tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.comments2023-05-12T07:29:46.697-05:00A Parish Lifegileskirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11546229381528820614noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-18391112000860316042015-10-01T13:43:08.445-05:002015-10-01T13:43:08.445-05:00This was very helpful. Still rejoicing in my time ...This was very helpful. Still rejoicing in my time as a distance Gileskirk student, I always enjoy keeping up with your blogs. Thank you!Gabrielahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07517539941863646826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-29536255493383489802014-12-27T09:08:12.738-06:002014-12-27T09:08:12.738-06:00Thank you for this.Thank you for this.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10290484211392817861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-12593828032300455902014-11-17T14:37:26.606-06:002014-11-17T14:37:26.606-06:00You're right, Michael. At least, in each of t...You're right, Michael. At least, in each of the cases you've mentioned, you're right. The problem is that there are dozes of other councils and decrees that called into question the apocryphal books. Indeed, that's the whole problem with tradition: when it comes to these books there isn't a single unified and uniform tradition; there are dozens of variant traditions.<br />gileskirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11546229381528820614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-7950354340575845372014-11-17T14:07:20.445-06:002014-11-17T14:07:20.445-06:00While it is true that the canon of holy Scripture ...While it is true that the canon of holy Scripture was not formally defined for Roman Catholics until the Council of Trent, a century before that, the ecumenical Council of Florence, in condemning the idea that one God inspired the New Testament and another God the Old Testament, listed the books that Roman Catholics consider inspired. It is the same list as that of the Council of Trent. And more than a millennium before the Council of Florence, local councils in Rome (382), Hippo(393) and Carthage(397 and 419) produced lists that were identical, or nearly identical, to the list from Trent. There is also a letter from Pope Innocent in the year 405 that includes the deuterocanonical books.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15093254913880842806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-7974695043958972442014-07-07T14:39:09.494-05:002014-07-07T14:39:09.494-05:00I totally agree, Drew.I totally agree, Drew.gileskirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11546229381528820614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-75021008402420787842014-07-07T14:21:37.293-05:002014-07-07T14:21:37.293-05:00Being a Protestant (Anglican), I like the approach...Being a Protestant (Anglican), I like the approach of the XI Article of Religion -- I read those books for instruction in life and manners (and, for example, information about the intertestimental period) but not to establish doctrine.Drew Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08091122682509291776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-50804616288411795542014-07-04T17:04:32.365-05:002014-07-04T17:04:32.365-05:00Thank you! That gives me much to think about. :)Thank you! That gives me much to think about. :)Brandy Vencelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17945305890488681685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-79802663430728255562014-07-04T16:17:07.429-05:002014-07-04T16:17:07.429-05:00Great question. The truth is, the faith and practi...Great question. The truth is, the faith and practice of the church through the Medieval Age was a bit of a hodgepodge. So usage of the apocryphal books, as with so much else in the spiritual life of the church, varied widely from place to place. So, in some places, the Apocrypha was thought to be authoritative. In others, it was not. The point is though, it was not officially added to the canon until the Council of Trent. Oh and one other note: just because an artist rendered Aquinas in that way does not mean that he would have approved or condoned that portrayal. gileskirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11546229381528820614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-76948935897326854912014-07-04T15:28:41.843-05:002014-07-04T15:28:41.843-05:00I have been wondering about this lately. I am givi...I have been wondering about this lately. I am giving a talk this summer on the <i>Allegory of Christian Learning</i>, a fresco in Florence that depicts Aquinas' view of the intellect. In his lap sits the book of Wisdom {open}, and a verse is inscribed on the pages. {Wisdom 7:7, 8} I suppose I get confused why these verses are on the pages, and in such a prominent place in the painting, when it was painted in either the 1300s or 1400s -- which means before Wisdom was canonized by the Catholic Church. I'm a Protestant, so I'm not trying to stir up trouble. :) Why would the book be quoted like that? Not that non-Scripture books can't be quoted in a painting, of course, but it just seemed strange to me. Was it being used by the church authoritatively before it was canonized?Brandy Vencelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17945305890488681685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-59074035411983621732014-05-01T02:41:39.042-05:002014-05-01T02:41:39.042-05:00This looks great! I cannot find it available on Am...This looks great! I cannot find it available on Amazon. Where could I find a copy, sir? Is it available as an eBook?MLShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-13172947201618207612013-12-31T19:40:38.436-06:002013-12-31T19:40:38.436-06:00Amen.Amen.MLShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-72032671542665016522013-10-15T13:11:46.732-05:002013-10-15T13:11:46.732-05:00Reminds me of the encouraging words of my dear unc...Reminds me of the encouraging words of my dear uncle, who has now gone to be with the Lord. Years ago, when he was imploring me to read the Bible again and again, all the way through, he once said to me: "Marty, imagine getting to heaven and the Lord Jesus coming over, putting his arm around you, and saying, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. So... how did you like my Book?'" Hope we'll have no reason to be ashamed.MLShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-57399390001287536932013-10-07T03:54:25.135-05:002013-10-07T03:54:25.135-05:00Thank you for sharing this! I give you and her a ...Thank you for sharing this! I give you and her a hearty, "Amen!"MLShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-54003271234957129532013-09-26T10:18:38.067-05:002013-09-26T10:18:38.067-05:00It has been a long night here in Georgia. Sitting ...It has been a long night here in Georgia. Sitting here with my cat and pen/paper sorting thru things with Father God. I "stumbled" across your blog and it has helped me with my sorting. Just wanted to let you know the blog postings are appreciated.goldenladybugghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16937454516498723709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-81032249930212613152013-03-20T10:00:31.648-05:002013-03-20T10:00:31.648-05:00Great question. John Frame wrote on this a few yea...Great question. John Frame wrote on this a few years ago in his now infamous monograph "Machen's Warring Children", as have so many others over the years.<br /><br />I love Jeremiah Burroughs' Puritan classic, "Irenicum: Healing the Divisions Among God's People."<br /><br />And of course, Ken Sande and the ministry of Peacemakers has done excellent work in our own day.<br /><br />But, as you point out, such admonitions are only as effectual as our willingness to hear and heed.gileskirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11546229381528820614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-40056806670035249562013-03-20T09:45:44.024-05:002013-03-20T09:45:44.024-05:00George, I'd appreciate any thoughts you'd ...George, I'd appreciate any thoughts you'd care to share on how we promote deeper unity among brothers who disagree so that we do not resort to party spirit and political action committees, while recognizing that some people are 'lint-pickers' and will never want to work to break down the barriers between brothers who don't agree on everything.JOBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17745101412264093530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-19025712987663223852012-12-10T21:31:39.375-06:002012-12-10T21:31:39.375-06:00Ben: Read each of these very conditional statement...Ben: Read each of these very conditional statements in their full context (as I did just this evening). Chalmers is summarizing various theories and possibilities, not endorsing them (notice, his constant refrain of "if"). Indeed, he asserts at the beginning of the essay that his purpose is to protect the integrity and veracity of the "Mosaical history." And, he avers to the fact that he is not a geologist and therefore is not positing a theory but only proposing that any number of solutions to apparent contradictions might yet be possible. This is hardly the articulation or popularization of a theory!gileskirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11546229381528820614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-46084069372170811172012-12-10T21:04:47.491-06:002012-12-10T21:04:47.491-06:00I'm sorry to say that the otherwise esteemed D...I'm sorry to say that the otherwise esteemed Dr. Chalmers did, in fact, endorse the "gap" theory (he did not invent it), lent his influence to it throughout his life, and was critical of the identified group of theologians and geologists who defended the orthodox view. You may read the well-documented account in Terry Mortenson, The Great Turning Point: The Church's Catastrophic Mistake on Geology--Before Darwin, (Master Books, 2004). Or, you may read it in Chalmers's Works themselves. Here is a sample from vol. 12, in his 1814 review of Georges Cuvier's Theory of the Earth:<br /><br />"Should the phenomena compel us to assign a greater antiquity to the globe than to that work of days detailed in the book of Genesis, there is still one way of saving the credit of the literal history. The first creation of the earth and the heavens may have formed no part of that work. This took place at the beginning, and is described in the first verse of Genesis. It is not said when this beginning was. We know the general impression to be that it was on the earlier part of the first day, and that the first act of creation formed part the same day's work with the formation of light. We ask our readers to turn to that chapter and to the first five verses of it. Is there any forcing in the supposition, that the first verse describes the primary act of creation, and leaves us at liberty to place it as far back as we may; that the first half of the second verse describes the state of the earth (which may already have existed for ages, and been the theatre of geological revolutions) at the point time anterior to the detailed operations of this chapter; and that the motion of the spirit of God, described in the second clause of the second verse, was the commencement of these operations? In this case the creation of the light may have been the great and leading event of the first day; and Moses may be supposed to give us not a history of the first formation of things, but of the formation of the present system; and as we have already proved the necessity of direct exercises of creative power to keep up the generations of living creatures; so Moses may for any thing we know be giving us the full history of the last great interposition, and be describing the successive steps by which the mischiefs of the last catastrophe were repaired" (pp. 369-70).<br /><br />What is more, Chalmers is aware that Cuvier's theory includes the death of animals in the supposedly earlier epochs of earth's history: "Enough for us the fact that each catastrophe has the chance of destroying, or does in fact destroy, a certain number of genera" (p. 364). He goes so far as to say, "It is evident, however, that if the earth had been at some former period the fair residence of life, she had now become void and formless; and if the sun and moon and stars at some former period had given light, that light had been extinguished. It is not our part to assign the cause of a catastrophe which carried so extensive a destruction along with it; but he were a bold theorist indeed who could assert that in the wide chambers of immensity no such cause is to be found" (p. 372). So he admits of death before the fall, a serious theological error in addition to the hermeneutical compromise, and all for the sake of being consistent with ephemeral contemporary science.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12988612181884934348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-27645816415895772032012-12-10T08:12:04.271-06:002012-12-10T08:12:04.271-06:00So excited to hear that there are two e-books of C...So excited to hear that there are two e-books of Chalmers one available by Christmas, the other maybe Epiphany?<br /><br />Have enjoyed your lectures on Chalmers repeatedly over the years.<br /><br />Any projections for when "Wider Diameter" and "Parish Life" might hit the streets?<br /><br />Very thankful for your work on Chalmers.<br /><br />Chris<br /><br />Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07023129245552094356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-61752609586920251122012-12-07T09:01:06.106-06:002012-12-07T09:01:06.106-06:00Thanks so much!Thanks so much!Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01055905333350570428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-54526893458809508112012-12-07T07:59:49.621-06:002012-12-07T07:59:49.621-06:00Tom: I found it quoted in Thomas McKillen's &q...Tom: I found it quoted in Thomas McKillen's "Memoirs of a Parish Kirk," (Edinburgh, 1881). Apparently, it was a quip he made to his students at either the University of Edinburgh or at New College Edinburgh following the Disruption.gileskirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11546229381528820614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-39679427658477410052012-12-07T06:50:04.618-06:002012-12-07T06:50:04.618-06:00Thanks for your post. Do you happen to have a sour...Thanks for your post. Do you happen to have a source for the Chalmers quote, "No matter how large, your vision is too small"? Or would you know where I might start looking to find the source? <br /><br />Thanks!Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01055905333350570428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-16068064148444172422012-12-06T19:46:54.711-06:002012-12-06T19:46:54.711-06:00Please do!Please do!Bonniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03944984613918619990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-5608316652848145082012-12-03T11:11:35.246-06:002012-12-03T11:11:35.246-06:00Her conviction and determination were evidence of ...Her conviction and determination were evidence of God's unbelievable grace. I'm reminded of I John 5:5 and strive to have a heart like this.vanchandlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00668628704615547505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4499254248439499261.post-44061140002144050322012-09-18T21:55:41.480-05:002012-09-18T21:55:41.480-05:00Indeed. And to be replaced with a "News and B...Indeed. And to be replaced with a "News and Booze" corner shop and a cheap carpet peddler! Uggh!gileskirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11546229381528820614noreply@blogger.com