Probably my favorite theologian of the early church, Irenaeus was a thinker captivated by the pursuit of truth about God. Here’s a quick rundown of his life and legacy, as well as the elements of his theology that most stand out to me.
church history
The Earliest Church Fathers on Election and Predestination (Part Two: Apostolic Fathers)
Christians have long wrestled with the subject of how God’s plans and actions in salvation interact with human responsibility and choice. And it is common for proponents of any theological system to appeal to the writings of theologians from the… Read More ›
What Did Worship Look Like in the Early Church?
In my recent deep-dive back into church history, one of the things I’ve been most interested in is learning more about what early Christian worship looked like. There’s certainly a lot we can learn simply from reading the New Testament…. Read More ›
The Earliest Church Handbook: The Didache
In this new video post, I’m giving a quick introduction to what is likely the oldest church handbook in history, The Didache (aka the “Teaching” or “Instruction”). This short, ancient text gives us a fascinating window into the everyday practices… Read More ›
Getting to Know the Earliest Church Fathers
The history of Christianity is long and complex, but as I’ve written previously, there are a ton of reasons why it’s worth getting to know a little more about. Learning how the earliest Christians understood and lived out their faith… Read More ›
Why You Should Study Church History (And Where to Start)
You know the old cliché: “Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.” And yet, sadly, when the subject of church history is brought up among many churchgoers these days, there’s not a lot of knowledge evident…. Read More ›
A New Chapter in My Faith Journey (or, Why I Haven’t Posted in Over a Month!)
If you’ve already been following this blog for a while, you’ve probably noticed I haven’t posted anything in a while. There are a lot of reasons for this, and rather than write them all out, I figured it’d be easier… Read More ›
Best Books to Begin Studying Theology
Last week I had a friend of mine ask me for a list of books I would recommend for someone wanting to start seriously studying theology. Naturally I was pleased to answer, and I also thought it would be good… Read More ›
Why Have Women Traditionally Been Excluded from Ministry? And Other Objections to Women in Ministry Answered (Pt. 4)
So far in this series on women in ministry we’ve talked about my journey with the subject and why I interpret 1 Timothy 2:11-15 as not forbidding female pastors. In the last post I addressed some potential objections to women… Read More ›
Women in Ministry, Pt. 3: Addressing Some Biblical Questions
In my previous post I argued that 1 Timothy 2:11-15 (often viewed as the strongest biblical passage against female pastors) is not a universal, absolute prohibition against women having authority in the church. Rather, it was addressing a particular, local situation in Ephesus… Read More ›
Theology Pathfinder 