As a student of Christian history, I find the details of the lives of Christendom’s giants to be fascinating, inspiring, and even amusing. I hope that the following experiences in Thomas Aquinas’s life will do the same for you as you see the common humanity in our union with Christians from all times. Many people consider St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)…
As a Christian apologist, I’m grateful that people ask me questions. On occasion, someone will contact me to ask for advice as they face various types of suffering. Some time ago a person shared his heartfelt struggle with me by asking the following question (paraphrased): Ken, I’m a Christian but I suffer daily from a basically debilitating depression and anxiety.…
According to historic Christianity, the Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God. The apostle Paul declares: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). The branch of Christendom known as Protestantism goes further, affirming Scripture as the…
Two thousand years of Christian history has given us a legacy of the church in all its triumphs and tragedies. One of my goals as an author is to introduce Christians to historical figures who made courageous stands during challenging times and whose voices remain critical for us today. St. Athanasius (c. 296–373) was born and educated in the ancient…
One way to engage skeptics of the Christian faith is to discuss the influence Christian thinkers have had on people, regardless of religious affiliation. As a bridge to a philosophically oriented skeptic, I suggest talking about the influence that a fifth-century Christian bishop has had on western philosophy, and on existentialism in particular. Existentialism is a school of thought that…
How important is marriage to culture and society? According to the Bible, marriage is a part of the created order for humankind. When Jesus was asked challenging questions about it, he stressed the critical importance of marriage and its basis in creation:“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For…
Does God need to be triune in order to be loving? If God possesses a diversity of personhood within the one divine essence (Trinity, from tri-unity, three in one, one God in three persons: Father, Son, Spirit), then God can be complete (perfect) in love within himself (operating analogously to a family in giving, receiving, and sharing love within a…
Ask my family, friends, or students and they will tell you that as a historic Christian I am truly captivated with the triune nature of God. Historic Christianity affirms God’s triunity: one God in three persons. God is one divine “What” (essence or being) and three personal “Whos” (persons or subsistences). One reason for this preoccupation is that I view…
During the pandemic we all noticed how television interviews carried on Zoom and Skype often had bookshelves filled with books in the background. Why is that? Books are a universal symbol of learning and knowledge. Thus the background of books makes the interviewee look intellectually sophisticated and learned. In 2015 on World Book Day (celebrated annually on April 23) there was a survey taken in the United Kingdom:…
All people are morally flawed. Daily living confirms that brokenness sits at the center of each human being. The Bible’s anthropology (study of humanity as it relates to God) explains the moral breakdown by revealing that all human beings are captive to the debilitating force of original sin. The Handbook of Basic Bible Texts defines “original sin” as “the sinfulness, guilt, and susceptibility to death inherited by all human…
