE UNIQUENESS OF PETER Paid Members Public
In this post I present some of the biblical data which points to Peter’s primacy over the Apostles. I begin with some of the many verses where Peter is singled out for particular functions and specific privileges: “While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the
Justin Martyr’s “Subordinationism” Paid Members Public
The Definitive Case against Rev. Dr. Christiaan Kappes Seventy-five years ago, Angelomorphic Christology or Angel-Christ theology was pretty much unknown. Its scholarly reemphasis and popular rediscovery has solved numerous alleged problems with interpretation of the Old and New Testaments from both a scholarly and popular point of view. This, like
PLINY & CHRIST’S DEITY Paid Members Public
In this post I will quote an ancient non-Christian witness, specifically from a pagan governor, which testifies to the fact of Christians gathering on a specific day of the week to worship Christ as God by singing hymns to him. The source that I am about cite also mentions some
TEXTUAL CRITICISM & CHRIST’S DEITY Paid Members Public
Modern New Testament textual critics prefer what is typically known as reasoned eclecticism. This position holds to the belief that the earliest papyri, specifically those manuscripts (MSS) classified as the Alexandrian text type, and the major codices (e.g., Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus etc.) are to be prioritized since this is