Show Notes
We are living in a day when the Christian church faces challenges both inward and outward. Outwardly, we see Islam advancing as a world religion. Inwardly, we are experiencing a divisive period in our church regarding doctrine of orthodoxy like the Trinity. In this episode, Matthew Barrett and David and Jennifer McNutt, the authors of the book Know the Theologians, introduce the eastern theologian John of Damascus who is sometimes called the last of the church fathers. He faced unique challenges from both outside and inside the church. Outwardly, the church in 8th century was facing the advance of Islam and its conquest of Constantinople. Inwardly, the church was divided on the issue of icons in worship, asking tough questions like, Is it acceptable to use icons since Christ has become incarnate? Through it all, John of Damascus had one desire: to remain faithful in his context. So he wrote one of the most enduring books of theology: The Fount of Knowledge. Matthew Barrett and David and Jennifer McNutt meet to ask why John of Damascus is still so relevant to the church today.
David McNutt is a senior acquisitions editor at Zondervan Academic, an imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, where he acquires and edits books in theology, philosophy, and related fields and oversees several series, including the New Studies in Dogmatics series, the Los Angeles Theology Conference series, and the Scottish Dogmatics Conference series.
Jennifer Powell McNutt is the Franklin S. Dyrness Associate Professor in Biblical and Theological Studies at Wheaton College, a Fellow in the Royal Historical Society, and a Parish Associate at First Presbyterian Church of Glen Ellyn. David and Jennifer McNutt co-authored the book series Know the Theologians. They serve the church and the academy through McNuttshell Ministries, their teaching, preaching, and writing ministry.
Matthew Barrett is the editor-in-chief of Credo Magazine, director of the Center for Classical Theology, and host of the Credo podcast. He is professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the author of several books, including Simply Trinity, which won the Christianity Today Book of the Year Award in Theology/Ethics. His new book is called The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. He is currently writing a Systematic Theology with Baker Academic.
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