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

...d with “human seed” (ie. sperm); [If I] were to show you human seed and a picture of a man, and were to say with confidence that from such a substance such a being could be produced, would you believe before you saw the actual production? Basically, if you’d never known human growth, and someone showed you a drop of fluid and a photo of an adult and said one produced the other, would you believe it if you hadn’t already witnessed it to be true? In the same way then, the resurrection happens, and it can only be accepted by those who are willing to believe something which seems impossible, and then “in God's appointed time [they will] rise again an...

The Problem of Suffering and How We Approach it

...The topic of human suffering is a subject many Christians struggle with, and is an issue many theologians have written about over the centuries — so it's definitely not something I can fully address in a single blog post! But there are some general principles we can find in Scripture that many Christians can/do accept, which should act as a starting point to addressing this subject, such as: We live in a fallen world due to sin (Gen 3), and so things aren’t perfect and neither are people, therefore suffering can happen from illness, nature, and human action (or inaction). Not all suffering is necessarily “bad”, from a Christian perspective. For exam...

The Relationship Between Jesus and Sophia

...ng in the human race. If you have the books 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.”. Person...

Man-Made Tradition vs Apostolic Tradition

...ording to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.   This is often something quoted as a backup to arguing against traditions. Paul’s warnings here are quite valid, we should be careful what we believe and follow as Christians. This is a warning against "man made traditions" but what if I told you that Paul also tells the churches to FOLLOW traditions too? 1 Corinthians 11:2I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you.2 Thessalonians 2:15So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught...

Fact-Checking the Viral Post Connecting human Anatomy and the Bible

...t 33. The human spine has 33 vertebrae. The same structure that holds us up is the same number of years He held this Earth.” The human spine does generally have 33 vertebrae, but that number includes fused bones (the sacrum and coccyx), and not everyone has the same count. Some people have 32 or 34. More importantly, the Bible never says Jesus was exactly 33 when He died — Luke tells us He began His ministry at “about thirty” (Luke 3:23), and we know His public ministry lasted a few years, but His precise age at death is a tradition, not a biblical statement. See my other recent article examining the age of Jesus here. Theologically, the phrase ...

God from God: The Eternal Son in the Crib

...an begets human babies, a beaver begets little beavers, and a bird begets eggs which turn into little birds. But when you make, you make something of a different kind from yourself. A bird makes a nest, a beaver builds a dam, a man makes a wireless set — or he may make something more like himself than a wireless set: say, a statue. If he is a clever enough carver he may make a statue which is very like a man indeed. But, of course, it is not a real man; it only looks like one. It cannot breathe or think. It is not alive. Now that is the first thing to get clear. What God begets is God; just as what man begets is man. What God creates is not God, just as w...