Blog Search Results

8 Most Controversial Topics In The Church Today

...s observe baptism, baptism rites differ not only in practice but also in theory. For generations, the church has been divided over whether the Bible encourages baby baptism or just believer baptism. More liturgical churches even create the idea that baptism is required for salvation, but others don't appear to place much emphasis on it. Some churches baptize newborns as well, although not as evidence of salvation, but as a promise by the child's family and church body to raise the kid in the fear of the Lord. In this sense, infant baptism is similar to the dedication of the child. Other churches, on the other hand, only baptize individuals who are old enough t...

Lent: Day 17 - Justin Martyr: First Apology: Chaps. 60-68

...such as: baptism, the Eucharist and weekly worship among other things. Plato and The Trinity The first chapter of this reading today concludes from the previous few about the prophetic announcement of Jesus and how even “heathens” recognise the things God has put in place, even without realising it. Case in point here, Plato. As touched on yesterday, Plato mentions in his work, Timoeus of Plato, about “the Son of God” being placed “crosswise” in the universe, which Justin goes on to say that although Plato misunderstood the symbolism of the cross from the writings of Moses, which he “borrowed in like manner”, he inadvertently recognises th...

The Resurrection as a historical event

...eaking of baptism, it is used and described as a symbolic act of dying and being raised with Christ into a new creation, despite keeping our “old” bodies in the meantime (see Col 2:12; Col 3:1; Eph 2:5-6; Rom 6:4). This, I believe, is why there was such an emphasis on the importance of baptism in the early Church, and why it’s something sacred we should also highly esteem and not take lightly. While these verses (and many others) make it clear that through baptism we die to our old selves and are raised anew in Christ, we must also understand that this prefigures our future resurrection when we finally “put on immortality” (1 Cor 15:53-54). Though we...

Lent Day 30: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XIX

...Day Thirty: St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XIX Who: Bishop of Jerusalem and Doctor of the Church, born about 315; died probably 18 March, 386. Little is known of his life, except from his younger contemporaries, Epiphanius, Jerome, and Rufinus, as well as from the fifth-century historians, Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret. What: Each of the lectures deal with a different topic to teach converts the mysteries of the Church, particularly: rites of the renunciation of Satan and his works, of anointing with oil, of baptism, of anointing with the holy chrism, and of partaking of the body and blood of Christ. Why: Cyril delivered to new conve...

The Author of Life Knew Death For Our Sake!

...efiguring baptism, but that's not what was pulled out of in this book we were listening to. No, the main point its author took was that this in fact symbolised the new birth we have now in Christ! baptism by water was only secondary to this emphasis. I'd never thought of it this way before but it struck a chord with me. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection we have a new birth and are born again, just as we are born naturally into this world in blood and water, we can now be born again through Jesus who bled blood and water for us in his death. But the similarities don't end there. baptism obviously follows on from this, as does the other sacrament of the...

Lent Day 32: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXI

...Day Thirty-two: St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXI Who: Bishop of Jerusalem and Doctor of the Church, born about 315; died probably 18 March, 386. Little is known of his life, except from his younger contemporaries, Epiphanius, Jerome, and Rufinus, as well as from the fifth-century historians, Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret. What: Each of the lectures deal with a different topic to teach converts the mysteries of the Church, particularly: rites of the renunciation of Satan and his works, of anointing with oil, of baptism, of anointing with the holy chrism, and of partaking of the body and blood of Christ. Why: Cyril delivered to new c...