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Melchizedek to Jesus: The Divine Thread of Bread and Wine

...number of Early Church Fathers in their commentary and interpretations of John 6. Credit: @DefenseofSanity The Eucharist Today The Eucharist (from the Greek meaning “thanksgiving”), also known as Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper, is central to Christian worship, or at least, it should be. In partaking of the bread and wine, Christians around the world and throughout history join in a spiritual mystery. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:16–17, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one b...

The Early Concept of the Trinity: Tracing the Roots

...quotes by Early Church Fathers | carm.org Where did the word “trinity” originate? | Bible.org The Triune God: A Historical Study of the Doctrine of the Trinity: Amazon.co.uk: Fortman, Edmund J: 9781579102234: Books The Birth of the Trinity: Jesus, God, and Spirit in New Testament and Early Christian Interpretations of the Old Testament: Amazon.co.uk: Bates, Matthew W.: 9780198779247: Books The Trinity (Guides to theology) by Olson, Roger E (amazon.co.uk) Who was Clement of Rome? | GotQuestions.org Definition of the Trinity by the Early Churches (christian-history.org) Trinitarianism in the Early Church — The Gospel Coalition...

Christians and the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

...We currently live in troubled times lately with a lot of uncertainty around us, both locally and globally. But even now as I write this and think on the topic of the virus, one verse in particular springs to mind: Psalm 23:4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of deathI fear no evil;for you are with me;your rod and your staff — they comfort me. It does feel a little bit like we are all walking through “the valley of the shadow of death” at the moment! But as the Psalmist says, “I fear no evil” for God is with us and comforts us. That doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t get sick (or die), but that no matter what is happening aroun...

American Gun Violence and the Early Church on War and Violence

...In light of the sad, recent events in the Las Vegas shooting — and similar events in America— I often see Christians across social media jumping to the defence of gun ownership whenever there is even a slight hint at gun control in America. But how has gun culture become so ingrained in American Christianity when we can observe a clear theme and pattern of thought in the first few centuries of the Church, which goes completely against this? Update 7th Nov 2017: It's so sad to have to update this post on the same subject so soon, almost a month to the day. Yet another shooting, this time in Texas where 26 people have been shot dead in a Church of all pl...

Does Christmas have pagan origins?

...For most people, the question of the origins of Christmas is probably far from their minds. Some may recognise and give a cursory glance towards the Biblical narrative on the birth of Jesus as something to do with it (although a 2017 study showed that almost 1 in 20 Brits thought Easter was the birth of Jesus!);—but in some Christian circles the question (accusation?) that “Christmas is pagan” is at the forefront of their minds. Table of Contents When was December 25th celebrated? The Christian Calendar Concluding Thoughts Bonus Information Further Reading & Sources: As time goes on and we move further and further into the future,...

Why Read The Early Church Fathers?

...Why read the Early Church Fathers? Maybe for some of you reading this, the question might better be phrased as: who are the Church Fathers? No doubt you will be familiar with some of their names: Augustine, Jerome, Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr et al. You may have even read portions or quotes by some of these men. But that still doesn't really explain to you who they are and why you should care, much less actually read any of their works. My new book deals with a selection of some of the most influential Early Church Fathers, sometimes also referred to as the Apostolic Fathers (if they lived between AD 70-150), or collectively as the Ante Nicene...