Category: Religion
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The Denominational Distinctives II: The High Church Distinctives
This essay is part of a series: The Denominational Distinctives Part ICatholic, Orthodox, & Protestant Part IIThe High Church Distinctives Part IIIFurther High Church Distinctives This is the second set of questions and answers about the distinctive doctrines of the Christian denominations. My aim in this series is to help me to decide on my…
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The Denominational Distinctives I: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant
This essay is part of a series: The Denominational Distinctives Part ICatholic, Orthodox, & Protestant Part IIThe High Church Distinctives Part IIIFurther High Church Distinctives In a previous post on LarrySanger.org, I listed some “questions that distinguish the denominations.” More precisely, I attempted to list, tentatively, questions that, taken together, are minimally adequate to distinguish…
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On freedom and divine sovereignty (summary)
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Does God expect the impossible of us?
A student asked some advice, so I replied. The question and the answer are both very general, so in case this helps anyone: Why does the Christian conception of God impose divine standards of morality upon humanity, given our inherent fallibility? Furthermore, considering the theological premise that all individuals have sinned, how can one reconcile…
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Brief Notes on the Gospel
Is “believe that Jesus died for your sins” the whole Gospel? What if the Bible says otherwise—and what if we’ve missed the most ancient part?
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A Sketch of My Theological Method
While thinking about a certain book on the history of religious ideas, I considered how my own approach to theology might fit into that enormous history. This led me to the following summary statement, for what it is worth, which I submit for your perusal. I am, roughly speaking, a follower of Thomas Reid’s method…
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The Bible and the Fathers on the Divinity of Jesus Christ
Among those who have responded to my testimony, a few Unitarians have come out of the woodwork, warning me sternly that there is one God. With this, I agree, of course. But they add that Jesus is not God. With this, I disagree. 1. Many Bible passages suggest that Jesus is not merely of God…
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A Response to My New Brothers and Sisters
My conversion story weighs in at 14,000 words, and this follow-up is another 5,000. The outpouring of response has been so great that I felt I owed some further answers to all these lovely well-wishers, who are, after all, now my brothers and sisters in the family of God. Since I posted the essay, less…
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The questions that distinguish the denominations
I want to ask my generous and well-informed Christian readership here for their feedback on a list of questions. The task is fairly straightforward to state, not maybe not easy to execute: Formulate a list of questions that is minimally sufficient to investigate where one “fits” within the broad denominational landscape. There are other differences,…
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How a Skeptical Philosopher Becomes a Christian
It is finally time for me to confess and explain, fully and publicly, that I am a Christian. Followers of this blog have probably guessed this, but it is past time to share my testimony properly. I am called to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” One of…
