Now that the Christmas presents have been opened, the holiday rush is somewhat ebbing, and life returns to its “normal” hectic pace, reflection upon the incarnation of Jesus Christ is  especially in order. And, since I tend toward the historical and exegetical in my ponderings, I thought I would mention one of my PhD courses that is particularly relevant to the question of the Incarnation as well as doctrinal development via exegetical controversy. As it regards the Arian controversies of the fourth century, it is an interesting question as to how large portions of the Church (and Empire for that matter!) could be swayed to follow the Arian understanding of Christ. Is it because the Church was so overwhelmingly influenced by Hellenistic thought and Platonism, forsaking their Hebraic roots (as some have argued)? Or could it be that though the conversation took place in a 4th century philosophical vocabulary it was primarily exegetical? If so, what was one of the primary passages in the debate. This post touches upon that issue and recommends some works for further study. (more…)

If you thought Google Books was great for rare book, you should really check out Europeana - the EU consortium of libraries. And yes it supports multi-lingual support. Have fun!

ADDENDUM 12/31/2008: FYI here are the supporters and contributing institutions. The significance is this includes primarily European libraries that Google Books has not approached. And as usual for a database, this is a work in progress, but because of its language support, it does, for example, allow you to search the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in English, as well as other libraries such as Sweden and German institutions.

I recently ran across Andreas Wengerscius’ Libri Quattuor Slavoniae Reformatae and must say I wish I knew a group of Latinists that would translate this into the languages of Eastern Europe. (This would also be a valuable work to have in English on one’s shelf right next to D’Aubigne). This work was introduced and endorsed by Voetius and chronicles the ecclesiastical histories of Poland, Bohemia, Russia, Prussia, and Moravia, from the time of the apostles’ through the Reformation. The fact that this work remains untranslated is not a gap in the scholarship but a tremendous chasm in Reformed Protestant Church history: Secondly, it would also give modern missions efforts in Eastern Europe a good back story prior to the modern period of the controversies and various unification efforts that occurred as well as the many persecutions that faced Protestants in largely Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox lands. Thirdly, as a result, on a doctrinal level this also narrates some of the engagements of the Reformed Orthodox with the Eastern Orthodox churches. Also, in the fourth book, some sections read like a roster or missions report of the names, locations, and status of the pastors, churches, and cities in Eastern Europe. It is virtually a Reformed “who’s who” of Eastern Europe chronicling who was where and when and doing what in the mid-17th century. Lastly, there is also a fascinating transcript of the questions, arguments, and responses at the Colloquy of Roznov (in modern day Czech Republic) in 1660. This was a dispute between the “Arians/Socinians” or as they called themselves the Christian Unitarians and the Roman Catholics on a variety of topics but especially the Trinity.

By the way the table of contents is here