Theologia et Vita

The Niagara Creed: A Foundational Statement of Conservative Evangelical Faith J. Neil Daniels Introduction The Niagara Creed occupies a formative place in the development of American evangelical theology. Drafted in 1878 during the Niagara Bible Conference, this fourteen-point doctrinal statement crystallized the convictions of conservative Protestants at a time of mounting theological and cultural upheaval. More than a catalog of beliefs, the Niagara Creed represented a strategic and principled response to the rising tide of liberal theology, higher biblical criticism, and Darwinian evolution—movements that were radically reshaping the religious landscape of the late nineteenth century. In articulating a cohesive and uncompromising confession of faith, the creed became both a theological landmark and a unifying touchstone for the burgeoning evangelical and fundamentalist movements. Historical Background and Context Theological Upheaval in the Nineteenth Century The closing decade...

Unigenitus Against Augustine: The Strange Case of a Condemned Saint and Doctor J. Neil Daniels Nota Bene: A "Deep Dive" audio overview is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I6HLmhInYl6ucqPfy6CsjN0hOBWltmIB/view?usp=drivesdk A Strange Discovery Did you know that Pope Clement XI once anathematized Augustine? The claim sounds outrageous at first hearing, almost like some Protestant polemicist’s exaggeration. But that was my reaction too when I first studied the bull Unigenitus (1713). This apostolic constitution was intended to strike down the perceived errors of Jansenism, a reform movement within Catholicism that drew heavily on Augustine to emphasize predestination, original sin, biblical devotion, and above all, the sovereignty of divine grace. In the process, Clement managed—perhaps unwittingly—to condemn one of Augustine’s most famous lines. The third proposition listed for condemnation in Unigenitus runs as follows: “ In vain, O Lord, do You command, i...