Reformed Philosophy

Interested in "reformed philosophy"....who isn't right?!

The reformed church has quite a history of formidable philosophers that is currently being carried on by philosophers like Alvin Plantiga and Nicholas Wolterstorff and James K.A. Smith. Here is a great website named philosphia reformita, at the top of the page it lists some of the big names in reformed philosophy, giving a brief biography of the philosopher as well as a listing of all the written works by the author and the online works that are available by that particular author. It also has a link to the philosphia reformita journal which has a few (but not many) of it's articles available for free.

Also here is a great website that lists the majority of Alvin Plantiga's articles and gives links of the ones that are available to read online.

Jerusalem in the New Testamant by N.T. Wright

Good introductory article into the social and historical setting of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus by NT Wright. NT Wright's book Simply Jesus opened my eyes up to the beauty of seeing the gospel in the light of it's historical context. His more scholarly work New Testament and the People of God helped to turn my fascination into a deeper understanding and appreciation for the complexities of the 1st century. This article is a good first taste for someone who has not read some of the above works mentioned.

Jerusalem in the NT _Wright_.pdf

Dr. Constable' bible study notes (sonic light)

On the resources page is the link to dr. constable's bible study notes; but it's such a good resource that I wanted to throw it out on the normal blog posts as well. I was just using it to look at his notes on the gospel of Luke and as I was flipping through around 300 pg's of notes on Luke I was astounded and just wanted to let more people know about this great resource.

Dr. Constable is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS), which is known for it's theological bent towards dispensationalism, and I believe this will show in some of his notes on Daniel and Revelation.

Two Sources on the Genealogy of Jesus

From IVP Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels:

GENEALOGY

A genealogy is the record of a person’s ancestral descent. While the word itself is not found in the Gospels (cf. 1 Tim 1:4; Tit 3:9; Heb 7:6), the only extended examples of genealogies in the NT are in Matthew and Luke and trace the ancestry of Jesus.

As Matthew’s and Luke’s infancy narratives differ  [p. 254] from each other, so do their genealogies: each has a different structure, (somewhat) different contents and different purposes, and each is located in a different place in their respective Gospels.

1. Matthew’s Genealogy (Mt 1:1-17)

2. Luke’s Genealogy (Lk 3:23-38)

3. A Comparison of the Genealogies

Dictionary of Early Christian Biography

I have recently been searching through the "dictionary of early christian biography" and found it really useful....the content and great and probably one of the best things about it is that is free and easily accessible on the web and several bible programs. You can download the pdf version or more easily search it through studylight.


This dictionary covers early church history up till the 600's. It is full of names, doctrines, councils and literature of this time period. Fascinating time period and awesome tool to help dig through it.

Christianity in the Roman Empire (Article from George Mason University)

I enjoyed this article on Christianity in the Roman Empire from George Mason University’s Course on History of the Western World. (copied below) It is a good and simple summary of some of the major elements that came together to create the "perfect storm" (wright-simply Jesus). It highlights the roman political and social atmosphere as well as the Jewish religious and political situation that created the atmosphere and background of the New Testament. 

In the Fullness of Time: Christianity in the Roman Empire

"When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son."
Galatians 4:4, KJV

From the first century, Christians have claimed that the world was uniquely prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ and the birth of Christianity. Perhaps it was the phenomenal spread of the new faith that sparked these claims. Indeed, it is estimated that by 312 A.D. one in ten people in the Roman world called themselves Christians.^[1]

Probably no period in the history of the world was better suited to receive the infant church than the first century A.D….By the second century Christians…began to argue that it was a divine providence which had prepared the world for the advent of Christianity.^[2]

What kind of world would allow for such a rapid spread of this new faith? What was the historical context for the advent of Christianity? There are at least three sources of influence that came together in the Roman Empire that seem to have encouraged its early success: the political influence of the Romans, the cultural and intellectual influence of the Greeks, and the religious influence of the Jews.^[3]

Church as Missionary Church

“The Christian church, according to Acts, is a missionary church that responds obediently to Jesus’ commission, acts on Jesus’ behalf in the extension of his ministry, focuses its proclamation of the kingdom of God in its witness to Jesus, is guided and empowered by the selfsame Spirit that directed and supported Jesus’ ministry, and follows a program whose guidelines for outreach have been set by Jesus himself.”

(From NIV Expositor's Commentary on Acts 1:8)