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What does the word "Catholic" mean?

...n several canonical gospels. … It was the church “according to the whole,” that is, according to the total witness of all the apostles and all the evangelists. The various Gnostic groups were not “Catholic” because they could not claim this broad foundation. … Only the Church Catholic, the church “according to the whole,” could lay claim to the entire apostolic witness. (pp.81,82). The other early uses that appear after Ignatius are in the Martyrdom of Polycarp (around AD 150), “…and to all the congregations of the Holy and Catholic Church in every place…”, and then also in the earliest New Testament list from around the second centu...

The Coming of Jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 2

...ks in its canon. Barnabas even links the 70AD event to the completion of “the Week” which harkens back to Daniel’s prophecy, as did many other early Christian writers over the first four centuries, such as: Clement of Alexandrea, Origen, Tertullian, and Athanasius. You can see why they thought this way if you contrast Daniel 12:4, in which the angel tells Daniel to “seal up” his words “until the time of the end” with Revelation 22:10 where the angel tells John: “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” Barnabas 16:5-6 "Again, it was revealed how the city and the temple and the people of Israel should...

An ancient fragment mentions Jesus' wife!?

...UPDATE (3rd May 2014): It is now believed to have been confirmed as a hoax/fake; read the full story on The Wall Street Journal. Ancient and not a fake according to scientists IMAGE: HARVARD UNIVERSITY, KAREN L. KING/ASSOCIATED PRESS A little while ago, there was some hoopla in the news about a newly discovered fragment of papyrus from ancient times which contained the phrase "Jesus said to them, 'my wife...,'". Obviously, and not surprisingly, the media made a big deal out of this. Atheists and the like, saw it as a blow to Christianity and conspiracy theorists everywhere thought it confirmed their views that the Vatican and the Catholic Church wer...

The Relationship Between Jesus and Sophia

...s in your canon, there are similar things spoken of Wisdom in Sirach 24:1–22 and in Wisdom 7:21–27. They say things like “I came forth from the mouth of the Most High” (like a Word, maybe? See Psalm 33:6!), and, “…wisdom, the fashioner of all things…”. Do you see the picture coming together yet? You can read the other two references on Biblegateway.com to get a better grasp of the texts. Deuteronomy 32 says that God gave birth to the people. That was Sophia. This is a reference to Deut 32:18, which says, “You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.”. Personally, it seems a bit of a stretch to say so...

Jesus, Mithras and Ancient Roman Cults: Separating Fact from Fiction

...Welcome to the next instalment of my series looking at the ancient mythological gods and how they compare to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Mithras is yet another popular ancient god that people like to compare with Jesus and make wild claims about, proposing that they are the same deities with different names. But is this even remotely true? This article has ended up being a bit longer than anticipated as it’s one of the few ancient religions that was contemporary to the birth of Christianity which was seen as somewhat of a rival belief system, so there’s a lot of interesting things to cover! The Origins Mithras has his roots in ancient Persi...

What is Advent?

...ts fourth canon, laid the foundation for the observance of Advent, emphasising the importance of daily attendance in church during the twenty-one days leading up to December 17th. Traditional Advent Wreath The symbolism of Advent is poignantly captured in the Advent wreath, a practice dating back to 16th-century German Lutherans but taking its modern form in the 19th century. Johann Hinrich Wichern, a Protestant pastor, conceived the idea of a wreath adorned with candles representing the Sundays of Advent. The lighting of these candles, especially the pink one on Gaudete Sunday, adds a visual dimension to the spiritual journey of waiting and rejoicing (Gau...