A rich, but very busy semester has cut into the frequency of my blog postings this year. However, a spring “snow day” here in Manitoba has provided me with the opportunity to share a quote from the 4th century Church Father Gregory Nazianzus. I was lecturing on the Cappadocian Fathers last week in my “Reading with the Fathers” class and we will be discussing Gregory’s “Defense of His Flight to Pontus,” as well as his “Last Farewell” (delivered at the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D.) this coming week. Continue reading Gregory Nazianzus on the Pursuit of Wisdom
Tag Archives: Church Fathers
Athanasius Addresses the Contemporary Church
Thomas G. Weinandy concludes his book Athanasius: A Theological Introduction (Aldershot: Ashgate, 207) with a set of brief, but penetrating reflections upon lessons that the contemporary North American church and academy would do well to learn from the 4th century Church Father. Here are a few of the incisive paragraphs on what Athanasius has to teach us about reading Scripture: Continue reading Athanasius Addresses the Contemporary Church
Restoring Catholicity (One Course at a Time)
With a new year comes a new semester and I am particularly looking forward to this coming semester at Providence Theological Seminary. In addition to the introductory “Theological Foundations” course, I am also going to be teaching an intensive course on the Holy Spirit and Eschatology in March and, beginning next week, a semester-length course entitled “Reading with the Fathers.” A keen and bright group of students have registered for the course and I am excited about what we will discover as we dig into the writings of Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, Gregory Nazianzus, and Augustine. Continue reading Restoring Catholicity (One Course at a Time)
Reading with the Fathers
For many years now I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to teach a course on the Church Fathers. In January, the day will finally arrive. I’ve recently finished drafting my syllabus for the course I’ll be offering in the winter term entitled: “Theologians of the Church: Reading with the Fathers.” The course will consist of a combination of lectures and seminars around primary readings from the Fathers. You can read the course description below. As there are many students who come from Mennonite and evangelical traditions where the Church Fathers are either ignored or perhaps even looked upon with suspicion, it seemed important to cast the description in an apologetic key. Continue reading Reading with the Fathers
The Spirit of Early Christian Thought
I’m in the midst of reviewing some resources for a course I’m going to be offering on the Church Fathers in the winter and came across this quote from the introduction to Robert Wilken’s wonderful book The Spirit of Early Christian Thought that resonates with Robyn’s and Don’s comments on my previous post: Continue reading The Spirit of Early Christian Thought