Blog Search Results

Horus, Jesus, and Egyptian Mythology: Separating Fact from Fiction

...magic and healing. Osiris was murdered by his jealous brother Set, who dismembered his body and scattered the pieces throughout Egypt. Isis, determined to bring her husband back to life, searched for and reassembled Osiris' body parts. Using her magical powers, she temporarily revived Osiris, and during this brief period, she conceived Horus without engaging in sexual intercourse by taking the form of a bird and hovered over Osiris' reassembled body, receiving his “seed” and becoming pregnant with Horus. Afterward, Osiris died again and descended to the underworld, where he became the god of the afterlife. This miraculous conception has led some people to d...

Lent: Day 13 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 12-23

...iraculous healing, so then why should it be so hard to accept that Jesus, though born a man, was in fact the begotten Son of God, the Word (logos) made flesh? Justin closes off his argument to prove that Jesus is superior to these other gods because “what has been taught us by Christ, and by the prophets who preceded Him, are alone true, and are older than all the writers who have existed” which was proven by the Word becoming a man to teach these things “for the conversion and restoration of the human race”. He again mentions about the demonic influences which have had their way through the Greek poets to slander the Christian name and doctrines, to w...

Lent Day 28: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 71-80

...Day Twenty-eight: St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 71-80 Who: Bishop of Alexandria; Confessor and Doctor of the Church; born c. 296; died 2 May, 373 AD. He was the main defender of orthodoxy in the 4th-century battle against the Arianism heresy. Certain writers received the title “Doctor” on account of the great advantage their doctrine had on the whole Church, Athanasius especially for his doctrine on the incarnation. What: The biography of Anthony the Great’s life, which helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe. Why: From the letter’s own prologue: “The life and conversation of our holy Father...

Lent Day 29: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 81-94

...t demons, healing the sick and raising the dead (Matt 10:8). He did this so that when he prayed for people, he “healed not by commanding, but by prayer and speaking the name of Christ. So that it was clear to all that it was not he himself who worked, but the Lord who showed mercy by his means and healed the sufferers”. Persecutions from Arian sympathisers At another point, a General Balacius came against the Christians who didn’t hold to the Arian view of Jesus (the doctrine which states that the Son had a beginning and wasn’t eternally with the Father always). He was so ruthless that he “beat virgins, and stripped and scourged monks”! Anthony to...

The Problem of Suffering and How We Approach it

...ultimate healing that only salvation brings. As an end point, I’ll just state that I don’t believe “all things happen for a reason” as people often like to say when bad things happen, because that usually implies that everything happens for a divine reason. A God-ordained reason, or fate. Now, in a deterministic/cause-and-effect sort of way, then yes, “all things happen for a consequential reason” in some form, but that’s about as much as I’d ever use that phrase to mean. Either way, it shouldn't be an excuse or reason to just ignore or accept suffering and evil in the world. We, as Christians, have been given the responsibility and minist...

Fasting: A spiritual and physical discipline

...:8). For healing and deliverance of others (Mark 9:29; Matthew 17:21). To prepare to hear from God via visions and revelation (Acts 10:30). For preparation for Church leadership (Acts 13:2-3; Acts 14:23) To not be ruled by your desires and cravings – impulse control (1 Corinthians 7:5). To focus on God and not ourselves, in prayer and worship (Luke 2:36-38). To be in control of your body and to make your desires subject to you, not vice versa (1 Corinthians 7:5). For self-denial to overcome temptations and learn discipline (1 Peter 5:8). For repentance. For prayers for your enemies/persecutors and forgiveness.(For a more in-depth examination of early...