Always Reforming

Allow me to begin with a clarification.  I really don't want to be that guy.  We all hate that guy--the guy who reads some book and suddenly changes everything he believes; the guy who reads one big, fat book and suddenly knows more than anyone else who ever read books, earned degrees, or practiced pastoral ministry.   I hope and pray that I am not being that guy.   Nevertheless, The Shape of the Liturgy is one of those books.  It is one of those books that has the potential to inspire a Copernican Revolution is one's theological universe.  This book, if one is determined enough to dig in and mine through the tedious details and footnotes, will expose the reader to historical facts, theological concepts, and liturgical practices of which the vast majority of modern Christians, Protestants especially, are completely unaware.  The author , an Anglican monk, opens up a world, strange and compelling, which most Christians don't know exists....

The following is not designed to offend my Reformed brethren, nor is it designed to impugn the training I received from my parents and the churches in which I was raised.  My goal, rather, is to share a perspective I have gained and have come to appreciate.  Also, sometimes I get something stuck in my craw and I have to vent to get it out. Here we go. I don't know who needs to hear this, but Church history did not begin with John Wycliffe.  Church history did not begin with Martin Luther.  Church history did not begin with the Westminster Assembly or with the Synod of Dordrecht. The history of the Christian Church history began with Jesus Christ and His Apostles (I can imagine the good Presbyterians shouting "It started with Adam" at their computers right now). I was raised in a Reformed Presbyterian church.  We were a little unusual, sure, but I was raised to respect and follow the confessions of the Reformed tradition.  Studying Church history, wh...

St. Augustine of Hippo. That was the full Christian name of my now deceased cat.  I loved that cat. It was also the name of a well-known bishop and author who lived in the fourth and fifth centuries.  He is widely-respected, having been "sainted" by the Catholic Church and also being considered a spiritual father by the Reformers and even many modern Evangelicals.  John Calvin, for instance, quotes from Augustine extensively in his Institutes , many times wresting back Augustine's authority from his Catholic opponents who claimed it for their own positions. Like emo kids in the 2000's wearing tee-shirts adorned with the images of Bob Marley or The Ramones, we sometimes agree with famous theologians without ever really knowing what they taught.  Not wanting to be "that guy," I recently decided to read one of Augustine's works.  Instead of reading The City of God or Confessions , cuz, who has time for that, I decided to start with something much...

After seeing Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History  (get that edition! and read the footnotes!) referenced in, oh, just about every single book that deals with the history of the Early Church, I decided that I had to go back to the source and read it myself.  So I jumped on Amazon and bought it.  After it sat on my nightstand for about six months, I finally got around to reading it.  Here's 10 reasons why you should read it, too. #1: History has a way of humbling you.  It forces you to see that your perspective on any given topic is not only one of many, but is perhaps not even one that was considered at all in times past.  This was a particularly important lesson for me as a Presbyterian because too many of us a) think we know Church history (we actually only know post-Reformation Reformed history) and b) we think the Reformed perspective is the only valid one. #2: Eusebius preserves the writings of many early church fathers.  There is something unique...