Light Through the Past

This week Dr. Jenkins replies to emails from listeners.

In this episode Dr. Jenkins continues his discussion of the origin of the Trinitarian controversy and addresses exactly what it was the Arius believed, and gives some thoughts on why the Church in righteous and just horror recoiled from the nice, rational religion. The show notes and the texts quoted and alluded to in this episode can be found at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com/. You can find the...

In today's episode Dr. Jenkins at last gets to the Nicene controversy, and begins by discussing how recent historians of theology have framed the questions that surround this tumultuous time, beginning with John Henry Newman's 1833 book (later revised) The Arians os the Fourth Century. The books referenced and links to them on Amazon, along with show notes, can be found at https://luxchristi.wordp...

In today’s episode Dr. Jenkins concludes his detour from the Trinitarian controversy to tackle the questions and problems surrounding the so-called conversion of St. Constantine. The show notes and the texts quoted and alluded to in this episode can be found at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com/. You can find the most recent issue of Rule of Faith and subscribe at https://stbasilcotc.org/journal/.

In today’s episode Dr. Jenkins continues his detour from the Trinitarian controversy to address further the Great Persecution and the Conversion of St. Constantine. Specifically this episode, we look at the question of what exactly was the Church, these Christians, that St. Constantine would attach himself to? The show notes and the texts quoted and alluded to in this episode can be found at https...

In today’s episode Dr. Jenkins continues his circuitous and long detour from the Trinitarian controversy to address matters pertaining to the Great Persecution, the third of several episodes on this topic. While the persecution begins in AD 303, the great persecution was not empire wide, nor was its ferocity evenly distributed, but it was clearly marked by two periods. We shall treat the first per...

“In today’s episode Dr. Jenkins continues his detour from the Trinitarian controversy to address matters pertaining to the Great Persecution, the second of several episodes on this topic. While the persecution begins in AD 303, events and confrontations happened before it that clearly signaled its approach, and this week we look at the story of the Martyrdom of the Theban Legion. The show notes an...

In today’s episode Dr. Jenkins takes a detour from the Trinitarian controversy to address matters pertaining to the Great Persecution, an event that demands several episodes in and of itself; but which is also a necessary precursor to the Arian controversy and the Council of Nicaea. While the persecution begins in AD 303, events and confrontations happened before it that clearly signaled its appro...

In today’s episode Dr. Jenkins continues his discussion of Trinitarian thought prior to the Council of Nicaea, and this week investigating St. Dionysius of Alexandria and the controversy with his namesake in Rome, Pope St. Dionysius. The show notes and the texts quoted and alluded to in this episode can be found at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com/. You can find the most recent issue of Rule of Fa...

In today’s episode Dr. Jenkins continues his discussion of Trinitarian thought prior to the Council of Nicaea, focusing on the Schismatic Novatian, who, before he entered into schism, had written a treatise on the Holy Trinity. The show notes and the texts quoted and alluded to in this episode can be found at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com/. You can check out Rule of Faith at https://stbasilcotc...

In today’s episode Dr. Jenkins continues his discussion of the path of Trinitarian thought prior to the Council of Nicaea, focusing on St. Hippolytus and his controversy with the Popes of Rome, namely Sts. Zephyrinus and Callixtus. Show notes and the texts quoted and alluded to in this episode can be found at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com/

In this episode, Dr. Jenkins looks at how, if we say that we hold the Faith once and for all delivered to the Saints, the language and terminology used in the fourth century looks so different than that used in Holy Scripture and by the Fathers before the Council of Nicaea. As always, the items referenced in this episode can be found at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com/

In this episode Dr. Jenkins continues the discussion of the Trinity, and particularly the controversy that occurred in Rome sometime around the year AD 210. Today especially we look at the N. African writer Tertullian, whom we have met before, and his treatise Against Praxeas. The texts quoted and alluded to in this episode put up under the episode notes at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com

In this episode Dr. Jenkins continues our discussion of the Trinity, looking at the thought of the great second-century saint, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, and his discussion of God in Himself from all eternity, and God as He has revealed himself to us in redemption. The texts quoted and alluded to in this episode can all be found under the episode notes at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com/.

In this episode Dr. Jenkins continues looking at the Trinitarian controversy by going back to the early Christian, St. Justin Martyr or Justin the Philosopher and his struggles with concepts and terminology, all the while working hard to stay faithful to the truth of the Holy Scripture and the teachings of the Church. The texts alluded to in this episode can all be found under the notes for it at...

In this episode, Dr. Jenkins begins looking at the Trinitarian controversy, a question that materially concerned the church for centuries, and formally plagued the church for some decades in the fourth century. Why did the Church adopt homoousion to describe the relations of the Persons of the Trinity? Why were some leery of the term? Who were the key thinkers in this controversy, and how did they...

In this episode Dr. Jenkins concludes his look at the early church author and thinker, Origen of Alexandria, continuing our examination of Origen’s system, and this week Origen’s doctrine of creation, both of souls and then of the created cosmos around us. The texts alluded to in this episode can all be found under the notes for it at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com

In this episode Dr. Jenkins continues his look at the early church author and thinker, Origen of Alexandria, continuing our examination of Origen’s system, and this week Origen’s weird and wonderful (more weird than wonderful) doctrine of the Angels, their relationship to redemption, and their part in Providence. The texts alluded to in this episode can all be found under the notes for it at https...

In this episode Dr. Jenkins continues his look at the early church author and thinker, Origen of Alexandria, turning our attention to Origen's system, which extends from his views on the soul to that of Providence, to that of creation, to that of redemption and the age to come. The subsequent generation focused on Origen’s theology far more than his work as a scholar of the Bible, as It lead to ma...

In this episode Dr. Jenkins continues his look at the early church author and thinker, Origen of Alexandria, focusing on Origen's life-long passion for the study of scripture. If we look closely at Origen’s life and thought, while some focus on his heterodoxy, it is clear that the key thing for Origen was getting Scripture correct. The texts alluded to in this episode can all be found under the no...

In this episode Dr. Jenkins continues his look at the early church author and thinker, Origen of Alexandria. This week Dr. Jenkins looks at Origen and his life-long passion for the study of scripture. If we look closely at Origen’s life and thought, while some focus on his heterodoxy, it is clear that the key thing for Origen was getting Scripture correct. The texts alluded to in this episode can...

In this episode, Dr. Jenkins continues his look at the early church author and thinker, Origen of Alexandria. This week Dr. Jenkins looks at his life and the background to Origen’s thought. The texts alluded to in this episode can all be found under the notes for it at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com/. Info on Doxamoot can be found here.

In this episode Dr. Jenkins begins the first of several podcasts on Origen. Probably the most problematic, if not controversial figure in the early Church, both praised and condemned by saints, his impact was enormous. Today’s episode starts exploring this enigmatic figure. The texts alluded to in this episode can all be found under the notes for it at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com/. The book m...

In this episode, Dr. Jenkins continues to look at the history of the persecution of the Church. The mid-third century saw what would be the most savage persecution up to this point under the emperor Decius. The texts alluded to in this episode can all be found under the notes for it at https://luxchristi.wordpress.com/

This episode Dr. Jenkins continues our look at the history of the persecution of the Church but now in the third century. For the first time, the persecutions were empire-wide, though concentrated in urban areas. While starting in Alexandria, the most well-known account to us comes from Carthage. The texts alluded to in this episode can all be found under the notes for it at https://luxchristi.wor...