Apr 9, 2013

This week we celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation of Christ. Speaking of Christ’s incarnation in the Virgin, the second-century Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons takes up St Paul’s image of Adam and Christ, the first and Last Man, and meditates on the roles of Eve and Mary the Theotokos: Mary transmitted to Christ the entire human reality of Adam, so...

Dec 7, 2010

What is interesting about Mary’s song in Luke 1 is that it appears that she takes the tradition of the Hebrew ascent song and writes a song of descent. “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl..."

Aug 23, 2009

The idea of Mary's NOT being a virgin first appears around 383 in an article by the Arian preacher Helvidius...

Jun 25, 2008

If I have heard him say it once, I have heard Billy Graham say it at least a half-dozen times over the years: We evangelical Christians do not give Mary her proper due. There is no doubt in my mind that he is correct. But his statement raises a crucial question about Mary. What is her proper due?

Jun 20, 2008

Though the Protevangelium has never been considered Scripture, it is well worth reading to see what early Christians accepted as normal. Within living memory of the last of the apostles, the Protevangelium was being copied, translated and distributed among the churches, who found it both profitable and familiar...

Jan 13, 2008

There are many, many ancient Christian texts that are fully orthodox: biographies, commentaries, letters, sermons, debates with non-believers… These works got “lost” mostly because we forgot them—our “family memory” fades after a few decades or centuries. Contemporary Western Christians have a bad case of spiritual amnesia. I’m hoping to put a few of the more appealing and worthy works back on the shelf...