Many Trinitarians are actually Modalists

Ed Vasicek
Another thread led me to a paper by Fred Sanders in which he writes:
One of the most difficult aspects of coming to terms with Oneness Pentecostalism is

that these churches are culturally and sociologically evangelical. They have a high view

of Scripture‟s authority, a heart for worship, a passion for evangelizing, and a

commitment to living lives marked by holiness. Though they struggle with legalism,

they are often marked by grace, and they certainly say all the right things about salvation

Discussion

Genealogies

Barbara H.
There are two warnings about genealogies in Scripture:

I Timothy 1:4: Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

Titus 3:9: But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

What was the problem with genealogies?

Discussion

Confidence in the Word, Part 2

Gary Gilley
(See Part 1) This article appeared originally in Voice magazine, July/Aug 2009. It appears here with some format editing.

The church at Colosse apparently had come under the influence of the early stages of Gnosticism. Gnostics taught that certain individuals were privy to mystical sources of knowledge beyond the Scriptures. If one wanted to move on to maturity, according to the Gnostics, he had to tap into this extra-biblical knowledge through the methods that they taught. The Colossians, under this influence, were leaving behind the apostolic instruction concerning the Christian life (vv. 1-7) and were being deluded into adding at least five things to God’s Word.

Philosophy

Colossians 2:8-15 warns of the danger of being taken captive through philosophy and empty deception. “Philosophy” means the “love of wisdom” and the book of Proverbs tells us that the love of wisdom is a worthy pursuit (Proverbs 4:6). God does not oppose wisdom; He is against the wrong kind of wisdom. Paul warns of a pseudo-wisdom that can be identified by three characteristics:

• It is according to the traditions of men. That is, wisdom that comes from the mind of men, not the mind of God.

• It is according to the elementary principles of the world. This is likely a reference to the attempt to gain esoteric knowledge through mystical means, something the Gnostics loved (see v. 18).

• It is not according to Christ. True wisdom is found in Christ “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (v. 3). The Colossians were searching in the wrong place for wisdom. What they were looking for was found in Christ, through the Word, not in the philosophies of men.

Discussion

Confidence in the Word, Part 1

Gary Gilley
This article appeared originally in Voice magazine, July/Aug 2009. It appears here with some format editing.

Discussion

A Return to Sola Scriptura

Ed Vasicek

Martin Luther, WittenbergMany Christians have never heard the Latin term sola scriptura. It means simply “only Scripture” or “Scripture alone.” It was probably the main war cry of the Reformation. Replacing sola scriptura (in reference to all of Scripture) with the Great Commission has resulted in a movement called Neo-Evangelicalism.

Discussion

Radiometric Dating - A Possible Explanation for the Acceleration of Radioactive Decay Rates during the Flood

Matt H.
I discovered several articles from creation websites that may help explain how acceleration of radioactive decay rates occurred during the Flood from a young earth perspective.

First, I’ll give you Wikipedia’s definition of radiometric dating:

Wikipedia’s “Radiometric Dating” article states “Radiometric dating (often called radioactive dating) is a technique used to date materials, usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay products, using known decay rates.”

Discussion

Recommendations for Reformation Study?

Charlie
I’m taking a Reformation Church History course in the fall, and I’m looking for good materials on the subject that I can use in research. I’m looking for both surveys and narrower topic studies. The only requirement is that they must be written for an academic audience.

Discussion