“Only by yielding to God and giving ourselves to the object of our search can we know the God we seek.” This singular statement forces a pause for serious reflection. Located in the 4th chapter of Wilken’s work this statement conceptualizes a particularly interesting reality in the life of the Christian. We cannot master God,Continue reading “Spirit of Early Christian Thought PT. 5”
Author Archives: JTMartin
Spirit of Early Christian Thought Pt. 4
The third chapter of Wilkin’s work is entitled “The Face of God for now” and is pulled from a quote from St. Augustine which says, “For now, treat the Scripture of God as the face of God. Melt in its presence.” This is reflective of ideas we have dealt with previously regarding the notion ofContinue reading “Spirit of Early Christian Thought Pt. 4”
Spirit of Early Christian Thought Pt. 3
In this installment of the series on Robert Wilken’s “The Spirit of Early Christian Thought, ” we will be exploring a key quote from chapter 2 which is titled: An Awesome and Unbloody Sacrifice. “The Liturgy provided a kind of grammar of Christian speech, a key to how the words of the Bible are toContinue reading “Spirit of Early Christian Thought Pt. 3”
Foundations For Life
“You become what you give your attention to”- Epictetus Originally, this post was going to be focused on an idea I brought up in my second reflection on the Spirit of Early Christian Thought, however, after having a rather long conversation with my wonderful editor and close friend, I realized that this post would serveContinue reading “Foundations For Life”
Spirit of Early Christian Thought Pt. 2
Chapter 1: “Christian thinkers were not in the business of establishing something; their task was to understand and explain something.” pg 3. In the introductory post to this series, I referred you to 1 Corinthians 15:13-17, which is effectively a statement of the lynchpin of Christianity: The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Wilken identifiesContinue reading “Spirit of Early Christian Thought Pt. 2”
The Spirit of Early Christian Thought Pt. 1
“The solemn work with which the Christian ministry concerns itself demands a man’s all, and that all at its best. To engage in it half-heartedly is an insult to God and man.” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students Volume 1, 1875) This quote by Spurgeon is perhaps the best that I can provide toContinue reading “The Spirit of Early Christian Thought Pt. 1”
Navigating Moral Disgust
Maybe, just maybe, there is some way to faithfully walk through the chaotic storm of emotions and thoughts that come with the feeling of disgust, especially moral disgust. That horrible storm of pseudo-guilt, sorrow, anger, bitterness, frustration, outrage, and above all the soul-splitting disquiet that rages up from the depths of our emotional being whenContinue reading “Navigating Moral Disgust”
Commentary on Mark 1:1
Presuppositions about the Gospel of Mark: These remarks are all founded on the theory first put forward by Gilbert Bilezikian and expanded upon during my research into Mark 14:53-65: that the Gospel of Mark is best understood as a literary tragedy which is composed of biographical information collected from the eyewitnesses of the life andContinue reading “Commentary on Mark 1:1”
Reflections on Genesis 6:3
Genesis 6:3 “Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” To dig into this with any substance, I think it is worthwhile to provide a recent commentary note found in the CSB Study Bible that paintsContinue reading “Reflections on Genesis 6:3”
Loving and Hating the Church
What comes in this post is an idea I’ve wrestled with since my first exposure to the scathing rebukes of Contemporary Christianity found in the works of A.W. Tozer, Leanord Ravenhill, G.K. Chesterton, and several others. Throughout history, the most scathing and aggressive commentators on the flaws of the Body of Christ in each eraContinue reading “Loving and Hating the Church”
In Step With God 