Posts Tagged Theology
Reformation Theology: The Continuing Struggle with Poor Dogma
Posted by Dallas Wolf in First Thoughts, Theology on April 27, 2026
I write this post using only direct quotes from two theologians, one American and one English. They both wrote in the late 19th century. Their concerns were similar. Their points of view were similar. Alexander V.G. Allen was a professor of Theology at Harvard. John B. Heard was a British clergyman and graduate/lecturer at Cambridge University, England. These were not theological lightweights.
I chose to address this topic with nothing but quotes from 130 years ago to highlight the fact that precious little has changed in the theological standoff festering openly in the Western Latin Christian Church since the Protestant Reformation of 1517. Both sides seem content to continue to die, generation after generation, seemingly oblivious (or more probably, willfully ignorant) of their error.
“Are we prepared to discard dogma, and to return to primitive doctrine? Are we prepared to allow that theology, ever since the fourth century, took a wrong turn, and, in the West especially, has since gone from bad to worse, until dogmatism wrought its own overthrow at the revolt of Luther? Then, in a fit of short-sighted panic, the Reformers became more scholastic than the Schoolmen, and so it has come down to our day, in which the extreme peril of the situation is at last opening thoughtful men’s eyes to see where the real danger lies.”1
“To Augustine, the Church, as the keeper and witness to Holy Writ, was the final authority; but the Reformers, in breaking with the Church, and so far parting company with the one Church Father whom they cared even to quote, had to set up some ultimate authority. This to them was the Bible… It was not so much the first as the second generation of the Reformers who set up a theory of inspiration as a new court of final appeal with which to combat Church authority.”2
“[Protestant Reformer John] Calvin’s theology is drawn, or professes to be drawn, exclusively from Scripture. The Bible, as he defined and understood it, is the cornerstone of his system. He had no respect for Luther’s view of Scripture as the mirror of the religious experience of humanity, nor for Zwingle’s view of a “word of God” in the soul by which man judges the value of the written word. He denied the position of the Latin church, that the Bible was given and attested by the authority of the hierarchy, or the continuous existence of the episcopate. According to Calvin, God reveals Himself to man through the book by the power of the Holy Spirit. Man was incapable of knowing himself or knowing God, except by this revelation. Revelation, as given in the book, is a communication from God to man, supernaturally imparted, apart from the action of the consciousness or reason; Calvin speaks at times of the human writer as an amanuensis only of the Spirit. He does not, therefore, presume to criticise the canon or its formation; the Bible is received as one whole, as it has come down through the ages. There is no other revelation except that which God made to the Jewish people through the Old Testament, and to the Christian world through the New.”3
“…those who broke away from the bondage of an infallible [Latin] Church only did so to set up the second bondage to an infallible Book, taken literally to teach all that men need to know of their origin in the past and of their destiny in the future.”4
“We have then to show that, besides Augustinianism proper, there is the popular Protestantism of a book religion which calls for careful restatement.”5
- Heard, John B. Alexandrian and Carthaginian Theology Contrasted. T & T Clark, Edinburgh, 1893. pp. 252, 253. ↩︎
- ibid., p. 261 ↩︎
- Allen, Alexander V. G. The Continuity of Christian Thought: A Study of Modern Theology in the Light of its History. Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1884. pp. 298, 299. ↩︎
- Heard, p. 260 ↩︎
- Heard, p. 262 ↩︎
Western Latin Theology; My “Doxa”
Posted by Dallas Wolf in First Thoughts, Theology on April 25, 2026
Western Latin Theology – My Doxa (i.e., private opinion)
The prevailing Western Latin Theology of Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas (A3), and doubled-down by Calvin, is largely:
- Un-revealed (i.e., natural theology)
- Un-helpful
- Un-fortunate
It seems to me that Western Christians “become communicants in the divine nature“1 through divinization (theosis) in spite of their official institutional theology; not because of it.
A more supportive, complementary theology is to be found in the ancient Christian East, not in the modern Latin West.
- Hart, David Bentley, The New Testament, A Translation, 2nd Ed. Yale University Press, New London, 2023. 2 Peter 1:4, p. 473. ↩︎
How did the meaning of the Greek word δόξα (dóxa) shift from “private opinion” to “glory”?
Posted by Dallas Wolf in Ancient Christian Manuscripts, First Thoughts, Patristic Pearls on April 1, 2026
The Greek word dóxa shifted from “opinion” to “glory” through a historical semantic expansion driven largely by the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. In classical Greek it meant “what seems,” “appearance,” or “belief,” but in Jewish and early Christian Greek it came to express the radiant, weighty presence of God.
Here’s how that transformation happened:
1. The Original Meaning: “What Seems / Opinion”
In early and classical Greek, δόξα comes from the verb δοκεῖν (“to seem, to appear, to think”). It referred to: personal opinion, common belief, reputation (good or bad). Philosophers like Plato used dóxa to contrast mere belief with true knowledge (epistēmē).
2. The Septuagint Shift: Translating Hebrew kavod
The decisive change occurred between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE, when Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek (the Septuagint).
Hebrew כָּבוֹד (kavod) means: “weight,” “substance,” and metaphorically “glory,” “honor,” “radiance,” especially of God.”
The translators chose δόξα as the Greek equivalent.
This was a semantic leap: kavod had no connection to “opinion.” But dóxa was the closest Greek term that could express public esteem or reputation, which overlaps with “glory.” As a result, dóxa absorbed the theological weight of kavod.
3. Early Christian Usage: “Glory” Becomes Primary
Because the Septuagint was the Old Testament Bible of the early Church, the new meaning spread rapidly. In the New Testament and Christian liturgy: dóxa overwhelmingly means glory, especially divine glory. It becomes associated with: radiance, majesty, honor, praise.
This usage became so dominant that the older sense (“opinion”) nearly disappeared from religious Greek.
Philological sources note that dóxa came to mean “glory” especially in Hellenistic and Christian Greek, while still retaining its older philosophical sense in some contexts.
J.B. Heard: The Basis for the Ultimate Reunion of Christendom
Posted by Dallas Wolf in Ekklesia and church, First Thoughts, Theology on March 28, 2026
Rev. John Bickford Heard (28 Oct 1828 – 29 Feb 1908) was born in Dublin, Ireland. He was a British clergyman and graduate/lecturer at Cambridge University (M.A. 1864). His series of lectures at the Cambridge Hulsean Lectures of 1892-93 served as the basis of his book, Alexandrian and Carthaginian Theology Contrasted, published by T&T Clark, Edinburgh, in 1893. Excerpt below is from this work (p. 294):
“If the keynote of religion be God’s general fatherhood, and the keynote of morality be man’s general brotherhood, why may not an accommodation be made on these terms, and an accommodation which will prove the basis for the ultimate reunion of Christendom, on the simple basis of love and loyalty to one Master?”
Never Fully Trust a Translation
Posted by Dallas Wolf in Ancient Christian Manuscripts, Ekklesia and church, Theology on March 28, 2026
Never fully trust a translation of Scripture, regardless of the skill and/or good intention of the translator. “… ἐφ᾽ ᾧ…”.
Fully Understanding Scripture
Posted by Dallas Wolf in Ekklesia and church, Hermeneutics, New Nuggets, Theology on March 28, 2026
For their lack of understanding of Greek, the Romans never fully understood the New Testament; for their lack of understanding of Hebrew, the Greeks never fully understood the Old Testament; for our lack of understanding of both, we fully understand neither.
Codex Sinaiticus
Posted by Dallas Wolf in Ancient Christian Manuscripts, First Thoughts, Patristic Pearls, Theology on September 16, 2025
One of the four Great Uncials. The great uncial codices or four great uncials are the only remaining parchment uncial codices that contain (or originally contained) the entire text of the Bible (Old and New Testament) in Greek. They are the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican Library, the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Alexandrinus in the British Library, and the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris. Uncial is a broad rounded majuscule script (written entirely in capital letters without regular gaps between words) commonly used from the 4th to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Codex Sinaiticus is considered a Alexandrian text-type manuscript.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 (NRSV)
Codex Sinaiticus ca. AD 350
British Library, London
Codex Vaticanus
Posted by Dallas Wolf in Ancient Christian Manuscripts, First Thoughts, Patristic Pearls, Theology on September 16, 2025
One of the four Great Uncials. The great uncial codices or four great uncials are the only remaining uncial parchment codices that contain (or originally contained) the entire text of the Bible (Old and New Testament) in Greek. They are the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican Library, the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Alexandrinus in the British Library, and the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris. Uncial is a broad rounded majuscule script (written entirely in capital letters without regular gaps between words) commonly used from the 4th to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Codex Vaticanus is a Alexandrian text-type manuscript.
According to John
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:1-14 (KJV)
Codex Vaticanus ca. AD 350
Vatican Library, the Vatican
𝔓66 – The Earliest Known NT Manuscript Containing John 1. “In the beginning was the Word…”
Posted by Dallas Wolf in Ancient Christian Manuscripts, First Thoughts, Patristic Pearls, The Logos Doctrine (series) on September 15, 2025
Dated c. AD 150-250 (most likely around AD 200), Papyrus 66, designated by the siglum 𝔓66, is an early uncial Greek New Testament codex written on papyrus. It contains text from the Gospel of Luke 3:18-24:53, and John 1:1-15:8. P66 is considered a Alexandrian text-type manuscript by textual criticism scholars. Part of the Bodmer Papyri, Bodmer Library, Cologny, Switzerland.
St. Gregory Of Nyssa: “Daily” Bread in the Lord’s Prayer? Not so fast!
Posted by Dallas Wolf in First Thoughts, Patristic Pearls, The Cappadocians, Theology on September 12, 2025
In the Lord’s Prayer, the petition for our “daily bread” is normally understood to signify all of our bodily needs and whatever we require to sustain our lives in this world. The Greek Patristic Fathers knew that the koine Greek word translated as “daily” is a unique term “ἐπιούσιον” (epiousion), which is only used in the New Testament Lord’s Prayer. This indicates that the word had special significance, as there were any number of other common Greek words to express the idea of “daily”. Epiousion literally means “needful”, “essential”, “super-substantial”, or “super-essential”. Understood in that sense, it takes on the more spiritual meaning of the nourishment of our souls by the Word of God, Jesus Christ who is the “Bread of Life;” the “Bread of God which has come down from heaven and given life to the world” (Jn 6.33–36); the bread which “a man may eat of it and not die,” but “live forever” (Jn 6.50–51). Thus the prayer for “daily bread” becomes the petition for daily spiritual nourishment through abiding communion with Christ so that one might live perpetually with God.
Origen of Alexandria and Gregory of Nyssa are two examples of early (3rd and 4th century) Church Fathers who contributed significantly to the understanding of the unique word epiousion; both interpreting it as referring to the spiritual sustenance provided by God, emphasizing the need for divine support in daily life.
With that introduction, here is what St. Gregory of Nyssa (335 – 395) had to say about it:
From: Ancient Christian Writers, No.18. Edited by Johannes Quasten and Joseph C. Plumpe. St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Lord’s Prayer – The Beatitudes, Trans. and annotated by Hilda C. Graef, 1954 Newman Press. Pp. 68-70
Excerpt from:
SERMON 4 Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily [ἐπιούσιον (epiousion)] bread.
Full of meaning is also the addition of this day [σήμερον (sémeron)], when He says: Give us this day our daily [ἐπιούσιον (epiousion)] bread. These words contain yet another teaching. For you should learn through what you say that the human life is but the life of a day. Only the present each one of us can call his own; the hope of the future is uncertain, for we know not what the day to come may bring forth. Why then do we make ourselves miserable worrying about the future? He says, Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof, evil here meaning the enduring of evil. Why are we disturbed about the morrow? By the very fact that He gives you the commandment for today, He forbids you to be solicitous for the morrow. He says to you as it were: He who gives you the day will give you also the things necessary for the day. Who causes the sun to rise? Who makes the darkness of the night disappear? Who shows you the rays of light? Who revolves the sky so that the source of light is above the earth? Does He who gives you so great things need your help to supply for the needs of your flesh? Do animals take care for their livelihood? Do ravens have tilled land or eagles barns? Is not the one means of providing a livelihood for all the Will of God, by which all things are governed? Therefore even an ox or an ass, or any other animal is taught its way of life by instinct, and it manages the present well but does not concern itself in the least with what comes afterwards. And should we need special advisers in order to understand that the life of the flesh is perishable and transitory? Are we not taught by the misfortunes of others, not chastened by those of our own life?
What profits this rich man his wealth? Like a fool he chases vain hopes, pulling down, building up, hoarding and dissipating, shutting up long periods of years as it were in barns, without letting them bear fruit. Will not one night prove false all these imagined hopes, like some vain dream about a nonentity? The life of the body belongs only to the present, but that which lies beyond us and is apprehended by hope belongs to the soul. Yet men in their folly are quite wrong about the use of either; they would extend their physical lives by hope, and draw the life of the soul towards enjoyment of the present. Therefore the soul is occupied by the world of sense and necessarily estranged from the subsisting reality of hope. What hope it has leans upon unstable things over which it has no control or authority.
Let us therefore learn from the counsel under consideration what one must ask for today, and what for later. Bread is for our use today; the Kingdom belongs to the beatitude for which we hope. By bread He means all our bodily requirements. If we ask for this, the man who prays will clearly understand that he is occupied with something transitory; but if we ask for something of the good things of the soul it will be clear that the petition concerns the everlasting realities, for which He commands us to be most concerned in our prayers. Thus the first necessity is put in its right place by the greater one. Seek ye, He says, the kingdom and justice, and all these things shall be added unto you; in Christ Jesus Our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
Original Greek words used by Nyssen are in brackets []. From: Gregorii Nysseni, De Oratione Dominica, De Beatitudinibus, Edidit Johannes F. Callahan, 1992 E.J. Brill. P. 56
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