Augustine and Love (Oberman)

This is an excellent resource: "The Reformation: Roots and Ramifications" by Heiko Oberman.  I just finished reading the chapter that covered mysticism in the medieval church; it was quite helpful.  It's too detailed to summarize in one blog post, so for now I'll just quote a section where Oberman summarized Augustine's view of love.  This…

Horizontal Christian Ethics

 Heiko Oberman’s Luther: Man Between God and the Devil is probably my favorite church history (or historical theology) book of all time.  I highly recommend it - although it is an intermediate resource (probably college/university level reading).  Here are a few paragraphs I highlighted when I first read it ten years ago: “Luther horizontalized Christian…

Eric Metaxas, History Writing, and Martin Luther

Earlier, in my critical review of Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas, I noted that there were a few significant historical and theological inaccuracies in the book.  Later this week, having read Eberhard Bethge's biography of Bonhoeffer, I hope to interact a bit more with Metaxas' biography.  For now, I want to point out Metaxas' inaccurate portrait…

My Conscience is Captive to the Word of God (Luther)

(This is a repost from September, 2011.) Heiko Oberman's Luther: Man Between God and the Devil is one of those books that I'll never forget reading.  I first read it around 10 years ago; I could not set this book down.  In fact, it led me to enjoy and appreciate church history in general, and Reformation history more specifically. …