131: Works of the Law: Early Church vs. The Reformation (w/ Dr. Matthew J. Thomas)

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Dr. Matthew J. Thomas, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology and the author of the incredible Paul's "Works of the Law" in the Perspective of Second Century Reception.Dr. Thomas joins us to look at the two perspectives on "Works of the Law" and what Paul may have meant – was he condemning all works meant to earn God's favour, or was there something else he was getting at?In his book, and this discussion, Dr. Thomas contrasts the perspective on "Works of the Law" from the Early Church Fathers (those closest to the apostles) to the theology of Luther and Calvin and the Reformation. And how the Catholic Church fits into it all.His conclusions, both personal and academic, are pretty incredible – and when we begin to explore how the Catholic Church shakes out in this debate, things get very interesting!For more, visit The Cordial Catholic. Send your feedback to [email protected]. Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests! To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.Please consider financially supporting this show! For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.Thank you to those already supporting the show!A very special thanks to our Patreon co-producers who make this show possible: Amanda, Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Jorg, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William.Support the showFind and follow The Cordial Catholic on social media:Instagram: @cordialcatholicTwitter: @cordialcatholicYouTube: /thecordialcatholicFacebook: The Cordial CatholicTikTok: @cordialcatholic