What do we do when our logic seems to befool us? when we run the numbers, check the math, yet we are left with unresolved contradictions? In philosophy and biblical studies, this comes up a lot: the perennial response to the doctrine of the Trinity is the accusation of bad math—how can God be both … Continue reading Limiting Concepts and Biblical Logic – Part 1
Tag: Authority
Buy from Amazon In part one of his book the Principle of Protestantism, Philip Schaff sketches the two-sided (material and formal) principle he sees to be the essential positive element of the Reformation; that is, the progressive element the Reformation contributed to the evolution of the Catholic Church. The second part addresses the relation of … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Philip Schaff’s The Principle of Protestantism
Buy from Amazon In the section Structures of Authority in his essay, The Problem of Authority in the Church, Carl E. Braaten argues that the Reformation was catholic in the way it viewed the relationship between Scripture and the church. Braaten argues beforehand that the church needs a way to identify and denounce heresy; to … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Braaten and Jenson, The Catholicity of the Reformation
[This accompanies this post] Wait a second, you may be thinking, you are fallaciously connecting ideas that are not necessarily connected: is authority really so connected to inerrancy? Yet, are they not? Let us ask ourselves, what do we mean when we call Scripture ‘authoritative’? We are affirming, with all of the writers of Scripture … Continue reading The Co-Inherence of Authority, Inerrancy and Trustworthiness
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul addresses false teaching in the Corinthian church and challenges the church on their doubt concerning the resurrection: “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (15:17). Yet, those who proffer this passage to substantiate the necessity of history for faith fail … Continue reading Unless You Believed in Vain