For thousands of years of Christianity and Judaism, there has been an ongoing debate about what it means for a person to be accountable for their sin. In fact, the debate sits at the heart of the historic contention of the Roman Catholics who practice and perform pato baptism (infant baptism) and the Baptists who believe that baptism is reserved for those who have put their faith in Christ - which implies there is a free will and intellectual capacity to understand and receive the terms of the gospel, something which infants and small children cannot do.

What is the age of accountability? That's our question for today. Or another way of asking it may be - When does a person have the discretionary faculty to make a decision concerning Jesus Christ? How do we, particularly as parents, recognize that a child is aware and thus answerable to God for their sin? Is it a sudden realization? Is there a specific age or is it a gradual realization?

To help us better understand what the Bible says about the age of accountability, we have invited Pastor, Dr. Chris Best, Missiology instructor here at the Living Faith BIble Institute to discuss this subject that will benefit anyone looking for biblical answers on the topic.

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We examine the theological framework and contradictory life of Karl Barth with Dr. Alan Shelby, Dean of the Living Faith Bible Institute. Barth was a Swiss theologian who gained popularity amongst Protestants and Catholics alike in the first half of the twentieth century. It has since been observed that Barth influenced post-war politics and the Neo-evangelical movement of the modern world. Pope Pius XII is famously quoted saying that Karl Barth is “the greatest theologian since Thomas Aquinas.” Today, we discuss why he is so highly regarded in Christendom at large and why we Bible believers should be leery of his teachings.

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We continue our series on church history with pastor Greg Axe, author of “Church History”. Last time, we talked about the actions of King Henry VIII severing the ties between the Church of Rome with the (Anglican) Church of England. Today we will discuss Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, two rulers with different approaches to leadership and with very different religious views. 

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Throughout the length of our podcast we have been doing episodes devoted to understanding history, particularly the history of the church, from a biblical perspective. Last time we came together on this topic was Episode 156, where we discussed the Counter Reformation and the Catholic Church’s struggle to reclaim its authority during the 16th and 17th Century. This week we are going to build on our ongoing narrative by chatting about Henry the VIII, King of England (1509-1547). Henry represents for us a serious turning of power in England away from the authority of the church which of course led to the establishment of the Church of England. And of course, our guide on this journey through church history. For this conversation we welcome back author of Church History: A Biblical Perspective, Greg Axe.

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Over the last couple of years on the Postscript, we have been walking through the history of the Church. The last few episodes on this subject, we have been discussing the Reformation. We have discussed Jan Hus, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and the Anabaptists.

Today we are sitting down with pastor and Church History instructor Greg Axe to discuss the Counter Reformation. We set the context with the setting, particularly the age of European exploration and expansion couple with two key Catholic players, Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits (1534 AD) and Pope Paul III, overseer of the Council of Trent (1545 AD).

In this conversation, we discuss the ways in which the Roman Catholic Church sought to entrench its reformers against the Church as official enemies of the state by the authority of the Council of Trent, giving the Catholic Church the right to anathematize people in over 100 instances - which council stands today as one of the most foundational doctrinal documents of the Catholic Church.

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Purchase Church History: A Biblical Perspective at https://www.lfbi.org/books

We continue our church history series with Pastor Greg Axe of Crest Bible Church. We discuss the man often recognized as the key player of the Reformation, Martin Luther. We begin with his upbringing and salvation experience, and then discuss his unrest with the Roman Catholic Church, the 95 theses, as well as the ensuing debate and persecution. We also discuss Luther's influence after his escape to Germany and the translation of the Bible into German.

In this episode, we continue our conversation on church history with pastor Greg Axe of Crest Bible Church. This time, we look at the conditions that paved the way for the Reformation, including further corruption in the Church of Rome, as well as the positive factors. We also look at the lives of John Wycliffe and John Huss, as well as their contributions to getting the Bible into the hands of the common man.

We continue our conversation with LFBI professor and author of Church History, Greg Axe. This time we cover the Spanish Inquisition — the false trial and slaughter of tens of thousands of people for the purpose of political control. We look at key players like King Ferdinand, Isabella, and the “heretics” tortured and murdered under the pretense of Christ’s kingdom.

Buy Greg Axe’s book “Church History” at https://www.lfbi.org/books

We continue our conversation on Church History with LFBI professor and pastor of Crest Bible Church Greg Axe. This time we cover the Inquisition of the Medieval Roman Catholic Church around the 13th and 14th centuries. We address what “heretic” means and how that concept was re-interpreted by the Catholic authorities of the time. We learn their strategy for “purifying” Europe of those who fell outside the bounds of their religious dogma.

In this episode we continue our discussion on the crusades with pastor Greg Axe the LFBI professor of Church History. We see how Augustine's City of God laid the doctrinal foundation of Roman Catholic rules for "holy war," along with modern-day ramifications of this ensuing doctrine. We briefly look into the lives of men & boys of the crusades like Bernard of Clairvaux, Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, Stephen of Cloyes & Nicholas of Cologne. Lastly, we consider the horrific Children's Crusade in which 30,000 children marched to their death or enslavement just before another 20,000 did the same.

In this second of three episodes with Pastor Greg Axe we focus our attention to two key popes leading up to the Dark Ages. We first look at Gregory the Great's approval of earlier founded Catholic doctrines of the Eucharist, Purgatory & Masses for the Dead. We see how the practice of these non-biblical doctrines opened the people of the empire to papal-based authoritarian rule. Lastly, we see how Pope Charlemagne was gifted the rule over a strategic military buffer zone from Milan to Rome after bloodshed & a falsified deed under the name of Constantine.

In this episode we continue our conversation with Professor and Pastor Greg Axe of Crest Bible Church. We examine the beliefs & works of a few early influencers of the Roman Catholic Church who came to prominence between 325-500 AD, including Ambrose, Augustine & Jerome.

Greg explains how Ambrose’s political office in the Roman Empire was key to him assuming the role of bishop of Milan, Italy. We discuss how Augustine’s theology gave way to Catholic doctrines such as baby baptism, purgatory, works-based salvation, penance, supersessionism and a papal theocracy. Lastly, we look into Jerome’s monastic lifestyle and his creation of the Latin Vulgate, which became the official bible for the Roman Catholic Church.

In this episode we have a conversation with Professor and Pastor Greg Axe of Crest Bible Church. Greg teaches the Church History course at Living Faith Bible Institute. In our conversation, Greg describes the events that led to the marriage of Christianity and the Roman Empire. He also helps us to decipher the differences between the councils, confession, catechisms and creeds we hear about in history and religion.