Among the Early Church Fathers, Origen was as towering and prominent as Augustine (354-430) and Aquinas (1225-1274). In the Western Church both Jerome (347-420) and Ambrose (c. 340-397) unhesitatingly copied Origen’s work and thus bequeathed it to posterity. Bernard (1090-1153) and Eckhart (c. 1260-c. 1327) read his works in the original, and Erasmus (1466-1536) admitted... Continue Reading

Both this and the rest of Prudentius’s account reminds us of Augustine’s Confessions. Like Augustine, Prudentius pursued a legal career, ruled by an exuberant spirit and an obstinate desire to win. Like Augustine, he rose to prestigious positions (he was governor of two provinces) and served in the imperial court in Milan. But what good did this do... Continue Reading

Spurgeon maintained that no man-made theological system is authoritative. He said, “My love of consistency with my own doctrinal views is not great enough to allow me knowingly to alter a single text of Scripture. I have great respect for orthodoxy, but my reverence for inspiration is far greater. I would sooner a hundred times... Continue Reading

Edwards was only twenty-three when he became the assistant pastor of First Church of Northampton, Mass., a Congregational church led by his maternal grandfather, the venerable Solomon Stoddard. Just two years later, Stoddard died, leaving Edwards to shepherd the church alone. He would remain pastor of First Church until July 1, 1750. They were years... Continue Reading

Scholars place Irenaeus’ birth anywhere from 120 to 140 AD. In 177, eleven years after the martyrdom of Polycarp, Irenaeus went to Gaul and became the Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, which is today Lyons, France. One French church historian, Gregory of Tours, in his History of the French Church tells us that Irenaeus’ preaching... Continue Reading

 In 817, Louis the Pious appointed Claudius bishop of Turin, Italy. That’s when he came in contact with Italian idolatry, which seemed to know no bounds. There was, during his time, a lot of talk about religious images, especially in the Byzantine church, where some emperors banned them and empresses reinstated them. Claudius didn’t spend... Continue Reading

In early 2018, Squires told a soldier that he could not perform a marriage retreat for the soldier and the soldier’s same-sex partner, and Squires provided an alternative by rescheduling the event so that another chaplain could conduct the retreat. An Army investigating officer initially determined that Squires had discriminated against the soldier and recommended... Continue Reading

He also learned quickly when it came to preaching. There were five preaching stations around Larbert and so McCheyne preached three times on Sunday and several times during the week at Bible classes and meetings. Wheras Bonar preached for one and a half hours, McCheyne usually preached only ‘only’ 35 minutes because he thought the... Continue Reading

In some ways, Ratramnus is like Augustine: both Roman Catholics and Protestants claim him as their own. In reality, his book stands in church history more as a question mark than a period. It has contributed to raise important inquiries, and has proven that the history of Christian thought is not as black and white... Continue Reading

John Wycliffe has often been called “the Morning Star of the Reformation.” Jan Hus, another pre-Reformation reformer, felt obliged to express his supreme debt to Wycliffe. And though he lived long after Wycliffe’s death, Martin Luther, too, felt an obligation to recognize the pioneering reforms of John Wycliffe. Luther stood on the shoulders of Hus,... Continue Reading