Monday, October 13, 2025

It is the 13th of October 2025 Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A very happy Monday to you- I’m back in the chair for the daily show and a mailbag question I got a few weeks ago that I think fits into the theme of an upcoming talk of mine and a Weekend Edition.

It comes from Bryan in Amarillo- that’s in Texas- and sure, you know some songs perhaps about that town in Western Texas- but what about Craig Finn’s “The Amarillo Kid”? Love that one.

Bryan wrote to me as a self-described Catholic- I appreciated his note that while he would expect an organization “called 1517 to be unapologetically Protestant,” he appreciates the show for its “generally fair” approach to all of Church History and recommends the show “even with some caveats”. I’ll take it, Bryan! And then you lowered the boom with your question- “Doesn’t the vast number of Protestant denominations prove the need for an authoritative source to understand Christian doctrine”? That is, don’t all of your denominations help to disprove your doctrine?

So- this is Here We Still Stand Week at 1517- conference starts Thursday, and you can stream it for free at 1517.org, and I will be talking about the best Catholic arguments against the Reformation (centering on Erasmus and his debate with Luther in 1525).

Now, Bryan, I assume your “authoritative source” would be the church councils to some extent and the Pope. And you might expect my answer to that to sound something like:

“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason—for I believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves—I consider myself convicted by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God.”

Yes, that’s Luther at the Diet of Worms… and I’ll stand by a few things- that Councils and Popes have contradicted each other at times and that might give me the same reticence ‘the vast number of Protestant denominations’ give you.

And so we are stuck with the problem of authority. Who says? Who’s in charge? And my answer, with the Reformation tradition, would be Scripture. And you say, perhaps- “but Scripture is complicated and needs interpretation” and I say… yeah… in 2 Peter 3:16 we read about Paul’s letters: “His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

That this text would refer to Paul’s writings as well as “the other” Scriptures is a fascinating view of Paul’s writings as canon from early on- but it also helps us dive into an important idea with a tricky word- I’ll teach you the fancy word because it’s used a lot- but then make that word… clear. The word is “perspicuity,” and it means “clarity” or “simplicity”. The idea is that Scripture can be the primary authority (sure, we use history and reason and the like, but not as ‘primary’) because when it comes to the general message of Scripture, it can be understood by the standard historical grammatical sense of the words used. That is, give someone the Bible in their own language, and they could ascertain that there is a problem, that God in Christ is the answer, and we respond in faith.

“Perspicuity” doesn’t mean that “all scripture” is clear- but what you need to know can be discovered, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, one can come to a saving faith relationship, along with those others called out, what we call “the church”.

Outside of that, I’m not given assurances that I can understand it all, and so it would make sense that we might find a diversity of opinions on certain doctrines, and that, as humans who can err and tend towards tribalism, I might expect ‘a vast number’ of churches. What I find comforting in Church history is the testimony of the Gospel as good news in the person of Christ as understood by Scripture.

If I wanted the “oldest” church traditions, I might go Orthodox. If I wanted the voice with the most singular human authority, I might go Catholic. I hear those arguments- but, when it comes to good news for sinners in a world where I am not promised the assurance of “the oldest traditions” or the “strongest human authority,” I’ll lean into Scripture as the best available authority and understandable on a level that can unite the masses across the globe and throughout history. Bryan, I appreciate your candid question, and I don’t want to suggest the answer is easy… but it’s certainly something for us all, across denominational divides and traditions, to wrestle with together, and I appreciate you offering us this opportunity. More on Catholic and other objections to the Reformation to come! 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Philippians 4:

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 13th of October 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving today with a bowl of poutine and Bacon that’s not quite the same… he is  Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man thankful for Canadians like John Candy, the casts of Kids in the Hall and SCTV… I’m Dan van Voorhis, eh? 

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.