The following article is by Reed K. Merino. I’ve reposted it by permission. The Day I Became Two Thousand Years Old! At Philadelphia, on December 14, 1968, our bishop Robert DeWitt in the “apostolic succession” ordained me as an Episcopalian priest at our parish, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Over a period of several years, I …
The subject of Mary has created divisions within the church. The doctrines about Mary have been pushed by the Catholic and Orthodox churches to the point that, if other traditions do not accept the doctrines, they believe these traditions to be erring in the faith and the cause of this division. But is this really …
Is the Assumption of Mary found in Revelation 12? Read More »
In this article, what I want to do is to help us rid our minds of modern and medieval thinking when approaching Paul’s letters, and step back into the first century context and read from their vantage point. My proposal is actually very simple. Read Paul’s words for what he actually says, not what we …
This article is the third of a series on the doctrine of nonresistance, which is based on Jesus’ command to do no violence. More specifically, nonresistance is the view that even when striving for justice, Christians, unlike earthly governments, must only employ methods other than violence. This doctrine was so named by the Anabaptists, but …
Early Church Fathers on War, Violence, and Pacifism Read More »
This article is the second of a series on the doctrine of nonresistance, which is based on Jesus’ command to do no violence. More specifically, nonresistance is the view that even when striving for justice, Christians, unlike earthly governments, must only employ methods other than violence. This doctrine was so named by the Anabaptists, but …
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), Jesus introduced a surprising teaching, one that is so unlike our natural human impulses that Christians have mostly ceased to follow it. Though Jesus taught against violence, and though the pre-Constantinian church continued to teach Jesus’ command, few Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestants consider Jesus’ command …
This article is the final post in a series about the veneration of images. If the arguments in my previous articles are correct, then Scripture, archaeology, and the early church all coincide to demonstrate that before Constantine, the veneration of images was not a legitimate Christian practice. However, might it be possible that we could …
Could the Veneration of Icons Be a Legitimate Change? Read More »
This article is the fifth (and last) in a series in which I evaluate the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox practice of iconodulia—veneration of images. In previous articles, I looked at the evidence predating 313, when Constantine began to favor Christianity. This article will discuss the evidence that comes after. Here are the posts in …
Did Saints Like John Chrysostom Venerate Icons? How Did It Arise? Read More »
This is part of a series in which I respond to the claim that the veneration of icons is a Christian practice. This article contains responses to what I consider the less consequential arguments for the veneration of icons. Here are the posts in this series: Introduction Since I intend this article series to be …
This post addresses the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic practice of venerating icons. It examines the textual evidence from the first centuries of Christianity to see whether or not the veneration of images was considered a legitimate practice. The purpose of this post is not polemics but to do apologetics and honest historical inquiry. So …
