Posts Tagged / History

Thomas Aquinas’ first Mover Argument

Thomas Aquinas' first Mover Argument Article by I. Hofmann, July 2024. All right reserved. Published with permission on Apologeet.nl. Translation by J. Hofmann. Introduction Thomas Aquinas is a well-known Roman Catholic philosopher and theologian from the 13th century. He lived from 1225 to 1274 and was declared a saint in 1323, 49 years after his death. During his lifetime, he […]





Heresies all around us – Docetism & Gnosticism

Is matter inherently evil and was this the reason that God could not become human or was Jesus just an illusion? Part 10 – Docetism & Gnosticism Some would say that the material world is inherently evil. If that is true, God could not have become flesh like we read in John 1. This teaching is also called ‘Docetism’ and it seems to tight in closely with Gnosticism. Which is Which? Okay, it might be a […]





Heresies all around us – Subordinationism

Is Jesus less than the Father? (Subordinationism) Part 9 – Subordinationism We read in the Bible that Jesus voluntarily placed Himself under the authority of the Father. But could it be that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are subordinate in terms of their nature and in essence? This is what we are going to discuss today. Subordinationism Subordinationism teaches that Jesus (and […]





Heresies all Around us – Kenosis

Did Jersus leave His Divine Nature behind in Heaven? Part 8 – Kenosis Did Jesus empty himself of divinity in the incarnation? In other words, did Jesus give up His deity when He became human? This idea is sometimes called kenotic theology. Confusing This word, kenosis, is confusing at best and misleading at worst. The word kenosis comes from the Greek kenoo, which mean […]





Heresies all Around us – Adoptionism

adoptionism Part 7 – Adoptionism As far back as the second century, several groups already debated Jesus’ preexistence. One such group are called Adoptionists. They denied the preexistence of Jesus and, as a consequence, His deity. Jesus was tested by God According to these teaching, Jesus was just a human like you and I. Adoptionism, says […]





Heresies all Around us – Pelagianism

Can You Realy Decide to Follow Christ? [About Free Will and Pelagianism] Part 6 – Pelagianism I came to Christ around 1994. In my testimony I often say that I chose to be saved by Jesus. I think you can even hear me saying that in my online testimony.i But, does that mean that I was capable of deciding all one my own? Pelagianism Well, it might […]





Heresies all Around us – Donatism

Part 5 – Donatism Is your baptism invalid if your baptiser was adulterer? Picture this: You decided to become a real follower of Christ. You realised that you needed to be baptist. That is your first step of obedience to Jesus. Your pastor was more than willing to baptise you. But, two weeks later you […]





Heresies all Around us – Modalism

Heresies all Around us Part 4 – Modalism Part 4 – Modalism Jesus is like an uncle, nephew, father, brother, or son… Come on Patrick! Try this: Ask your pastor, youth leader or someone else in your church to explain the trinity! That is a fun question to ask, don’t you think? Many will struggle to give a good answer, and that is […]





Heresies all Around us – Antinomianism

Heresies all Around us Part 3 – Antinomianism Part 3 – Antinomianism Let’s ditch the Old Testament laws! We are no longer under the law, right? Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Still, in many churches, we find the commandments written on banners. What’s more, every Sunday many congregations […]





Heresies all Around us – Arianism

Part 2 Arianism - What if Jesus was just a mere created man like you and me? Part 2 – Arianism ➜ ➜ ➜ PS. Who noticed the mistake at the end of the video? No, it wasn’t a slip of the tongue. It was really in my head…. But what? A Christian believes that salvation cannot come through works or by another created being. We believe that we can only be […]





Heresies all Around us – Introduction

Heresies - part 1 what is a heresy? Part 1 – What is heresy? Jehovah’s Witnesses are like the Dutch people… You’ll find them all around the world. Please don’t complain about this comparison. I myself am Dutch. And I know, the Dutch mostly go around the world to do business, which can be good, right? The Jehovah’s Witnesses mostly go around to […]





I am not a Big Fan of Islam

Islamic Ideology Before I came to faith, I really did take a critical look at other religions. Later, when I was already a Christian, I studied Islam over and over again. My conclusion? I am not exactly a huge fan of this religion. But that is too short and some might think I would dislike the people […]





Did Paul invent Christianity?

Introduction I recently received a comment on one of my posts on my website. The person wasn’t really polite towards me because apparently I am completely brainwashed with complete loss of self-identity and therefore critical thinking. Not only that but I am also in a psychosis, totally trapped in a delusional system. Don’t you just […]





Why they Persecute you?

why will they persecute you Persecution, you know? I don’t really like this word. Not that I deny that there is persecution in this world. No, more because many of us use this word in the most inappropriate situations. Let’s be honest here. Many of us who can afford to watch this video or reading this article experience no real […]





73 Books of the Roman Catholic Bible

The 73 books of the roman catholic church I never really bothered about the extra books in the Roman Catholic bible. I always thought that this was just about a dispute in the early church. But is it? Let’s find out. Many of our more respectable Bibles, such as the King James Version, Revised Standard Version, and the New International Version, have just […]





Respect Is Attractive: Women and Early Christianity

Jesus woman at well Article reposted with permission from ‘The Jesus Fandom’ Original can be found here and posted on 10 April 2023. Translated by Jurgen Hofmann. Introduction Globally, women are more religious than men. They see their faith as more important, tend to pray daily and attend church more than men. This is well reflected in church practice: […]





Sola Fide – Faith Alone

Sola Fide - Faith Alone You might have heard of the five ‘solas’ of protestantism. It is basically a summary of what the protestants believe to be true after the reformation. Sola is latin for ‘only’ or ‘alone.’ I will explain a bit more about these ‘solas’ in a minute. But I mostly want to think with you about ‘sola […]





Can a Christian Lose his Salvation?

can a christian los his salvation? I guess this is the follow-up of the last video in which we tackled the doctrine of ‘once saved, always saved.’ Can a Christian lose salvation? Good question! What is a Christian? First, I think it will be smart to determine what a Christian is. A ‘Christian’ is not someone who sits in church every […]





Critical About the Idea of ‘Once Saved, Always Saved’

Today, I would like to take a look at this doctrine of ‘once saved, always saved.’ Actually, I don’t think it is an official church doctrine today. The doctrine has been around for a long time already. This time, I think I am not going to give you just one answer. To be honest, I […]





Epicurean Paradox

Epicurean Paradox The Problem of Evil The Epicurean paradox is very often used as a tool to deny or at least too seed doubts about the existence of a God. Now, I am very luck to have my own atheistic and sceptical followers on my video channels. I mean, some would even say that a self-respecting apologist […]





What About Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel?

As missionary among the un-reached Antanala-people of Madagascar, I have heard this question a million times… Well, maybe not a million but many times. Mostly these questions are hidden in presuppositions. Among Christians some think that nobody will be saved, except those who’ve heard and believed the Gospel. While others, say that there are people […]





What About Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel?

Part 4 – The Hard Questions Introduction This is part 4 of this series. Please watch the first three parts first to better understand this one. You’ll find the links in the description of this video. So, what actually will happen to those who never heard the Gospel? Where do they go when they die? […]





What About Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel?

Part 3 – Old Testament Introduction This is part 3 of this series. Please watch part one and two first because we build on those two videos in this part. You’ll find the links in the description of this video. As said, I work as missionary in the middle of nowhere on Madagascar, and I […]





What About Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel?

Part 2 – What is known to mankind? Introduction This is part 2 of this series. Please watch part one first because there we set out some basic truths on which we build on in this part. As said, I work as missionary in the middle of nowhere on Madagascar, and I have heard this […]





What About Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel?

Part 1 – Basic Truths As missionary among the un-reached Antanala-people of Madagascar, I have heard this question a million times… Well, maybe not a million but many times. Mostly these questions are hidden in presuppositions. Among Christians some think that nobody will be saved, except those who’ve heard and believed the Gospel. While others, […]





Romans 13 — What I Think

Part 1 – Introduction Part 2 – History Part 3 – What is doesn’t say Part 4 – Possible meaning Part 5 – What I think it means Part 6 – What to do with it? What I Believe Romans 13:1-7 Means Introduction I am a bit doubtful whether I should name this episode ‘What […]





Romans 13 — Possible Meaning

Part 1 – Introduction Part 2 – History Part 3 – What is doesn’t say Part 4 – Possible meaning Part 5 – What I think it means Part 6 – What to do with it? What Romans 13:1-7 Might Mean Introduction Sometimes, you just want to see whether there are more possibilities than one. […]





Romans 13 — What it Doesn’t Say

Part 1 – Introduction Part 2 – History Part 3 – What is doesn’t say Part 4 – Possible meaning Part 5 – What I think it means Part 6 – What to do with it? What Romans 13:1-7 isn’t saying Introduction This is part three of this series about Romans 13:1-7. In part two […]





Romans 13 — History

Part 1 – Introduction Part 2 – History Part 3 – What is doesn’t say Part 4 – Possible meaning Part 5 – What I think it means Part 6 – What to do with it? Throughout History of Romans 13:1-7 Let’s dive into the history and see what Christians throughout the ages made of […]





Why Mission Matters?

Seen From a Secular Viewpoint1 Introduction A commonly heard statement against missionary work is to leave people alone: do not spoil their culture and belief systems. One should not bother people groups with alien belief systems. This argument is understandable because many appreciate the diversity of cultures around the world. Rightly so, it is one […]





History of British Evangelism and Mission.

Creative Presentation on the History of British Evangelism and Mission Jurgen Hofmann Word Count written paper: 1031 13td February 2012 Your browser does not support the video tag. »» Please click here to watch the intro before continuing to read. Introduction Your browser does not support the video tag. »» Please click here to watch […]