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Creedal Christians: Introduction

...nition. The Church has been declaring creeds for as long as it has existed, despite The sometimes common accusation that creeds are “unbiblical” or “non-biblical”; statements which couldn’t be furTher from The truth! Even in The Apostles time They were making statements of faith in short creedal formats, and a few of Them are preserved in The New Testament, primarily in Paul's letters. One of The longer examples can be found in The first letter to The Corinthians, and has a similar form and wording to what came to be known as The Apostle’s Creed: 1 Corinthians 15:3-8For I passed on to you as most important what I also received:that Christ died f...

An Examination of Conditional Immortality (Part One)

...I know that "Conditional Immortality" is quite a divisive topic, and one you may have come across before (sometimes referred to as “Annihilationism”); and have been told outright that it’s “heresy” or false, or that it’s an emotional argument people want to believe because it ‘sounds nicer’ than The doctrine of Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT). Or maybe you’ve never even heard of this before and you didn’t realise There were alternative interpretations and views on hell. If you are new to this, in brief it means that “The wicked” will be removed from existence after judgement and finite torment, raTher than living forever in torment. Any...

Unveiling The Trinity: Exploring The Nature of Jesus and The Incarnation

...I recently received a question about The nature of Jesus and The incarnation, which delves into The mystery of The Trinity: "Sorry to trouble you, but I have only one question: Is God The FaTher and Jesus His Son The same, God Himself in The flesh when He walked The earth? I am still struggling with this concept. When Jesus asked His FaTher, was He essentially talking to Himself?" Thanks so much for The question, and it is a good question when asked genuinely. It is obviously a very deep and complex topic that covers a lot of Scripture (and history) to fully make sense of, but I’ll try and keep this brief to cover The key points. To gain a better unders...

Lent: Day 8 - Ignatius to The Romans

...Day Eight: St. Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to The Romans (full text) Who: Ignatius converted at a young age and later became Bishop of Antioch. A friend of Polycarp and fellow disciple of John, There is a long standing tradition that Ignatius was The child that Jesus held in his arms and blessed in Mark 10:13-16 What: A challenging letter in which Ignatius pours himself out to The Roman Church about his impending martyrdom. Why: Ignatius wrote a series of letters to The Churches in Asia Minor whilst en route to Rome to face martyrdom by wild beasts in The Colosseum around 108 AD. When: Around 107-108 AD On reading The introduction to this letter my first th...

Lent Day 30: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XIX

...Day Thirty: St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XIX Who: Bishop of Jerusalem and Doctor of The Church, born about 315; died probably 18 March, 386. Little is known of his life, except from his younger contemporaries, Epiphanius, Jerome, and Rufinus, as well as from The fifth-century historians, Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret. What: Each of The lectures deal with a different topic to teach converts The mysteries of The Church, particularly: rites of The renunciation of Satan and his works, of anointing with oil, of baptism, of anointing with The holy chrism, and of partaking of The body and blood of Christ. Why: Cyril delivered to new conve...

Lent Day 33: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXII

...Day Thirty-three: St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXII Who: Bishop of Jerusalem and Doctor of The Church, born about 315; died probably 18 March, 386. Little is known of his life, except from his younger contemporaries, Epiphanius, Jerome, and Rufinus, as well as from The fifth-century historians, Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret. What: Each of The lectures deal with a different topic to teach converts The mysteries of The Church, particularly: rites of The renunciation of Satan and his works, of anointing with oil, of baptism, of anointing with The holy chrism, and of partaking of The body and blood of Christ. Why: Cyril delivered to ne...