All tagged Tertullian
A common adage, "the church always does better when she's persecuted," stems from Tertullian, "the blood of the martyrs is the seeds of the church." Yet, if we study history is that even true? Was that true under the Romans? Under Muslims? Under Soviet Marxists? And then, why? Why do I care? Or why do I prefer to say to those in favor of Christian suffering, "you first!"?
Spirituality means a kazillion diverse things today. But in the bible there are specific ways of framing what spirituality means. Variously the doctrines of creation, eschatology, and incarnation reveal what spirituality looks like through godly lenses. It's time for believers to process more biblically and less Gnostically on this important topic.
The common human tendency is to fashion God or the gods in our own image. The Bible calls that tendency idolatry. How did the ancients work idolatry? How do we today? But if we study nature, the circle of life, what does it show us about God? What, for instance, might we learn from observing bees? Or, what might we learn by studying Michelangelo's David?
"God is love" is not nearly as thick or rich as saying, "God is three persons in one essence." My point? Our words about God matter more, not less, than our words about other realities. But God as a Trinity crucifies the human intellect! So what to do? Then, what terms did the ancient Church give us that still inform us today? Why do those words matter? What is the essence of God? I also do a bit of processing the recent death of a family member.
