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Some years ago, on my now non-existent blog, I had written about the day I had hosted as concelebrant a Roman Catholic priest for a funeral, and how he had struggled to reconcile himself with the uncomfortable fact that the principles upon which his own ritual Church reformed their liturgy do not govern the liturgical life of the universal Catholic Church. It's an easy enough mistake to make, what with the Latin Church sui iuris being the largest of all the Churches in Catholicism, with many—if not most—Roman Catholics thinking that the Roman way of doing things is the Catholic...

It seems every President is remembered for something. In recent decades, we recall Ronald Reagan ending the Cold War without a single shot and for making it possible for individuals to control more of their incomes (through tax cuts), and calling that (wisely) patriotic. With George H.W. Bush we saw a dramatic increase in regulations that benefited very large companies and the breaking of a "no new tax" pledge. There are few that wonder why he was only a one term president. Then there was Bill Clinton who, at first, attempted a massive take over by the federal government in...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released this statement Wednesday: In the mid-19th century, when rhetorical, emotional oratory was common, some church members and leaders used strong language that included notions of people making restitution for their sins by giving up their own lives. However, so-called "blood atonement," by which individuals would be required to shed their own blood to pay for their sins, is not a doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

41 – Baptism for Dead not Necessary 2 Nephi 9:38; “And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.” Isaiah 64:6; “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” 42 – Baptism, Resurrection, Church; Circa 120 BCMosiah 26:2; “They did not believe what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead, neither did they believe...

A careful examination of the Book of Mormon reveals many significant doctrines not found in the Bible.It is easy to underestimate the magnitude of the plain and precious truths restored through the Book of Mormon. Remember, what we find in the book came before the Nauvoo period, before the Kirtland period, even before the Church was organized in New York. The doctrines and information we discover in this book came through Joseph Smith in early 1829. In November of 1843 the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote the following to a new member of the Church: “The fact is, that by the...

Biblical theology is an important discipline for several reasons; first, it helps us to determine what themes and truths of scriptures are really important, and why. As we seek to understand how the scriptures naturally unfold, and how its themes are developed and grow ever more mature, we start to realize what's truly being emphasized. If we relied on systematic theology alone, we might come to know many truths about angels and men and sin and redemption, but which of those truths are the most important? Which are the most emphasized and developed in the history of special revelation? Is...

On St. Bonaventure's Concept of History "The Richness of the Word of Christ Is Inexhaustible" VATICAN CITY, MARCH 10, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience, which he began in St. Peter's Basilica and continued in Paul VI Hall. * * * [Greeting to the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation in St. Peter's Basilica] Dear brothers and sisters! I am happy to receive you in this basilica and to address my cordial welcome to each one of you. I greet the pilgrimage promoted by the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation after the...

Biblical theology and systematic theology are two different manners of arranging the teaching of the scriptures. Biblical theology seeks to understand the progressive unfolding of God's special revelation throughout history, whereas systematic theology seeks to present the entire scriptural teaching on certain specific truths, or doctrines, one at a time. Biblical theology is thus historical and chronological in its design; and in fact, a close synonym for biblical theology, at least in its wide-angle task of accounting for all of special revelation, is the term “redemptive history”. Biblical theology is not always pursued in so broad a fashion, however; sometimes,...

While the bible does clearly teach against the Dispensational variety of premillennialism (see questions 18-21 above), it is much more open to historic premillenialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism. Both premillennialists and postmillennialists will look to Old Testament prophecies of a golden age of gospel success on the earth (e.g. Psalm 22:25-31; Psalm 72; Isaiah 2:1-5), and say that the nature of these prophecies requires a time in which the earth will not be in its eternal state, when no one marries or dies any more, but vastly more prosperous than it is now, when the Church is always afflicted and persecuted....

Although premillennialism is often seen as a dispensational way of understanding Revelation 20, and while many premillennialists are in fact dispensationalists, there is nevertheless nothing about premillennialism in itself that demands dispensationalism. In fact, in early Church history, more than a thousand years before the development of dispensational theology, there was a group called the Chiliasts (from the Greek word for “thousand years”), which held to a premillennial interpretation of Revelation 20. In recent history, there have still been some premillennialists who are not dispensational, most notably George Ladd. Many of these prefer to distance themselves from dispensational theology by...

“Premillennialism comes from a term that means, literally, “before the thousand years”. Thus, it is essentially a way of interpreting Revelation 20, which six times mentions a period of a thousand years, during which Satan is bound and believers reign with Christ. Premillennialists believe that Christ will return and establish his Kingdom on earth, and that he will be visibly present for a thousand years, reigning over all the earth in an age of peace and prosperity. Then, after this thousand-year visible reign of Christ on earth, he will quell a final rebellion, enter into his last judgment, and finally...

A LOOK AT THE POSSIBILITY THAT CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS HAVE ERRED ON HUMAN DESTINY. The following argument was presented by Edward White in his classic book, Life In Christ, Chapter 7, pages 65–70; published in 1878 AD, 3rd Edition, by Elliot Stock, London, England. This 559 page book is now in the Public Domain In reproducing White’s argument, and making it more palatable to read, I have taken the liberty to substitute a few words to bring it more in-line to our American English understanding. I believe it worthy of consideration to anyone who desires to learn a little history of...

“Postmillennialism” comes from a term that means, literally, “after the thousand years”. Thus, it is essentially a way of interpreting Revelation 20, which six times mentions a period of a thousand years, during which Satan is bound and believers reign with Christ. Postmillennialists believe that Christ will return after a future golden age of prosperity on the earth, during which time the gospel will have been fruitful in all the world, bringing peace and security to all. Postmillennialists look to the many prophecies in the Old Testament which speak of a coming time of great blessing and prosperity (e.g. Psalm...

“Amillennialism” comes from a term that means, literally, “no thousand years”. Thus, it is essentially a way of interpreting Revelation 20, which six times mentions a period of a thousand years, during which Satan is bound and believers reign with Christ. Amillennialists believe that there will be no future thousand-year period of time when the Kingdom of God will be visibly flourishing in the world, and the whole earth will be fruitful and at peace. Speaking symbollically like the rest of Revelation, the millennium is simply a figurative way of speaking of a long period of time that is taking...

Not only does the bible not teach that there are two distinct peoples of God, Israel and the Church, but it is very explicitly opposed to this idea. For one thing, the Church existed in the Old Testament, long before the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 7:38); and furthermore, the clear teaching of the New Testament is that the modern day Church is really just the expansion of God's people Israel. According to Paul, being an Israelite has never been based merely on outward ethnicity (Rom. 2:28-29; 9:6-8); but those who have been called...

Full title: Does the bible teach that in the end times there will be a restored Jewish state and a restored temple? In the Old Testament, the bible does indeed prophesy that Israel will be restored and a more glorious temple will be rebuilt (e.g. Amos 9:11-12; Ezekiel 40-48). The preliminary fulfillment of this prophecy came with the return from exile, and the rebuilding of the temple under Nehemiah and Ezra; however, this was just a taste, or down payment, of the ultimate fulfillment. When Jesus came to this earth, his incarnation truly brought the presence of God to the...

The doctrine of a pre-tribulational rapture is not clearly taught anywhere in the scriptures, but is an inference based upon several Dispensational premises: first, that the second coming of Christ is imminent (that is, that there are no prophetic events which must precede it); second, that the “Church Age” is a parenthetical part of God's redemptive sign, and that he will one day revert to dealing with his earthly people, the Jews; and third, that the time in which he will deal with these Jews will be a seven-year period known as the Great Tribulation, which is yet to come....

According to influential author Charles Ryrie, whose views are perhaps the most representative of popular Dispensationalism, there are three “sine qua non,” (i.e. non-negotiables) of what constitutes Dispensationalism: a doxological view of history (i.e., with the ultimate purpose of glorifying God), a literal hermeneutic (i.e. method of interpreting the bible), and an ongoing distinction between the two peoples of God, Israel and the Church. A doxological purpose for all of history is certainly not unique to Dispensationalism, however, and is affirmed by many non-Dispensational theologians; so the question of whether or not Dispensationalism is biblical must hinge on what the...

How do we who call ourselves followers of the Lord of Life respond to the  chilling report that “40,000 bodies have been buried and there could be 200,000 dead in Haiti.” That paralyzing news is what we heard from the report of Shepherd Smith of Fox News on this date.[1] The earthquake in Haiti that has shaken the tiny Caribbean nation to death, but is also shaking our consciences and our souls with questions. Many are asking the great existential questions about God even as the Church is already deploying people with help and hope in His Name. There are...

Dispensationalism is a relatively modern hermeneutic, or way of interpreting the scriptures, that has roots in the teachings of John Darby, was greatly popularized by C. I. Scofield, through the notes in his study bible, became influential through the establishment of Dallas Theological Seminary and many of its professors, including Lewis Sperry Chafer and Charles Ryrie, and has been greatly sensationalized and made influential at a popular level through the fiction and dramatic predictions and interpretations of authors such as Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye. Today, Dispensationalism is hugely influential worldwide, having a significant impact not just on the doctrine...