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The New Testament Canon: Man-Made of Divine? Notes on my debate with Adnan Rashid.

Recently I was invited to speak to Ustad Adnan Rashid on the topic, "The New Testament Canon: Man-made or Divine?" Even though text-critical issues are not my forte, I thought a discussion on the temperament of the New Testament community would be something interesting to discuss with Adnan. The five ways in which I wanted to answer the question of this debate were in the following sequence: The nature of Christian inspiration in that which [...]

The Gospel behind the Gospels: Evangelion, Kerygma and early rule of Faith by Pastor Rudolph Boshoff

R.V.G Tasker Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the University of London remarks that; “There were at least thirty five years of Christian teaching and Christian missionary activity before the believers were in possession of the written records of Christ’s life and teaching, which we know as the four Gospels”… He adds: “Our faith today is bound to be conditioned by the four Gospels. The faith of the earliest Christians was independent of them.”[1] Even [...]

By |2022-08-26T09:46:04+02:00Aug 26th, 2022|Church History|0 Comments

Jesus as an adopted Son of God: The Heresy of Adoptionism by Dr Daniel Maritz

Alister McGrath explains the nature of heresy as follows: “One of the more persistent themes in early Christian accounts of heresy is that it smuggles rival accounts of reality into the household of faith. It is a Trojan horse, a means of establishing (whether by accident or design) an alternative belief system within its host. Heresy appears to be Christian, yet it is actually an enemy of faith that sows the seed of faith’s destruction.”[1] Heresies are [...]

Jesus as a Phantom: The Heresy of Docetism by Dr Daniel Maritz

In Matthew 16:13-18 Jesus asks His disciples an especially important question: “Who do you say that I am?” This question was obviously aimed towards the true identity of Jesus. Although the apostle Peter was there in that instance to answer the question correctly, during the time right after the lives of the apostles[1] many different answers to this very question Jesus posed, appeared on the scene of church history. However, any answer to Jesus’ question which [...]

Negotiating the Person of Christ by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff

(5-Minute Read) Our starting point is indeed a complex one when we reflect upon the unique Lord, Jesus Christ. All concepts are but hush assimilations of the wonderful Lord we contemplate, and, in the end, we are simply bound by the limits of human logic. That being said, what does it mean when we speak about Jesus as “person.” Brian E. Daley writes. “When Greek theologians in the early church speak of the ‘hypostasis’ of [...]

By |2021-12-19T11:35:54+02:00Dec 19th, 2021|Christology, Church History|0 Comments

Logos-Sarx Logos Anthropos: the reality of two equal distinctions by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff

(10-minute Read) One way in which the first Christian community tried to articulate what they believed was via the Early Church Councils. Even though there were quite varied beliefs concerning the Person and the Work of Jesus Christ, in the end, we are reminded that God built His Church, and these Conciliar perspectives gave us some notion as to how we could stay within the bounds of Biblical Orthodoxy. In the first seven councils, the [...]

By |2021-12-19T11:32:07+02:00Dec 19th, 2021|Christology, Church History|0 Comments

Verses on the two natures of Christ by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff

In some previous articles, I looked at some of the historical understandings concerning the two natures of Jesus Christ. In this article, I will look at the Scriptural imperatives that show the reality of the two natures of Christ. Oliver Crisp reminds us that. “Scripture is the norm for all theological judgements, and that creeds, including the Chalcedonian definition, are subordinate norms that depend upon Scripture as the norming norm.”[1] Let me just say there [...]

By |2021-12-19T13:12:04+02:00Dec 19th, 2021|Christology, Church History|0 Comments

Were the authors of the Canonical Gospels Illiterate? by Bobby Freddy

Yes, says Attorney Yusuf Ismail of the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI Durban South Africa) On Saturday night (20th Oct 2018) in a dialogue, Attorney Yusuf Ismail asked: *How Can One Prove and Say The Gospel Is From Authentic Eye Witnesses when Jesus's Disciples, who were Mere Unschooled Fishermen; Could Suddenly Communicate In Authentic Oral and Written Greek?* (Attorney Yusuf Ismail – IPCI) Despite responding to him in Oct 2018 he repeats this argument again [...]

The Pre-existing Lord by Rudolph P. Boshoff

(5-minute reading) Prince of Preachers Charles Spurgeon writes: “The most excellent study for expanding the soul is the science of Christ… Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity.”[1] Reading: John 17:1-5. “After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. [...]

By |2021-04-30T20:22:56+02:00Mar 21st, 2020|Christology, Church History|2 Comments

The Trinity in the first three centuries of Church History by Pastor Rudolph Boshoff

(15-minute read). Introduction: Prince of Preachers, Charles. H. Spurgeon said: "the proper study of God's elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father. There is something exceedingly improving [...]

By |2020-03-21T11:09:20+02:00Jan 29th, 2019|Church History, Trinity, Unitarianism, Yahweh|0 Comments
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