Here are Some Great Videos on the Five Solas from the Faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary
Last month RTS Charlotte and Christ Covenant Church came together to host a Reformation conference entitled, The Gospel of Grace and Glory: The Reformation at 500 and Counting.
The five plenary sessions of this conference were on the five solas of the Reformation: Kevin DeYoung (Sola Fide), James Anderson (Sola Gratia), Blair Smith (Solus Christus), Derek Thomas (Soli Deo Gloria), and myself (Sola Scriptura).
I might add that all these speakers (except myself!) are Systematic Theology profs at Reformed Theological Seminary.
And Keith and Kristyn Getty capped off the weekend with a concert that Sunday night.
Over the years … Continue reading...
The Heresy of Orthodoxy: How and When was the New Testament Canon Put Together?
For the last few weeks, I have been posting a series of videos where Andreas Köstenberger and I discuss our response to Walter Bauer’s thesis on heresy and orthodoxy in early Christianity.
These discussions are based on our book, The Heresy of Orthodoxy: How Contemporary Culture’s Fascination with Diversity Has Reshaped Our Understanding of Early Christianity (Crossway, 2010).
The first week was an overview of Bauer and why we wrote the book (see here), and the second week was on the role of diversity in the NT books themselves (see here).
In this video below, we discuss an area very central to the Bauer thesis, namely the development … Continue reading...
The Heresy of Orthodoxy: What Do the NT Books Tell Us About Early Christian Diversity?
Last week I began a new blog series (see first post here) addressing the theme of unity and diversity in early Christianity, particularly as it pertains to the well-known work of Walter Bauer.
Essentially, Bauer argued there was no such thing “heresy” or “orthodoxy” during this time period. These ideas, he argues, are simply artificial constructs of the later theological victors.
This series is exploring Bauer’s thesis through a number of video conversations between myself and Andreas Köstenberger. These videos reflect on our book that critiques Bauer: The Heresy of Orthodoxy: How Contemporary Culture’s Fascination with Diversity Has Reshaped Our Understanding of Early Christianity (Crossway, 2010).… Continue reading...
The Heresy of Orthodoxy: Who is Walter Bauer and Why Write a Book About Him?
In 1934, the German scholar Walter Bauer wrote a landmark work entitled Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity. The problem was that no one yet knew it was a landmark work. The Germans (and the world) had other things on their mind during this phase of European history.
But, in 1971 the book was translated into English. And with all the new found (largely American) fascination with apocryphal Gospels like the Gospel of Thomas, the English translation proved to be well timed.
Bauer’s core thesis was that early Christianity was profoundly diverse in terms of its theological commitments. Various Christian groups believed all sorts of contradictory things about … Continue reading...
One of the Best (and Most Overlooked) Passages that Demonstrates the Divinity of Jesus
Did the New Testament authors think Jesus was God?
Some critical scholars would say no. Jesus, they would argue, is just presented as an ordinary man who has been given an exceptional role as God’s chief emissary and representative. He is messiah perhaps. But not God.
Of course, Christians (historically speaking) have disagreed. Yes, Jesus is Messiah, but he also shares in the divine identity and is rightly accorded all the glory and honor due to God.
When it comes to demonstrating the divine status of Jesus from Scripture, the “go to” passages are not difficult to list: John 1:1; John 8:58; 1 Cor 8:6; Phil 2:1-11. These are the … Continue reading...