Blog Search Results

Great Lent: The Season of Fasting

...have its origin in our time, but long before in that of our predecessors. –Irenaeus (c.180) See here he notes that this was a practice passed onto them by their "predecessors", a term often used in conjunction with the Apostles themselves, or those which immediately came after them, putting the origins of this Lent fast much earlier than when Irenaeus wrote in 180. While there is a tentative link to the name "Easter" and a old Saxon goddess, the older root of the word simply means "East" or "dawn" in some other renditions, according to an Etymological Dictionary: Ester and oster, the early English and German words, both have their root in aus, which...

What is Advent?

...gins The origins of Advent, though veiled in the mists of time, can be traced back to around 480, with the Council of Tours in 567 introducing a distinctive element to this season. Monks were instructed to observe a fast every day in December until Christmas, adding an element of penitence and preparation to the weeks leading up to the joyous celebration. The roots of Advent delve deep into the historical fabric of Christian tradition, and as J. Neil Alexander, a bishop in the Episcopal church notes, providing a definitive explanation of its origin remains a challenging endeavour. “[it is] impossible to claim with confidence a credible explanation of the ori...

The Coming of Jesus: Coming on the clouds

...Coming on the clouds of heaven Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. When people read Jesus saying that he will be "coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" in Matthew 24:30, it often taken to mean that he will be doing that literally as opposed to figuratively. Kinda like this, but on clouds.   Careful now, before you put on your heretic hunting hats and grab your pitchforks — let me explain why I say that Jesus wasn't telling his fol...

Lent Day 18: Cyprian: On the Unity of the Church: 1-9

...ed the “origin of that unity” for which the partnership of the Apostles began the Church. To strengthen his argument for unity within One Church, he quotes Paul in Ephesians 4:4-6, calling it the “sacrament of unity” by which we know the true Church. In speaking of the Bishops, or the “episcopate”, Cyprian says they above all need to uphold this unity of faith, because they are “held by each one for the whole” so that they are undivided as the Church is undivided and one. I like the analogy Cyprian uses to describe the unity and “oneness” of the Church, in comparing it to things in nature: As there are many rays of the sun, but one ligh...

BOOK REVIEW: Four Views on Hell 2nd edition

...n divine origin, not necessarily an unending conflagration; as Parry quips: “The need for caution is illustrated by the ‘eternal fire’ (puros aiôniou) of Sodom’s punishment (Jude 7), which – contra Burk – did not burn forever.” (Parry, Four Views, 51) Sprinkle is also critical of Burk’s interpretation: “Burk’s use of Jude 7 is particularly curious. Jude offers the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – not their torment – as an example of what will happen to the ungodly…You can read about this destruction in Genesis 19. There is no ongoing torment in that passage, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah aren’t still burning in an ‘...

Man-Made Tradition vs Apostolic Tradition

...apostolic origin. Bishop of Carthage, Cyprian, who was a prominent early leader and writer (c. 250 AD), sums up the view on human tradition rather well, when he says: ...what presumption, to prefer human tradition to divine ordinance, and not to observe that God is indignant and angry as often as human tradition relaxes and passes by the divine precepts … for custom without truth is the antiquity of error. Cyprian, Epistle 73:3,9 In contrast, he also says this about “divine tradition”: …you must diligently observe and keep the practice delivered from divine tradition and apostolic observance, which is also maintained among us, and almost throug...