Blog Archives
Why I Read the Early Church Fathers and You Should Too!
“Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.”
Or so the saying goes. In essence it means that those who don’t consider the past, when making choices in the present, will likely arrive at similarly bad conclusions. This phrase strikes a chord with many. Perhaps it is because we tend to always look forward, seldom pausing to consider the past. Part of our DNA seems to include the belief that the next best thing is just up on the horizon. Who can blame us? Isn’t it often true? At least with technology it is. The next generation computer, or Iphone or IPad is going to be better than the previous one. Things we build seem to improve over time, as we discover new ways of making them faster, smaller, bigger, cheaper, and more reliable.
Many within the evangelical Christian community seem to adopt this same belief when it comes to understanding Christianity and how that applies to our corporate lives. We are often looking for the next thing, God’s next move, a “new and improved, better than the old” way of Read the rest of this entry
Get This Must Have Book On Early Church History
The Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs by David W. Bercot, is a must have book for anyone interested in learning what the early church fathers taught. Extremely informative and very easy to read and use! I am thrilled that I found it about 3 years ago. So much so, that I wanted to let you all know about it.
Most evangelical disciples of the 21st century have had their theological views shaped primarily from the arguments of the 1500’s. That is 1500+ years removed from the actual events. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go back and read what the early disciples taught about these matters? Of course, you can, but it has been a tedious endeavor. Up until now. This book is written in a format that allows simple and easy access to the writings of the early church fathers of the first 300 years of church history (The Anti-Nicene Fathers).
How did the disciples of the Apostles and their disciples view original sin, the trinity, free-will, predestination, God’s sovereignty and fore-knowledge, worship, music in church services, parenting, salvation, eternal security or Read the rest of this entry
Is Using Instruments in Corporate Worship A Violation of the New Testament? An Argument from 1864
“I prefer reading books written by dead men!”, an old man of God once told me. When I asked him why, he told me that books by great men of God who are no longer with us, are not influenced by our current cultural trends. Their understanding of God’s word is not colored by the same issues that affect us in our day. Many of the issues we face, were not even around back then. It is refreshing to read books by people who do not have a horse in the race, so to speak. Over the years, I have come to appreciate that perspective and have adopted it as my own.
On a recent trip to the Goodwill, I found a very old commentary on the Book of Acts, written by J.W. McGarvey in 1863. (I bought it at for .99 cents!) As I read it, I began to tear up. “Where are these men today Lord?” I asked out loud.
I did a little research on the man who wrote the commentary. One of the things I found was this very interesting article titled “Instrumental Music in Churches.” He was against it and argued from the Scriptures that instruments were not to be used in the Church era. He wrote this article in 1864, at a time when most churches Read the rest of this entry
Not For Itching Ears 