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Most Protestants are familiar with the five Solae of the Reformation, but what many are not familiar with are some of the supporting doctrines that dogmatically support the big five. One such doctrine is the Perspicuity, or clarity, of Scripture. It is commonly misunderstood, and I wanted to shed some light on the topic.


 
An excellent video answering this common straw-man argument by a member of the Calvinist Corner.
 
I've been dealing with lots of problems theologically as I've been interacting with other Christians on the web lately, and I figured that I would identify what I see to be the most damaging and problematic issues that we are dealing with currently. (These do not represent a specific order, only that there are ten of them, and that they are the top).

 
I want to start out by saying a few things:

  • I affirm the Apostle's Creed. I have no disagreement with the propositions therein.
  • I affirm the idea of Mere Christianity. That is, I understand that there are first order and second order doctrines, and that we should not break fellowship over second order doctrines. I count anyone who confesses that Jesus Christ is our only hope of salvation, that God is a Trinity, that all three persons of the Trinity are equal in glory and nature, and that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man, to be a brother in Christ. I do not doubt their salvation,
  • I do not believe that a perfect understanding of a doctrine is required for salvation. Nor do I believe that anyone who cannot explain in technical language a first order doctrine is unsaved.
Now that that's out of the way, lets do this.

 
Here is a paper I wrote recently regarding the parallels between the Atonement theology of De Incarnatione Verbum Dei by Athanasius and Reformed Double Imputation. Enjoy!!!


 
The Catholic Church is quick to point to Peter as the primary Apostle, and thus the Roman See (even though there is no Biblical evidence whatsoever that Peter was a Bishop over Rome) is authoritative over other Apostolic Sees. However, as Protestants the only question we can ask about this is "Does this line up with what Scripture Presents?"

 
Hello, I am a resident of the greater Boston Area. I heard what you did today, and I will be honest with you, my initial reaction to your heinous crime was disgust, anger, and hatred. That's because just like you, I'm a sinner who desperately needs a savior. As my wife and I rushed home to the relative (perhaps illusory) safety of our apartment  my mind began to think of all of the people who you hurt, some of whom you killed. Men, women... children. People who were just trying to celebrate a day where we overthrew those who were oppressing us to give way to freedom, ironically... probably the same kind of sentiments that are going to end up driving your reasons for doing this. I became angrier and angrier.

 
Alright, bear with me on this one... it's a thought in motion.

I've been reading a lot of Karl Barth lately. Reformed folks... don't panic! I still believe that the Bible is the Word of God, I'm not a universalist, and it was originally Karl Barth who lead me to Reformed theology, I sincerely doubt that it will be Karl Barth who leads me away from it. Why reading Barth has led me to this post should become clear in a bit.


 
I was recently challenged as I thought about apologetics and was reading 1 Peter. I was reading chapter 3 where the famous verse 15 gives us the apologetic mandate.

 
Ok, brief recap of the situation. CEO of Chick-fil-A, a blatantly Christian company, made some remarks regarding his personal views on gay marriage and affirmed that his company is a traditional company that supports traditional marriage. Those who support gay marriage rights freaked out and accused Chick-fil-A of discrimination and began to organize boycotts and other demonstrations. Those who are opposed to gay marriage rights, led by Mike Huckabee, organized a support day for Chick-fil-A in which supporters would dine at the restaurant. The support day was a huge success, with millions showing up to support the chain's traditional stances.