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Lent: Day 6 - Ignatius to the Magnesians

Day Six: St. Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to the Magnesians (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: Ignatius urges the Church to continue in unity, to honour their leadership and to avoid Judaizers who may try to bring false teaching. This letter also gives some valuable insight to early Church hierarchy. 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 Col...

My new book, available now! Take a journey through the first 400 years of Church History in only 40 days!

Take a journey through the first 400 years of Church History in only 40 days! "40 Days with the Fathers" is a daily reading plan/devotional spread out over forty days; and over the course of this reading plan you will read extracts and commentary on 23 different early Church texts from a selection of some of the most influential Church Fathers, such as: Didache, Diognetus, Polycarp, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Cyprian, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose of Milan, and Leo the Great. These people who came before us, those great men of faith, many of whom suffered persecution and martyrdom to preserve the Church and Christ's mission, bridge the gap between th...

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

...d. Early Church Fathers and the Development of Doctrine Early Church Fathers, such as Augustine, played a pivotal role in formulating the doctrine of the Trinity, emphasising the nature of the Godhead as three persons in one essence. Irenaeus (c. 130-202): In "Against Heresies," Irenaeus refuted Gnostic views and affirmed the divinity of Christ, emphasising the importance of the Son in the economy of salvation. Tertullian (c. 155-240): Tertullian coined the term "Trinity" (Latin: "Trinitas") and laid the foundation for early Trinitarian thought in his writings. Athanasius (c. 296-373): Athanasius, known for his work "On the Incarnation," defended the divini...

New Covenant Israel is no longer physical (nor literal)!

... the Church Fathers, and therefore the historical foundation of Christianity. For example, many of the early Christians taught that Christ had fulfilled the Old Covenant in himself, and therefore superseded it with the New: Justin Martyr (about 100 to 165): "For the true spiritual Israel ... are we who have been led to God through this crucified Christ." Tertullian (ca.160 – ca.220 AD): “Who else, therefore, are understood but we, who, fully taught by the new law, observe these practices,—the old law being obliterated, the coming of whose abolition the action itself demonstrates. . . . Therefore, as we have shown above that the coming...

26 Differences Between Muhammad and Jesus

...If you’ve ever spent any time online, either in random Facebook comment threads or reading the news, I’m sure you’ve come across the claim that Islam and Christianity are basically the same and that “we all worship the same God”, getting lumped together as an “Abrahamic religion” along with Judaism. Muslims claim Islam “is the completed final version of the previous messages originally revealed to Moses and Jesus” which came to “correct the deviations of Christianity”, which had apparently become corrupt by the seventh century when Muhammad came along. But for something which is meant to come from the same God at its core, it would sugges...

When did Christians become so whiny?

...The Church is so whiny at times. At least in the West it seems, from the various news outlets which like to showcase the "worst" (and actual worst) of the bunch. Sometimes I read articles and wonder why do certain Christians care so much about this!? It's usually a non-issue really, often under the guise of "principles" or "persecution." Now I realise that some of the articles I linked to above could also relate to serious issues that we, as Christians, should face and discuss. But even from a quick search on Huffington Post and the BBC News for "Christian", the majority of articles (as of writing) from America relate to homosexuality in some form, and for...