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From Dust to Redemption: The Meaning of Ash Wednesday

...standard part of Church practice. This was based on the example of Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–2) and was intended to prepare believers spiritually for the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. Athanasius, the great bishop of Alexandria, regularly wrote paschal (Easter) letters to the churches to encourage fasting, self-control, and moderation during this period. His writings provide valuable insight into how Lent was observed in the early Church and confirm that the practice was well established long before later claims that it had pagan origins. In one of his letters, written around AD 332, he describes the structure of the Lenten fast...

Scientist Uncovers Hidden 1,750-Year-Old New Testament Translation with Ultraviolet Imaging

...A scientist has reportedly uncovered an ancient translation containing sections of the Gospel of Matthew, believed to be the sole surviving evidence of the fourth manuscript supporting the Old Syriac version of the Gospels. The research team, which includes medieval expert Grigory Kessel from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), employed ultraviolet imaging to reveal the ancient translation concealed beneath three layers of text. The research, published last month in the journal New Testament Studies, presents an interpretation of Matthew 11:30 to Matthew 12:26, initially translated as part of the Old Syriac translations around 1,500 years ago. According...

Why God Is Necessary For Morality

...t you are part of. And that’s why only theism can make sense of morality. Because only theism gives you a law and a lawgiver. A standard and someone with the right to enforce it. Permission requires authority, and only God has ultimate, transcendent authority. This is why Dostoevsky was right: If there is no God, everything is permitted — Fyodor Dostoevsky  ...

David, Saul, And How We Respond To Broken Leadership

...ip can be part of God’s bigger plan, whether for blessing or discipline. Even when leaders go bad, our call as believers is to maintain integrity, respect the position, and resist evil through righteousness — not rebellion. David and Saul: A Lesson in Respect and Restraint Saul was Israel’s first king — anointed by God but later corrupted by pride, fear, and violence. David, chosen to succeed him, spent years running for his life from Saul’s jealous rage. One day, David found Saul alone and vulnerable in a cave. His men urged him to strike Saul down and end the conflict. But David refused: “I will not raise my hand against my lord; for h...

Before The Pumpkins: The Day Two Women Defied Rome

...a better part of the prison where the child could be better fed and later handed off into the care of Perpetua’s mother.  Dreams of Victory While in prison, Perpetua received a series of visions that strengthened her for what lay ahead. In one, she saw a golden ladder reaching up to heaven, guarded by a fierce serpent below, and sharp iron spikes along either side. Only those who stepped on the serpent’s head and climbed the ladder could enter. She interpreted this as her coming trial — the climb of faith through suffering to eternal life, realising that God wasn’t going to deliver her from this trial, but that it should be her passion (i.e. her...

Before The Pumpkins: Reclaiming All Hallows’ Eve

...too, are part of this great story; that our endurance, our love, our quiet faithfulness all take their place among the saints who have gone before. As we begin this journey through their lives, may the same Spirit who sustained them stir our hearts anew. For though centuries divide us, we walk the same road, a road marked by the cross, but leading always toward resurrection! Dive into the lives and testimonies of these faithful men and women who can still inspire faith in us even now: Before The Pumpkins: The Road To The Lions Before The Pumpkins: Faith In The Flames Before The Pumpkins: The Day Two Women Defied Rome Before the Pumpkins:...