To conclude the Ignatian Christology series, it seems fitting to compare Ignatius’s Christology found in Ignatius’s letters with some of the other documents in the same early Christian collection known as the Apostolic Fathers (AF). These works are placed in the post-apostolic period, which is between AD 70–150.[1] The collection holds the early documents: First…
Category: Church History
Ignatian Christology: The Incarnation
In continuing the blog series on Ignatius of Antioch’s Christology, we have seen that Ignatius believed that Christ must be human to provide a sacrifice (himself) sufficient for salvation on behalf of the fallen human race. However, the created-human race offended an eternal, transcendent God and stands no chance to redeem themselves before God. So,…
Ignatian Christology: Christ Must be God
In continuing the previous post, Ignatian Christology: Christ Must Be Human, which discussed Ignatius’s theological defense for Christ’s humanity. He argued the necessity of Christ’s humanity in regard to salvific efficacies, but also the need for another element. It is here that we will discuss the other half of his argument, which is the need…
Ignatian Christology: Christ Must Be Human
In continuing the previous post titled Ignatian Christology: Introduction, we will discuss the first of Ignatius’s three Christological boundaries that encompassed his apologetical mind: the humanity of Christ. This is not to minimize the divinity of Christ’s nature (which will be discussed in the next post) but to accurately assess his full personhood that is…
Ignatian Christology: Introduction
There are few Christian figures more prominent in the first half of the second century than Ignatius, bishop of Antioch. He was stated to be the second bishop of Antioch by Origen followed after the Apostle Peter, and third according to the great church historian of the fourth century, Eusebius.² Either way, he was close enough…
The Historicity of Christ: Tacitus
It is hardly any value to ponder great movements in history with the lens of our individualistic and pluralistic culture. We post-modernize them, especially ancient history, making them either irrelevant or elementary in truth. Accepting the idea that we’ve evolved in society, in architect, in our understanding of morality and of course in religion, which…
The Historicity of Christ
If I were to ask the average American Christian, “How do you know Christianity is true?”, I would guess that most would answer the question with, “Because Christianity is true for me.” In other words, it’s less of a intellectual discovery and more of a socially accepted spirituality. The question could also be answered, “I used to…
Journey Begins
Well I am certainly excited to start this journey with everyone, the long grace-filled, and sometimes unpleasant trip back to our Christian origins, with hopefully a good drink in hand! Though my main topic for this blog is church history, I will tackle on 4 other topics: theology, craft beer, coffee, and my days as…