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Do Christians And Muslims Really Worship The Same God?

“We all worship the same God”. Table of Contents 1) Where YHWH and Allah Appear Similar 2) Where Allah’s Character Contradicts YHWH’s Goodness 3) Where Their Revelations Directly Contradict Each Other 4) YHWH’s Love for the Nations vs. Allah’s Commands to Subjugate 5) Can God Be Seen? What the Bible and Qur’an Say 6) Salvation by Grace vs. Salvation by Works Conclusion: Same God? Or Different Revelations? You’ve heard it from politicians, celebrities, and even some pastors. It’s become something of a modern mantra, trying to shoehorn acceptance of other beliefs and blend all religions into one, especially the Abrahamic o...

How was Jesus a sacrifice?

So often we hear this phrase said about Jesus, that he was “the lamb of God” and that he “takes away the sins of the world” — but what do those things mean and how did he take away sin? John 1:29The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (cf. Jn 1:36) The New Testament writers repeatedly refer to Jesus as a lamb; but not only that — as a ransom too. Jesus even introduces himself that way at one point: Mark 10:45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. (cf. Matthew 20:28) To better understand the termi...

Melchizedek to Jesus: The Divine Thread of Bread and Wine

This past Sunday at church, we were looking at Genesis 14 in the sermon. There’s a lot going on in this chapter with nine different kings all at war fighting one another, and Abram and Lot somehow mixed up in the middle of it (this is before Abram is renamed to Abraham). Sodom gets invaded, Lot gets taken captive (along with everyone else) and then Abram mounts a daring rescue with 318 of his men! It’s really quite action-packed for such a short chapter. I don’t know about you, but I always think of Abraham as this kindly old man, not some tribal warrior ready to go all “Taken” on his enemies (Gen 14:14–16). Abraham, probably It’s in the mids...

Ancient “curse” amulet drastically changes perspective on Biblical dating

On Thursday at ancient Shiloh, Dr. Scott Stripling, director of excavations for the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR), presented new findings which may well be one of the most significant discoveries in biblical archaeology in recent times! More than thirty years ago, Prof. Adam Zertal discovered a small lead amulet, only two centimetres square, from wet-sifting material taken from an excavation on Mount Ebal. This came from a square altar dated from the 13th century BC, which had been built on top of an older and circular altar. Prof. Zertal believed this was the same altar Joshua built when he entered the land of Israel: Josh. 8:30Then Joshua built on M...

Was there death before the Fall?

It is often said and believed by many that our souls are immortal - that God gave us a spirit/soul that cannot die when he created us, and that death was not even a concept or reality before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Despite this idea being a fairly "recent" concept (in terms of history and theology), and it stemming from Greek philosophy, it's also not supported by the Biblical text - especially in Genesis. Lets look at the creation account in Gen 2:7— then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. The word "being" in that verse, or "sou...

Lent Day 33: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXII

Day Thirty-three: St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXII 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 ne...