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Humble without the #hashtag

...out your faith in a way that pleases God. Getting all offended and upset over coffee cups just seems to be missing the point really. This whole thing is just ridiculous at the end of the day. I suggest starting a better movement. A movement of people who practically live out and demonstrate their faith by caring and aiding those less fortunate; a movement that if done consistently by everyone who follows Jesus (and not just leaving it to the charities and organisations to deal with) then it could very well make a change and difference in our societies. I won't suggest a hashtag though because part of living out like this is to also bring humility and make o...

Does Jesus mean Hail Zeus?

...A meme doing the rounds on the internet You may not have come across the image above before, or the similar variants of it, but it pops up on social media groups every so often. The underlying argument is quite ridiculous, but there does seem to be a sub-culture with Christianity which promotes this as fact quite vigorously. Having seen this get shared at least three times on Facebook in the last month, I decided to add a new category to the blog: Apologetics.   In here will be articles for defence of the faith, though sadly this particular one needs to be against those who are already meant to be a part of the same faith! But many people seem to accept...

Lent: Day 5 - Ignatius to the Ephesians

...ty in the faith. Ignatius repeatedly calls for this and commends the Ephesian church on it, especially for the fact that no sects have cropped up from within. He's also very pleased that the whole congregation came to visit him whilst en route to be executed — something which he was apparently looking forward to, “so by martyrdom [he] may indeed become the disciple of [Jesus]”! Ignatius also has a lot of respect for the bishop of this church in Ephesus, and really sings his praises throughout the first few chapters. The man sounds quite something, but I especially liked this imagery that Ignatius uses to describe how well suited this man is for the positi...

Is fasting an expectation for Christians?

...rt of the faith not only in the earliest of times, but even as ‘recently’ as the Reformation era. John Calvin, in his Institutes, wrote on the topic as it appears in his time the value of it was not being recognised by the Church: Let us say something about fasting, because many, for want of knowing its usefulness, undervalue its necessity, and some reject it as almost superfluous; while, on the other hand where the use of it is not well understood, it easily degenerates into superstition. Holy and legitimate fasting is directed to three ends; for we practice it either as a restraint on the flesh, to preserve it from licentiousness, or as a preparation fo...

Did St. Nicholas Really Slap Arius?

...er in the faith, and unbelieving onlookers, to assume that some acts of violence are OK and ‘approved’ by Jesus and the Church, and understanding the legendary aspect to this particular story about Saint Nick and Arius could help to alleviate that.   Further Reading Who was the real Santa Claus? | The Sacred faith: Timeless Truths for Modern Minds Let’s Stop Celebrating St. Nicholas Punching Arius| National Catholic Register (ncregister.com) Bishop Nicholas Loses His Cool ::: St. Nicholas Center (stnicholascenter.org) CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Nicholas of Myra (newadvent.org) Did St Nicholas of Myra / Santa Claus punch Arius at the Council of...

Great Lent: The Season of Fasting

...bout your faith, as it’s fairly unusual for people to hear of these days; just don’t go around advertising it or boasting, that’s all! Remember what Jesus says in Matthew 6:16-18 – go about your days as normal! As with the historical tradition: don’t fast on Sundays – this is because it is a day of celebration in remembrance of the resurrection; a “mini-feast day” as it’s known! Also, this is why and how the forty days “fits” from Ash Wednesday to Easter Saturday, by not counting the Sundays of Lent, otherwise it would be 46 days. Types of Fasts There’s a whole variety of different fasts which the Church has observed over the years (s...