Blog Search Results

Important Updates about That Ancient faith

...hatancientfaith.uk to thesacredfaith.co.uk (it will automatically redirect for a while). I encourage all subscribers and followers to update their bookmarks and follow the brand's new social media handles (I'll send another update later once I've updated all my pages to let you know what the new URLs are). For further information on the rebranding, please contact me here.  Thank you for your continued support and readership.  Sincerely, Luke Wilson...

Implications Of The Frankfurt Silver Amulet: Insights Into Early Christian Practice And Belief

...life and faith of early believers, revealing their theology, liturgical practices, and adaptation of existing traditions. 1. Invoking St. Titus: A Connection to Apostolic Roots One of the most remarkable features of the inscription is its invocation of St. Titus, a disciple and confidant of the Apostle Paul. This early reference highlights the theological importance of Apostolic authority and continuity. Titus, known for his leadership within the early church, symbolises the rootedness of Christian faith in the teachings and mission of the Apostles. In this context, the invocation of a saint also invites a deeper exploration of the “cult of saints,” a te...

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

...ned their faith and sacrificed to the gods in exchange for their lives, or bought a certificate to say they had when they hadn't. This was all considered sin and blasphemy by the Church, though many felt regret and wanted to be forgiven and restored. “But how can a man say that he believes in Christ, who does not do what Christ commanded him to do?” Cyprian argues, since the faith of many had become weak. It is not “persecution alone that is to be feared”, Cyprian writes, since “caution is more easy where danger is manifest” but to be all the more vigilant in times of peace because the enemy “creeps on us secretly” in sneaky ways, which is wh...

The Gospel of Jeffrey Dahmer

...professed faith in Jesus, repented and was baptised while in prison. The minister who baptised him, Roy Ratcliff, also met with him weekly for one-hour Bible studies and pastoral care. He even wrote a book about the experience and was convinced his conversion was genuine. I’m going to state something off the back of this which will no doubt offend some, but it is for this reason that Paul says the truth of the Gospel is offensive: If you can’t accept that Jeffrey Dahmer could be welcomed into the Kingdom of God, then you don’t understand the Gospel.   Does the idea that a homosexual, cannibalistic, murdering rapist could be forgiven by God cause you...

Man-Made Tradition vs Apostolic Tradition

...rrupt the faith. This is also the purpose of the creeds (see 1 Cor 15:3-7 for the earliest type of New Testament creed; or the Apostle’s Creed and Nicene Creed for later adaptations). Irenaeus talks a lot about the traditions handed down in his Against Heresies, and as a bishop himself, took this responsibility very seriously to keep that which he had received “by … succession, the ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles … which has been preserved in the church from the apostles until now” (Against Heresies III, 3:3). Basically, whatever the Apostles taught and did, that was Apostolic Tradition! The early Christians who were close to the time...

Did the Early Church invent the Trinity?

...iples the faith in one God, the Father Almighty … and in one Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became flesh for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit” — Against Heresies 1:10:1, A.D. 189. Tertullian (c. 216) We do indeed believe that there is only one God, but we believe that under this dispensation, or, as we say, oikonomia (Gk. οἰκονομία, “economy”), there is also a Son of this one only God, his Word, who proceeded from him and through whom all things were made and without whom nothing was made … We believe he was sent down by the Father, in accord with his own promise, the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the sanctifier of the faith...