Veracity Hill

05/01/2024

For being such an early theologian, we've got a fair number of materials from Origen to work through.

This week, we're highlighting his On First Principles, his effort to lay out a unifying vision of Christian theology.

03/01/2024

What do you make of this claim from Origen? Out of context, there may be some qualifiers needed. How would you qualify this statement if you were trying to present it in the best way possible?

01/01/2024

This week, we thought we'd start at the origin... or Origen, if you will.

Living somewhere around 185 - 284, Origen was one of the most prolific early theologians of the Church. Though he was later labeled a heretic (and rightly so), his early efforts made progress in understanding many essential doctrines of our faith today.

29/12/2023

We thought we'd share a highly regarded work on the life and importance of Saint Nicholas and how he came to be tied to the Christmas season, though we've not read it. Have you?

Are there other resources on the subject you've enjoyed?

27/12/2023

Give because you have been given.

25/12/2023

Merry Christmas, everyone!

There was only one acceptable theologian for this week. Saint Nicholas of Myra! Little is known about Nicholas of Myra, who served as a Bishop of the church in the late 200s into the 300s. But stories of legendary generosity surround his life, and these stories eventually gave birth to Jolly Old Saint Nick.

22/12/2023

Believed to have been composed shortly after his brother Basil's death and his sister Macrina's subsequent death, this book works through a hypothetical dialogue between Gregory of Nyssa and his now-deceased sister around the Christian understanding of the nature of the soul and the resurrection.

20/12/2023

Gregory of Nyssa, himself being a great synthesizer of Greek philosophy, Jewish, and Eastern Christian tradition, was no enemy to foreign, pagan, or original ideas. Yet, he found that apart from some Christ, secular efforts often fall short of explaining and giving meaning to life.

18/12/2023

This week, we travel back to the 300s (335-395) and look at one of the so-called Cappadocians - Gregory of Nyssa!

Gregory's work focused heavily on the nature-energy distinction, teasing out God's divine and transcendent nature and his immanent energies.

15/12/2023

This week's featured work is likely Dr. Craig's most well-known. Besides Reasonable Faith, are there any other writings from Dr. Craig you think are essential reading for the modern Christian thinker?

13/12/2023

What do you make of this assessment from Dr. Craig? How can we address this concern within our faith communities and more broadly?

11/12/2023

This week's featured theologian is Dr. William Lane Craig.

Undoubtedly, many of you have encountered some of Dr. Craig's work - from his debates and discussions with renowned atheists to his hefty philosophical and theological tomes, Dr. Craig is one of the most prolific modern theologians alive today.

08/12/2023

Veracity Hill has been quietly working on some things behind the scenes, and we're excited to share one of them with you today!

Introducing the new Veracity Hill identity system. In this video, Dr. J explores the history and heart behind Veracity Hill and reveals some visual changes you'll be seeing around here.

https://ow.ly/Lx8F50QgMsW

08/12/2023

Not many of Justin's many works remain accessible to us now, but there are a few we've preserved or recovered over time. Featured this week is Church Historian Philip Schaff's "The Writings of Justin Martyr."

Justin's most referenced work is undoubtedly his First Apology, in which Justin tried to convince then-Emporer Antoninus of the rich morality of the Christian people to dissuade him from his persecution of the Church.

06/12/2023

What do you make of Justin's claim here?

Justin would extrapolate from this idea that there were certain "Christian" philosophers - namely Socrates & Plato - who could be considered Christians as he felt their works anticipated and folded into so many Christian ideas.

04/12/2023

This week, we're looking at the life and work of Justin Martyr, one of the very first Christian apologists and philosophers!

Unfortunately, many of his works are lost in antiquity. Still, from the surviving materials, because of the work of Eusebius and other early church historians, we know that Justin was a prolific writer and active defender of the faith - ultimately leading to martyrdom.

We're thankful for the early and continued witness of the faithful who contended for the truth at significant cost. Because of the faithfulness of God through people like Justin, the faith endures.

01/12/2023

What do you make of Plantinga's claim from Knowledge and Christian Belief that faith is a kind of knowledge?

29/11/2023

This week, we're looking at the work of the A/C master himself, Dr. Alvin Plantinga. IYKYK. Plantinga is likely one of, if not the most influential philosopher of religion, of the last 50 years.

Which of his arguments or ideas are you most familiar with?

24/11/2023

As we mentioned Monday, Christians regarded Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians so highly that many considered it on par with the scriptures themselves. They were mistaken, but the sentiment is understandable due to the Epistle's rich wisdom.

22/11/2023

20/11/2023

Today, we return to the Church's earliest days to find our Theologian of the Week. This week, we're featuring the thoughts and works of none other than Clement of Rome - one of the Early Church's most highly-regarded theologians.

Clement's First Epistle to the Church in Corinth was one of the most important letters for Christians into the 5th century and continues to be a great fount of wisdom.

What do you think about Clement and his works?

17/11/2023

The Bible stands at the heart of the Christian faith, but people disagree about its nature and authority. Can we trust the Bible completely? Is it sufficient for our complicated lives? Can we really know what it teaches? Taking God at His Word engages all these questions and more!

15/11/2023

There are ditches on both sides, which Christians must work to avoid in our efforts to relate with God rightly.

13/11/2023

In addition to being this week's Theologian of the Week, Dr. Kevin DeYoung is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.

He is the author of over twenty books and a popular columnist, blogger, and podcaster. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children.

To say Dr. DeYoung is productive may be an understatement. Producing so much content in so many spaces, many of you have undoubtedly run into something from him. Are there any works that stand out to you specifically?

10/11/2023

This week, we're featuring the most well-known & easily accessible collection of Maximus' works.

For those of you more familiar with Maximus the Confessor, which works would you recommend and why?

08/11/2023

What do you think of this take on part of the role of suffering in life?

07/11/2023

If miracles can occur in the animal kingdom, why be completely skeptical that they can occur in the human kingdom?

Read more:

For only the second time in a US zoo, an Epaulette shark produced a fertilized egg without mating. The shark pup was hatched in August.

06/11/2023

This week, we go back almost 1400 years to highlight the work of Maximus the Confessor.

Maximus' refusal to accept Monothelitism caused him to be brought to the imperial capital of Constantinople to be tried as a heretic in 658.

Sadly, he wasn't vindicated until after his tongue & hand were mutilated and he was exiled. However, his works continue to speak across both Eastern & Western traditions.

03/11/2023

“Apologetics is about persuading people that there is a door to another world—a door that perhaps they never realized existed. Evangelism is about helping people to open that door and enter into the new world that lies beyond.”

- Alister McGrath, Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers and Skeptics Find Faith

01/11/2023

Everyone is a Theologian. Your theology works through your fingertips and out of your mouth every day.

30/10/2023

Alister McGrath, author of more than 50 books, triple Ph.D. recipient, Priest in the Church of England, and this week's Theologian of the Week!

Dr. McGrath has written extensively across a wide variety of topics. Which of his works are you most familiar with?

27/10/2023

A very seasonally appropriate illustration. Knowledge vs Wisdom. 🎃

27/10/2023

“There are always two sides to every story, and it is generally wise, and safe, and charitable, to take the best; and yet there is probably no one way in which persons are so liable to be wrong, as in presuming the worst is true, and in forming and expressing their judgement of others, and of their actions, without waiting till all the truth is known.”

25/10/2023

Those of us in Christ who richly enjoy theological discovery and debate must carefully monitor our hearts. If we have all knowledge but have not love...right?

20/09/2023

The story of Jesus.

The love of God doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

18/09/2023

While we're jumping back into the modern age, we're also going back to the first century as we look to the work of New Testament Scholar and Theologian N.T. Wright.

Have you benefited from Dr. Wright's work? If so, which work(s) and why?