Required reading
Discussions (Vol 2) by Robert L. Dabney (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read 'Uses and results of church history'.
My summary
Dabney opens his work by commending church history to his listeners.
Initially Dabney outlines the difficulties in studying church history, particularly the inaccuracies that plague its study.
Then Dabney gives some of the benefits of church history, including:
(i) the best arguments against bad institutions are drawn from their history;
(ii) the most instructive way to study theology is to study the history of theology;
(iii) history has a purifying effect upon the moral judgements of men.
What grabbed me
I liked this point: 'The most instructive and profitable way to study theology is to study the history of theological opinions. It has been often remarked that he who thoroughly knows past errors is best prepared to refute the errors of his own day.'
There is nothing new under the sun.
Next week's reading
Read 'What is a call to the ministry'.
Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
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