This article is the third in a series where I show that before 313, and probably for some time after, the veneration of images was not a legitimate Christian practice. In this post, I will examine the Scriptures to see what light they can show on the subject. Here is an overview of all the …
This post is the second post in a series on whether the early Christians venerated images. In the other posts, I argue that before 313, the veneration of images was not a legitimate Christian practice. In this post, I will examine pre-Constantinian images found in archaeology and whether they provide evidence for or against the …
Archaeology & Icon Veneration | From Before Constantine? Read More »
The Roman Catholic Church claims to be the one and only apostolic church, and so does the Eastern Orthodox Church. In this series of articles, I’ll show that neither church’s claim can be true. One way of addressing their claims is to focus on their reasons why they believe they have apostolic authority, which I’ve …
Icons | The Orthodox Church Has Changed the Apostolic Faith Read More »
When we try to discover the historic faith through early sources, we look for areas of consensus among early Christians. Typically, those beliefs are the ones we should also share. Not, of course, because the pre-Nicene church was infallible, but because we want to live the original Christian faith, and they can help us understand …
When trying to find out what the early Christians believed, we deal with multiple kinds of historical evidence. Our goal is to properly weigh the evidence that we have, so that we come to the correct conclusion as to what they believed. The evidence that we’re dealing with are mostly written texts. We have letters, …
In this article, I’ll look at some mistakes commonly made by people who are trying to defend their position. These mistakes are made by Catholics & Orthodox, Protestants & Anabaptists, so I’m not criticizing any group here. However, I think if we’re careful not to make these mistakes, we can help ensure that we have …
This article is an outline for an Anabaptist apologetic. Basically, it’s my method of evaluating the truth-claims of the view of Christianity that’s held by Anabaptists as opposed to the views of other faith traditions. There won’t be much new material in this article. It’s mainly a reference for understanding how each argument on this …
In a previous article, I showed that Scripture and the early church both agreed that all doctrine had been revealed to the apostles. Only Jesus and the apostles are “upstream” from doctrine; in other words, only statements by them can be taken as definitive of Christian doctrine. Everyone else is “downstream” from doctrine; our statements …
Development of Doctrine | Why Catholic & Orthodox Changes Fail Read More »
As Christians, we believe some teachings to be true and others to be false. But how can we tell which is which? Where does true Christian doctrine come from, and can those doctrines change or develop? This article will answer those questions and offer a from-the-ground-up defense for the view that Christian doctrine comes from …
The Eastern Orthodox Church bases much of their theology on the “Fathers.” Typically, this means Christian writers who lived before approximately the 800s. The most influential church fathers for them tend to be those who lived and wrote between 325 and 787, when the first and last of the seven ecumenical councils took place. Some …
Do Post-Nicene Fathers Exemplify Apostolic Christianity? Read More »
