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The Historic Practice of Abortion and How Ancient Christians Responded

It’s no secret that the majority of Christians are against abortion, no matter where you look in the world. But nowhere has the issue come to more of a head than in the US recently with the overturning of Roe v Wade, which had made abortion legal across the country. Now abortion is no longer a federal constitutional right, but individual states now have the authority to determine the legality and rulings around abortion. Christian opposition to abortion in America has always been a heated topic, especially in recent decades, but this isn’t a novelty within the Church in America, or globally, and has been a position of the faithful for about 2000 years. Even...

The Neuroscience Of Resisting Temptation

Have you ever wondered why God asks us to resist temptation and practise self-control? At first glance, it might seem like God is just trying to limit our enjoyment of life, especially when the world tells us to “follow your heart” and “give in to what feels good.” But what if I told you that resisting temptation is not about taking away your joy, but about protecting and blessing your life — spiritually, emotionally, and even mentally? I was recently watching a TV series with my wife (called Perception, if you’re interested) about a neuroscience professor who consults for the FBI. The series often gives some interesting facts about the brain...

From Paradise to Presents: The Christian Story Behind the Christmas Tree

...symbol of eternal life in Christ, as suggested by John 10:28: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.” Martin Luther and the Candlelit Tree A significant figure in the history of the Christmas tree is the Reformer Martin Luther. According to tradition, Luther was struck by the beauty of a starry winter sky shining through the branches of an evergreen tree. To share this moment of wonder with his family, he brought a tree into his home and decorated it with candles to represent Christ as the “Light of the World” (John 8:12). While this story is likely apocryphal, it reflects the theological connection Christians saw in the evergreen tree...

The Author of life Knew Death For Our Sake!

...ke on the eternal life that Jesus gives, to become a “partaker of the Lord’s immortality” as Clement of Alexandria wrote, and to make a reality the eating of the bread of life and being sustained by “every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deut. 8:3). Just as Jesus taught his listeners that they must “eat of the flesh” and “drink his blood” in order to attain eternal life and be raised up on the Last Day (Jn 6:53-54), so we must continue in this practice – though obviously not in a cannibalistic sense (which many early critics of Christianity misunderstood!). When Jesus first taught about this, many of his disciples abandoned him...

Understanding the Ultimate Ransom

...purchase eternal life or prevent the inevitable decay of death. Human riches, no matter how vast, are powerless in the face of the ultimate cost of redemption. As Christians, this message resonates deeply with our understanding of salvation through Christ’s sacrifice. The Cost of Redemption The Psalmist’s lament about the futility of relying on wealth for redemption points to a universal human condition: the insufficiency of human efforts to secure eternal life. The idea that “no ransom avails for one’s life, there is no price one can give to God for it.” (v.7) highlights that redemption is beyond human capacity and ability. The price is too high,...

Lent Day 22: Athanasius: life of Anthony: Chaps. 11-20

...itance of eternal life when they pass from this life. Nor let us think, as we look at the world, that we have renounced anything of much consequence, for the whole earth is very small compared with all the heaven …  Therefore let the desire of possession take hold of no one, for what gain is it to acquire these things which we cannot take with us? He encouraged his followers to not grow weary of their devotion and discipline, but to keep their focus right, similar to what Paul wrote in Col 3:2 about setting your mind on things above, and again, in Phil 3:14, about pressing on towards the goal and heavenly prize of Christ. To “die daily” (1 Cor 15:31...