On Failed Consensus and Justification
I had intended to keep up my comments on the Joint Declaration on Justification (JDDJ) that I began this summer, but time got away from me.
The JDDJ sets out to demonstrate that there is a common consensus between the Lutheran and Catholic signatories on the fundamental aspects of the doctrine of justification. The JDDJ is a reminder that Protestants need to engage with Roman Catholics as they actually are, not with caricatures of them…
There is much to commend with the report, as I previously mentioned. However, the JDDJ falls short of addressing the primary concerns that confessional Protestants and Trentine Catholics had with the doctrine of justification….
On The Helsinki Commission and Andrew Brunson
The U.S. Congress’ Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) held a hearing this morning on American-Turkish relations (the hearing starts around the 14:00 minute mark), with a focus on the imprisonment of American and EPC pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been held on fabricated charges since last year’s failed coup. Brunson’s daughter Jacqueline Furnari was one of the testifying witnesses…
On The Unraveling of Cultural Logic
The debate over religious liberty and abortion, as it relates to Satanism, is an indication of the weakness of a cultural attempting to legislate and rule on the basis of secular, that is, neutral, principles. Sociologist James Davison Hunter, who coined the term ‘culture wars’, has this to say in a lengthy, but valuable, article…
On Abandoning The Filioque Clause
Theological representatives from the Anglican Communion and the Oriental Orthodox Churches have signed an agreement on the Procession of the Holy Spirit. Part of this statement includes the Anglican Communion agreeing with the Orthodox that the Nicene Creed should not have had the filioque (and from the Son) clause added to it, and that they will be urging their constituent churches to remove it…
