Category: Theology
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What Matteo Ricci Tried to Do
Matteo Ricci was the pioneer Jesuit missionary to China. He was born in 1552 and died on this day, May 11, in 1610. Ricci had to carry out his mission by making his way very delicately between two titanic forces: the imperial court of China, and the counter-Reformation papacy. Ricci respected the high culture of…
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Happy Birthday Karl Barth
Karl Barth (born May 10, 1886, died 1968) was the greatest theologian of the 20th century. His work made certain kinds of liberalism impossible, got modern thinkers to take revelation seriously, and put the Trinity back in the center of Christian theology. From an evangelical perspective, he seems unreliable on crucial issues related to epistemology…
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Why Karl Barth is Hard to Read
I would gladly argue that Karl Barth’s writing is worth the hard labor it takes to get into, but it just needs to be said right up front that he makes some serious demands on his readers. Back in college, I was halfway through my third book by this author before things started to make…
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Some Sound Bites from Barth
Karl Barth wrote some sentences that run on for about a half-page, circle around their main idea without ever quite stating it, and keep readers on the edge of their seats with a sense of dramatic suspense and tension. But he also wrote quotable bits. Here are some I noticed during a recent re-read of…
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Andrew Murray’s Birthday
Andrew Murray, Reformed pastor who worked chiefly in South Africa, was born on May 9, 1828 and died at a ripe old age in 1917. He wrote scores of books, most of them having 31 chapters and intended to be read a chapter at a time for one month. They are devotional books, and if…
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Handley Moule, Evangelical Bishop of Durham
H. C. G. (that’s Handley Carr Glyn) Moule was born in 1841 and died on May 8, 1920. He served as the Bishop of Durham from 1901-1920. He was an acute scholar and a powerful communicator. He wrote great Bible commentaries, an outline of Christian doctrine, and many sermons and poems. When the editors of…
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Kierkegaard’s Birthday
There must be some significance to Soren Kierkegaard’s birthday falling on Cinco de Mayo, but it escapes me. An admonition from the great Dane, from his book For Self-Examination: If you are a scholar, remember that if you do not read God’s Word in another way, it will turn out that after a lifetime of…
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Evan Roberts Does Not Know When Jesus Will Return.
How should premillenialists regard the revelation of translation of Evan Roberts, published in England (in the December issue of “OVERCOMER”) and the message, “Be ye ready”? All well-balanced students of the Word who understand the clear teaching of the Bible regarding the time of our Lord’s return, namely, that “It is not for [us] to…
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Augustine’s Praying Mother
This is the traditional day when Monica is commemorated; Monica the mother of Augustine. Lots of people having praying mothers, but Augustine’s mother was really serious about praying for her son. By the way, Mother’s day is just a few days from now. Monica has an important role in Augustine’s world-famous autobiographical book The Confessions.…
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Donald Bloesch’s Birthday
Donald Bloesch is a theologian whose name rhymes with “keep it fresh,” “nativity creche,” and “word made flesh.” Born on May 3, 1928, Bloesch has been an important theological voice for decades. He published the widely-used two-volume Essentials of Evangelical Theology back in the early 1980s, and his Christ-centeredness has been a lodestar for evangelicals…
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Athanasius: Battle on Ten Fronts
Athanasius of Alexandria (born around 293, died on this day, May 2, 373) stands out from the great crowd of witnesses that make up the early history of the church. If you’d like to begin reading the church fathers but don’t know where to start, consider starting with Athanasius. Anybody who understands the work of…
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3 Pithy Remarks on Handling the Doctrine of the Trinity
Not very helpful: The Trinity: Try to Understand It and You’ll Lose Your Mind. Try to Deny It and You’ll LOSE YOUR SOUL! –mercifully anonymous but sadly widespread Much better: Nowhere else is a mistake more dangerous, or the search more laborious, or discovery more advantageous. –Augustine Sweeeeet: It is rashness to search too far…