Ignatius of Antioch

Theology Responses Question #1: What changes has the practice of ministry had on your interpretation of (a) the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and (b) the work of the Holy Spirit? Beside my grandmother, front pew on the preacher’s right, St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Ocala, Florida (hereafter referred to as St. Mark’s). That’s where I began to confess the Lordship of Jesus. In the earliest formative years of my life, I stood with those precious folks and recited, “I believe in Jesus Christ…

Internal Evidence of Early Authorship All of the New Testament was written in the first century. Some scholars date them toward the middle and others toward the end. Usually, the late dating of the gospels is based on knowledge and predictions around the destruction of the temple. That is since some do not believe in the message of the New Testament––they do not believe Jesus could predict future events––and so the gospels must have been written after AD 70 if they predict these events. This is…

To place Christ as part of the divine with a singular God was to deny the emperor his power and influence. Facing these tidal headwinds coming from the emperor, the promotion of Christology was viewed as useful propaganda by early Christians. It became a useful guide to explain many of the mysteries surrounding the human nature of Jesus, his good deeds, and his subsequent resurrection into Heaven. While trying to convince an audience couched in Greek philosophy, practitioners of Christology…