The Trinity Forum are a group of Christian academics who encourage people to develop a Christian approach to all of life. They recently commisioned a short article from me on the topic of Friendship. This is the article that gave me the idea for running the first still deeper day conference on Friendship.
You can view the article here:
http://www.ttf.org/index/journal/detail/losing-touch-with-a-friend/
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
New Theology Journal Live!!!
It has been nearly a year in the making - but it is finally live and online!
Come visit the new online journal Still Deeper: a magazine for those who want to go deeper in their experience of the Christian life.
www.stilldeeper.com
The journal provides articles in three main areas - Looking at culture, Walking the Christian life and Thinking ideas and doctrine.
There has so far been one day conference with a future one planned. We welcome contributions from anybody - one of the aims of the journal is to encourage Christians to think about Christian things. What better way than to write a review of a movie, novel or play - or pen an article on a theological issue?
The members' comment feature and member only section will be activated within the next month - meanwhile there are a large range of articles on issues such as friendship, scripture, teenagers, preaching, pornography, movies.... Come see for yourself and please pass the link on to all your contacts.
Come visit the new online journal Still Deeper: a magazine for those who want to go deeper in their experience of the Christian life.
www.stilldeeper.com
The journal provides articles in three main areas - Looking at culture, Walking the Christian life and Thinking ideas and doctrine.
There has so far been one day conference with a future one planned. We welcome contributions from anybody - one of the aims of the journal is to encourage Christians to think about Christian things. What better way than to write a review of a movie, novel or play - or pen an article on a theological issue?
The members' comment feature and member only section will be activated within the next month - meanwhile there are a large range of articles on issues such as friendship, scripture, teenagers, preaching, pornography, movies.... Come see for yourself and please pass the link on to all your contacts.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Augustine on Inerrancy of Bible
One of the great myths about the early church is that they did not believe the scriptures to be inerrant. This view is common, probably because such a high view of scripture is mistakenly seen as being overly dependent on enlightenment thinking, and the early period of canonical fluidity is assumed to translate to a flexible view of truthfulness as well.
I have just finished reading the letters of Augustine (4 Volumes from New City Press and a very enjoyable read - highly recommended), with a particular view to noting anything he states about his views of scripture.
Here is what looks to me to be an unambiguous affirmation of what later came to be termed inerrancy:
"I learned to show this reverence and respect only to those books of the scriptures which are now called canonical so that I most firmly believe that none of their authors erred in anything. And if I come across something in those writings that seems contrary to the truth, I have no doubt that either the manuscript is defective or the translator did not follow what was said or that I did not understand it."
Letter 82.3
Compare that with Wayne Grudem's definition of inerrancy, "The inerrancy of scripture means that scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact." Systematic Theology, p.90.
So, next time you hear inerrancy dismissed as a rationalistic, enlightenment-determined, uneducated and fundamentalist view, gently enquire if that description can be applied to Augustine.
I have just finished reading the letters of Augustine (4 Volumes from New City Press and a very enjoyable read - highly recommended), with a particular view to noting anything he states about his views of scripture.
Here is what looks to me to be an unambiguous affirmation of what later came to be termed inerrancy:
"I learned to show this reverence and respect only to those books of the scriptures which are now called canonical so that I most firmly believe that none of their authors erred in anything. And if I come across something in those writings that seems contrary to the truth, I have no doubt that either the manuscript is defective or the translator did not follow what was said or that I did not understand it."
Letter 82.3
Compare that with Wayne Grudem's definition of inerrancy, "The inerrancy of scripture means that scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact." Systematic Theology, p.90.
So, next time you hear inerrancy dismissed as a rationalistic, enlightenment-determined, uneducated and fundamentalist view, gently enquire if that description can be applied to Augustine.
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