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Evangelical

2025-04-04T17:16:04-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Gerald Bray’s Athens and Jerusalem– Part Nine

Last updated on: April 4, 2025 at 5:16 pm By Ben Witherington

It was not until about 1200 A.D. that we had universities to house and promote the acquiring of knowledge and wisdom, but there were precursors who made clear that such institutions were needed what with the developments of disciplines such as the study of law, or medicine, as well as theology. One leading theologian who helped to pave the way forward was indeed Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), perhaps the first really great English speaking theologian. Anselm believed that the law... Read more

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God is love

2025-04-04T16:36:45-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Gerald Bray’s Athens and Jerusalem– Part Eight

Last updated on: April 4, 2025 at 4:36 pm By Ben Witherington

According to Gerald Bray, the first real systematic theologian of the Christian church was John of Damascus (675-750). He lived under Muslim rule in Syria and then Palestine as well. He was a leading critic of iconoclasm, which was the movement to destroy images on the basis that it was a sacrilege to represent God in images, since God is spirit. But as John was to argue, there couldn’t be images of the divine nature since it is invisible, but... Read more

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What does it mean to be a nominal Christian?

2025-04-04T13:30:58-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Gerald Bray’s– Athens and Jerusalem– Part Seven

Last updated on: April 4, 2025 at 1:30 pm By Ben Witherington

A.D. 529 is when the Christian emperor closed the philosophical schools in Athens. But all sorts of philosophical debates were going on in the church surrounding the two natures of Christ. Part of the discussion led to the discussion that Christ must have had two wills– one human one divine. This is where I agree with Richard Bauckham, that we should be talking about Christ being part of the divine identity, not be talking about two natures in Christ. This... Read more

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The impossible impassible dilemma.

The truth is in the details

2025-04-04T10:46:10-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Gerald Bray’s Athens and Jerusalme– Part Six

Last updated on: April 4, 2025 at 10:46 am By Ben Witherington

Throughout much of Christian history, Christian thinkers have flirted with the idea of ‘the immortal soul’. You can see it for instance, as early as Origen’s writings and many others after him. It ultimately does go back to Plato. But there are serious problems with this and here’s a short list: 1) immortal would seem to mean always existing, but the Christian doctrine of creation rules out the idea that some part of humans has always existed. This in turn... Read more

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Whence evil?

2025-04-04T10:03:23-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve Been Branded by Russell– Not Bertrand Russell

Last updated on: April 4, 2025 at 10:03 am By Ben Witherington

One doesn’t know whether to be flattered or flattened by this sudden endorsement. BW3 Read more

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I didn't see this coming

2025-04-04T10:12:08-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Gerald Bray’s Athens and Jerusalem– Part Five

Last updated on: April 4, 2025 at 10:12 am By Ben Witherington

It is a neglected but interesting fact that the portion of the Bible most commented on as the church emerged into the daylight of governmental legitimacy in the 4th and 5th centuries was indeed Gen. 1-3, as Bray points out. It is precisely the doctrine of creation, as something quite separate from the creator, which separated Biblical Theology from various sorts of pagan philosophies. But it is also what separates Biblical theology from various more recent religions for example Hinduism,... Read more

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The crucial doctrine of creation

2025-04-04T09:21:57-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Gerald Bray’s Athens and Jerusalem– Part Four

Last updated on: April 4, 2025 at 9:21 am By Ben Witherington

Lest you think this book will only deal with the influence of say Plato and Aristotle and their successors, we will also be regaled with Socrates, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Xenophanes and others. The book is a short course in almost all the influential Greek philosophers, early and and late, including of course those who led to Stoicism, Cynicism, Epicureanism and more. And we see how very influential these philosophers were, both directly and indirectly on the founders of America– particularly Thomas... Read more

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lovers of wisdom unite

2025-04-03T21:01:58-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Gerald Bray’s, Athens and Jerusalem–Part Three

Last updated on: April 3, 2025 at 9:01 pm By Ben Witherington

The summary of the substance of this book on Amazon says the following: “In Athens and Jerusalem, Gerald Bray shows how history has been shaped by a myriad of attempts to relate philosophy and theology. Bray’s tour spans from the early church to the present, pointing out impacts on the church, academy, and society. Athens and Jerusalem offers a lively and accessible chronicle of the relationship between philosophy and theology and how we can think about both today.” In this post we... Read more

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or the love of logic?

The love of wisdom

2025-04-03T14:36:23-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Gerald Bray’s Athens and Jerusalem— Part Two

Last updated on: April 3, 2025 at 2:36 pm By Ben Witherington

As I have already alluded to, I know of no better survey of the development and interaction of philosophy and Christian theology than this one, and it is written in a clear way that divinity students can understand, though it would help if they had had some prior courses in philosophy. It is interesting that the first major Christian theologian, Tertullian, had something of an allergic reaction to the suggestion that Greek philosophy and Christian theology could be dialogue partners.... Read more

Education and Religion

History and Religion

2025-04-03T12:26:18-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Gerald Bray’s Athens andJerusalem-Part One

Last updated on: April 3, 2025 at 12:26 pm By Ben Witherington

Sometimes a book comes along, and this one just showed up last month, that is so comprehensive and profound that it can be called an instant classic. Gerald Bray’s new book is just such a book. Long ago I took a course in the Intellectual History of the West at Carolina which covered much the same ground as this book, but without a Christian perspective on the development of philosophy and theology. It is perfectly clear that Bray has read... Read more

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