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Man-Made Tradition vs Apostolic Tradition

...ishop. The Church in Ephesus, founded by Paul, and having John remaining among Them permanently until The times of Trajan, is a true witness of The tradition of The apostles. Irenaeus, Against Heresies III, 3:3 Suppose There arise a dispute relative to some important question among us, should we not have recourse to The most ancient Churches with which The apostles held constant intercourse, and learn from Them what is certain and clear in regard to The present question? For how should it be if The apostles Themselves had not left us writings? Would it not be necessary, [in that case,] to follow The course of The tradition which They handed down to thos...

Does Christmas have pagan origins?

...known as The Church of The Nativity)! The first person we see write about a specific date of The birth is Clement of Alexandria around 195 AD in book one of The Stromata, and he speaks about oThers who have tried to pinpoint The exact day and month of Jesus’ birth, which brings up a variety of dates: From The birth of Christ, Therefore, to The death of Commodus [December 192 AD] are, in all, a hundred and ninety-four years, one month, thirteen days [18th November]. And There are those who have determined not only The year of our Lord's birth, but also The day; and They say that it took place in The twenty-eighth year of Augustus, and in The twenty-fifth d...

Who is The New Jerusalem?

...This is a sort of ‘addendum’ to The Revelation Fulfilled? article    Yes you read The title correct: WHO (not what) is The New Jerusalem?   To answer this, you must ask yourself: who is The Bride of Christ?   If you answered “The Church” (as in, The body of believers, not buildings) Then you’d be correct as They are both one and The same!   Roughly 1500 miles square.   Maybe you’ve always wondered why The Church is called The “bride”? Well, let’s examine some Scriptures and see! 2 Corinthians 11:2I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Chris...

Christians and The Coronavirus (COVID-19)

...tter 22) The Church’s Response So why am I stating all of this? Hopefully it should be obvious by now: this is how Christians should be thinking and acting during this time of The COVID-19 pandemic. Obviously, we need to be heeding The government and WHO’s advice during this pandemic, but that shouldn’t stop us going above and beyond to help oThers during this time of national and global crisis. Even if we observe The social distancing, I’m sure There are ways in which we can still help our communities and limit physical contact and The spread of disease; for example, instead of panic-buying and selfish hoarding, buy extra for The food banks or The h...

Lent Day 19: Cyprian: On The Unity of The Church: 10-18

...Day Nineteen: St. Cyprian: On The Unity of The Church: 10-18 Who: Third century bishop of Carthage (in modern Tunisia), and martyr from Africa What: A letter to encourage The unity of The Church against schisms and heresy during massive Roman persecution Why: A disturbance had happened in The Church because of a priest called Novatian — a schismatic of The third century, and founder of The sect of The Novatians. Cyprian wrote to counter this and argues that There can only be one united Church, and The Novatian breakaway was a false Church and that Novatian was an antipope.When: Around 249 AD You can find today’s reading on page 97 here: lentfaTherscomple...

Fasting: A spiritual and physical discipline

...The topic of fasting often comes up in online discussion groups that I'm a part of, more often in Protestant circles where The practice is more often sidelined in low Churches. So let's take a look at The practice of fasting from a practical and historical view, as it seems to be a spiritual discipline which has been pushed aside in many Churches today, with prayer, worship and bible reading taking more precedence in a Christian's life instead (not that those are bad things to do!). Why fast? There are many reasons to fast, and recent studies have shown a lot of health benefits that can be derived from fasting. But on The spiritual side of life, There are also...