Desiderius Erasmus was probably the most brilliant scholar in sixteenth-century Europe. He was witty, urbane and sophisticated. Born near Rotterdam ca. 1467 in humble circumstances he became the prince of Renaissance humanists. When he died in 1536, he was revered throughout Christendom. Erasmus was very concerned about the state of the Christian church. He criticized […]
In Luther’s refutation of Erasmus, “The Bondage of the Will,” Luther attacked the theological impulse behind Erasmus’ defense of free will. That impulse, Luther believed, undermined the Bible’s authority and distorted the character of God as revealed in the Bible. Luther insisted on strong assertions of Christian truth against the tolerant and skeptical approach of […]
(Continued from the April issue, 1997) PROPHECY, PROMISE AND FULFILLMENT The first problem area in the application of a literal hermeneutic relates to dispensationalism’s treatment of biblical prophecies or promises and their fulfillment. Here the dispensationalist insistence upon a “literal” reading of the biblical texts, especially the prophecies, actually masks the more basic claim that […]