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Bernard of Clairvaux and Mysticism
One has to appreciate a medieval figure whom Martin Luther and John Calvin looked on with favor and, to a certain degree, approval. The figure in question is Bernard of Clairvaux, a Cistercian monk, abbot, mild mystic, and formidable theologian …Read More
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The Twelfth Century
The twelfth century was one of the most colorful of the medieval era. Indeed, it would be no exaggeration to say that it was the age of some of the most famous and influential Christians of all time. We need …Read More
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Peter Abelard and the Development of Scholasticism
Peter Abelard (AD 1079–1142) served as professor of philosophy and theology at the University of Paris and was a notable scholastic theologian. Scholasticism is the discipline and method of bringing together philosophy and theology to make God and His …Read More
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Peter Lombard, Master of the Sentences
The roots of Christian doctrine extend back to God’s revelation in the Old and New Testaments. In the early centuries of the church, apologists defended Christian beliefs. Ecumenical councils affirmed the Trinity and theologians fleshed out these beliefs. True …Read More
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Peter Waldo and the Waldensians
By the twelfth century, the church in Western Europe was indeed powerful and impressive. In the emerging Gothic architecture, we can see something of the devotion of the people and the wealth of the bishops. In the developing scholastic theology …Read More
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Anskar
When one of Anskar’s men suggested to his face that he could work miracles, the medieval missionary replied, “Were I worthy of such a favor from my God, I would ask that He would grant to me this one …Read More
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The Meal That Divides
On the night of the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus prayed for His disciples and for those who would become His disciples, “that they may all be one” (John 17:21). This was a profound prayer for unity …Read More
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Gottschalk
Amid the swirling controversies of the ninth century, there was raised a strong voice for sovereign grace belonging to an unknown German monk named Gottschalk of Orbais (ca. 804–869). Like Augustine before him and Luther and Calvin after him …Read More
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A ‘Great’ Leader
These days it’s easy to become cynical about politicians, government officials, and other national leaders. Governing a country takes hard-nosed, practical realism. Morality and religion are well and good, many of us say, but someone who follows such ideals …Read More
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The Mission to Slovakia
“We, the Slovak People, bearing in mind the political and cultural heritage of our predecessors…mindful of the spiritual bequest of Cyril and Methodius…adopted this constitution.” Slovakia, lying at the crossroads of East and West in secular Europe, after …Read More
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The Word of God in the Hands of Man
It was many years ago when my grandmother related to me games that she played as a little girl in the 1880s. One game she mentioned was one that she and her Methodist girlfriends played with their Roman Catholic friends …Read More
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Our Hope in Ages Past
Pray with your mouth, cry out with your heart, make petitions while you work, so that every day and night, every hour and moment, God may always assist you.” These are the words of the ninth-century, Christian noblewoman, Dhouda. She …Read More
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What if the Muslims Won?
On October 10, 732 a.d., some 80,000 Muslim cavalrymen attacked 30,000 Frankish infantrymen near Tours in present-day France. Those Muslims had already conquered Northern Africa and Spain, and they were poised to sweep over the rest of …Read More
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Boniface
“It is no exaggeration to say, that since the days of the great Apostle to the Gentiles no missionary of the Gospel has been more eminent in labors, in perils, in self-devotion, and in that tenacity yet elasticity of purpose …Read More
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Graven Images?
In 726, Emperor Leo’s order to destroy the image of Christ at the imperial palace provoked a riot, and a long and virulent controversy engulfed the Eastern church. Not until the Empress Irene called the second council of Nicea …Read More
