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 …
Some of the terms Anabaptists use aren’t familiar to non-Anabaptists. Also, some of the terms I’m using on this site aren’t widely understood. So this post is meant to include short, understandable definitions of the terms as I use them. If any of these definitions aren’t clear enough, please let me know. Terms Used by …
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 another article, I showed that Jesus and the apostles, including Paul, had full authority to define the faith. However, if we want to follow the true faith, we need to know where we can find it. So the question is, “What sources can be trusted to contain the faith revealed through Jesus and the …
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 »
In my post on icons, I cited Origen as evidence against the early Christian use of icons. The quote below shows that Origen didn’t believe veneration of images to be a Christian practice: [Christians] abhor altars and images on the ground that they are afraid of degrading the worship of God, and reducing it to …
Anabaptists have a distinctive set of beliefs based on our plain reading of Scripture. However, many Anabaptist churches, especially those that are considered Conservative Anabaptist (see the definition in this article), have church standards (called Ordnung by the Amish) over and above the New Testament requirements. Sometimes these are written rules; sometimes they are unwritten. …
In this article, I’ll list the distinctive Anabaptist beliefs, with an explanation of what they consist of. Many of these beliefs and practices are also accepted by other groups. However, few groups practice them all. If you believe and practice them all, you are for all intents and purposes an Anabaptist. Note that some people …
