Daniel H. Williams

Justification by Faith: a Patristic Doctrine

This essay challenges the criticism usually levelled at the early Fathers prior to Augustine for not articulating a view of justification by faith that corresponded with Pauline Christianity as reflected in the formulas of the sixteenth-century reformers. Not only is such a view anachronistic and tends to assume that there was (or is) a uniform definition of justification, but there is evidence that Latin theology before Augustine promulgated the tenets of unmerited grace and the necessity of righteousness that come only through justifying faith. In particular, the Matthew commentary of Hilary of Poitiers explicitly formulates a biblical theology of ‘fides sola iustificat’, and probably contributed to a revival of interest in the Pauline Epistles by the end of the fourth and early fifth centuries.

Monarchianism and Photinus of Sirmium as the Persistent Heretical Face of the Fourth Century

The Psychomachia of the fifth-century Latin poet Prudentius provides a straight-forward portrait of heresy generally shared in the west: The wolf, with gory jaws, conceals himself in a soft fleece, Counterfeiting milk-white sheep while carrying on bloody murders by devouring lambs.It is by this means that Photinus and Arrius disguise themselves, those wolves so wild and savage.

The origins of the montanist movement: A sociological analysis

What was the Montanist movement? It is a question which historians still struggle to answer. Once the traditionally held notion that Montanism shared certain features of Phrygian paganism is dismissed, we are left to account for its reported aberrant characteristics by another means. It is the contention of this article that the adaption of a ‘millenarian’ model may grant us new insight into the dynamics of the movements origin, especially in addressing those questions that ask why the movement began when it did, and what was its purpose in calling Christians to accept the new authority of the Paraclete as revealed through Montanus and his prophetesses.

Anonymi in Iob Commentarius (review)

Several theological trends emerge within early Christianity. Exorcism was unequivocally viewed as part of the larger theater of the divine versus evil. Efficacy lay in the power of Christ transferred to his disciples, so that any words or incantations were incidental to the larger confrontation between Jesus and the demon that the exorcist brought about. Extreme brevity in exorcism techniques reflects the early church’s sense of reliance on Jesus’ power-authority. Above all else, Twelftree concludes that the early church by and large saw preaching and teaching as primary prongs of its mission rather than deliverance from demon possession. Bibliographical data are broad and detailed. The work could be an excellent textbook as an introduction to early Christian writers and sources, as a model for diachronic studies, or to show how Scripture and theology shaped the larger mission of the church. Extensive and interesting, historical, and accurate, In the Name of Jesus is a definite contribution to a neglected area often viewed suspiciously, yet one that remains essential for understanding the identity and mission of the early church. W. Brian Shelton, Toccoa Falls College