Recently, I finished a book called A History of Heresy by David Christie-Murray, published in 1976. Christie-Murray has an interesting background: after 27 years of being ordained in the Anglican Church, he resigned orders to join the Society of Friends or Quakers. The book left me unsure whether he is a Christian Quaker or one…
Tag: doctrine
Depraved and Deprived
“If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness, he is conceited, understanding nothing, but has a sick interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the…
I Never Knew You
A few times in the last couple weeks, I have found myself wondering, “How well do I know the Lord? How well do I know Him *really*?” I can go black and white pretty easily so my first reaction was to doubt whether I knew the Lord at all. But after more reflection I decided…
Truth, the Person
Sketch by Patrick Murphy: inspiredsketch.blogspot.com Jesus is real. I could not deny that any more than I could deny my wife and kids, who live with me. Jesus is not a set of propositional truths to be debated. Christians may derive propositional truths or creeds from Jesus, but creeds are not Christ. Creeds or doctrinal…
Focus
”Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God“ (2 John 9). Notice John does not say, “Anyone who doesn’t believe in a literal seven day creation does not have God.” He does not say, “Anyone who doesn’t believe in post-millenial eschatology does not have God.” (And…
Doctrine Himself
Lately, I’ve been meditating on a line from Psalm 73: “God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26). I’ve known God is my portion for years. But for those same years I have lived with dissatisfaction. The truth I knew didn’t make up for the grief I felt about what I…
The Gospel of God
“[T]he good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God…” (Mark 1:1). Jesus Christ is the gospel. The Corinthians thought it was about spiritual gifts and supernatural manifestations. While encouraging them in the gifts of the spirit, Paul pointed the Corinthians to something even greater: Jesus Christ and Him crucified, the wisdom and power […]
The Commonality of the Indwelling Christ–Mallory Patrick
The following is an excerpt from an essay by Mallory Patrick. Read the full essay here. Mallory is my sister-in-law and founder of Gathered Fragments Book Sanctuary. Gathered Fragments seeks to preserve books of all times and places that present Christ crucified. *** The Commonality of the Indwelling Christ The Need Any believer who hungers…
Christology Is Theology
Pantocrator Icon. This is a common depiction of Jesus among Orthodox Christians. Jesus is holding the scriptures, which shows that He watches over our doctrine. Some core Christian doctrines are represented in the icon. The three fingers on Jesus’s right hand touch to symbolize the Trinity. Two fingers above slightly overlap; the upper finger represents…
The Gospel of God
“[T]he good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God…” (Mark 1:1). Jesus Christ is the gospel. The Corinthians thought it was about spiritual gifts and supernatural manifestations. While encouraging them in the gifts of the spirit, Paul pointed the Corinthians to something even greater: Jesus Christ and Him crucified, the wisdom and power…
The Voice of One 