The Calvinist International
As we move into the third century, the relevant body of Christian literature grows considerably. The episcopalian structure of government has become more universal, and all of the writers of this period reference a singular bishop as holding a place of authority. They also largely repeat Irenaeus’ argument about bishops succeeding from the apostles and […]
Early in his most recent book, The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity, Peter Brown directs the reader’s attention to a remarkable passage from the conclusion of Cyprian’s Exhortation to Martyrdom. In it, he reflects on the immediacy of the beatific vision for the martyr after death–one closes one’s eyes here, […]
Yesterday we saw that Tertullian was willing to go so far as to call the soul “naturally Christian,” just as, in a sense, one might say the universe–the cosmos that bears witness to divine order–is. And yet we do not apprehend God as we ought from nature. The impossibility of our absolute ignorance of him leads to […]
Once again, on Tertullian. This post might be read together with some of Pastor Wedgeworth’s remarks earlier today. In ch. 17 of the Apologeticus, Tertullian surprisingly exclaims: “O the witness of the soul, in its very nature Christian!” (O testimonium animae naturaliter Christianae!). Is Tertullian to be numbered among the universalists? As an advocate of the […]
This is the first in a projected series of disconnected posts on Tertullian’s Apologeticus (c. 197). In ch. 30, Tertullian notes how zealously he prays for the Roman Emperors, seeking their safety from the true God in whose hands are all the empires of the world. This is much more beneficial for them, he believes, than […]
The liturgical use of icons is one of the disputed points which has a mixed foundation in the early church. Most people are familiar with the Second Council of Nicaea, which demanded the veneration of icons and claimed the practice as apostolic. Not as many people, however, know the opposing patristic voices. To help counter-balance […]