From Steve Jeffery’s blog:
Augustine has some frankly astonishing things to say in his On Christian Doctrine about how to understand the Bible.
Here he is explaining how we should go about the task of studying Scripture:
Continue reading
or A Nation of NathansJeremy Myers has some words to say about Gregory Boyd’s and Walter Wink’s view that political power necessarily corrupts, even demonizes, the Church:
Is There Such A Thing As A Just War?
The “Just War” theory was originally developed by Augustine to defend the Empire’s actions of arresting and killing the Donatists, with whom Augustine was having a theological disagreement. He argued that in certain situations, a war is not wrong if it furthers the cause of Christ and advances the Kingdom of God on earth.
…but slack on Creation.
“What’s so great about Christianity? D’Souza gives this question a book-length answer, exploring Christianity’s effect on government, science, philosophy and morality, while answering the objections of atheists along the way. He also gives a warning: most of the West is living on the inheritance of the Christian culture handed down to it by previous generations, but the secular worldview is slowly eating away at the best things Western culture offers. Continue reading
“One of the great joys of studying Scripture is that there is plenty of low hanging fruit: food for the youngest and simplest believer; yet, at the same time there are unfathomable depths to enjoy. Let Augustine (certainly brighter than you or me, and a great student of Scripture) spur you on to be Bible crazy:
There is such depth in the Christian Scriptures that, even if I studied them, and nothing else, from early childhood to worn-out old age, with ample time and unflagging zeal, and with greater intellectual ability than I possess, I would still each day find new treasures within them. The basic truths necessary for salvation are easily found within the Scriptures. But even when a person has accepted these truths, and is both God-fearing and righteous in his actions, there remain so many things which lie under a great veil of mystery. Through reading the Scriptures, we can pierce this veil, and find the deepest wisdom in the words which express these mysteries, and in the mysteries themselves. The oldest, the ablest, and the most eager student of Scripture, will say at the end of each day: ‘I have studied hard, but my studies are only just beginning.’
Augustine, Letter 137.”
Pilfered from Matthew Mason’s blog.
Bible Matrix blog
