The Voice of The Salvation Army

Original Sin

Are people inherently good or evil? How can we be free from the bondage of sin?

January 18, 2012 by James Pedlar Leave a Comment


Sin

Several times in Augustine’s Confessions we find the following prayer: “Give me the grace to do as you command, and command me to do what you will.” In this prayer, Augustine admits that he needs God’s grace in a radical way—not only to know what God commands, but also to do what God commands. Augustine was saying that he could not obey God without divine assistance. This … [Read more...]

Tears in the Manger

In our eagerness to assert that Jesus is divine, we sometimes lose sight of his humanity

December 19, 2011 by James Pedlar 1 Comment


Manger

Our God contracted to a span, Incomprehensibly made man. These lines from a Christmas hymn by Charles Wesley express an important truth: the Incarnation is a mystery beyond human comprehension. While the Councils of Nicaea (AD 325) and Constantinople (AD 381) clearly stated that Jesus was “true God from true God,” they left some questions unanswered about how Jesus could be both human and … [Read more...]

Thank God for Heretics

How fighting theological errors has kept the Church on track—Part one of six

December 2, 2011 by James Pedlar 2 Comments


heresy

Believe it or not, Christians owe a lot to heretics. The word “heresy” comes from a Greek word meaning “choice.” A heretic is someone who chooses to believe something that is in contradiction to official church doctrine. But church doctrine has developed gradually over time, and some of the most important doctrinal developments were made precisely in order to exclude particular heresies. … [Read more...]