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Lent: Day 17 - Justin Martyr: First Apology: Chaps. 60-68

...nd weekly worship among other things. Plato and The Trinity The first chapter of this reading today concludes from the previous few about the prophetic announcement of Jesus and how even “heathens” recognise the things God has put in place, even without realising it. Case in point here, Plato. As touched on yesterday, Plato mentions in his work, Timoeus of Plato, about “the Son of God” being placed “crosswise” in the universe, which Justin goes on to say that although Plato misunderstood the symbolism of the cross from the writings of Moses, which he “borrowed in like manner”, he inadvertently recognises the Trinity. Plato does this by say...

The Problem of Suffering and How We Approach it

...e type of worship that God is truly interested in: Isaiah 58:6-7Is not this the fast that I choose:to loose the bonds of injustice,to undo the thongs of the yoke,to let the oppressed go free,and to break every yoke?Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,and bring the homeless poor into your house;when you see the naked, to cover them,and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Notice the theme here? To worship God is to relieve the suffering and injustices of others. Jesus takes this one step further in Matthew's gospel, when he equates feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger as doing those things directly to Him! Matthe...

8 Most Controversial Topics In The Church Today

.... Type of worship music Modern or traditional? Hymns or contemporary praise songs? This is undoubtedly a contentious subject inside many churches. It's frequently a decisive element in a person's decision to join a church. This problem also creates a schism between Christians of older and younger generations. Certain instruments can also be contentious. Some churches may not accept a drum set, yet another church may have a whole praise band with a full spectrum of instruments. Some churches have sought to settle the debate by including both classic and contemporary songs into their worship sessions, or by offering two distinct services—one more traditional...

Lent: Day 14 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 24-35

...he Greeks worship some animals which others will hunt and eat, and that there is no consensus on which animals are gods and which are food, these people can still worship freely without fear, but Christians are persecuted and threatened with death simply for being called as such. He then goes on to outline the various different gods and magicians that the Greeks believed in and how in all their various and blasphemous ways, yet all under one name or doctrine, they are still free from threat. But even in spite of death, Christians will still worship Jesus because through him they have learned to despise and reject these false gods and demons. Guilt of harming c...

Fasting: A spiritual and physical discipline

...The topic of fasting often comes up in online discussion groups that I'm a part of, more often in Protestant circles where the practice is more often sidelined in low churches. So let's take a look at the practice of fasting from a practical and historical view, as it seems to be a spiritual discipline which has been pushed aside in many churches today, with prayer, worship and bible reading taking more precedence in a Christian's life instead (not that those are bad things to do!). Why fast? There are many reasons to fast, and recent studies have shown a lot of health benefits that can be derived from fasting. But on the spiritual side of life, there are also...

Should Christians get tattoos, and is it Biblical?

...s part of worship, as we see with the Baal priests who went up against Elijah in 1 Kings 18). The language used in these other passages of Scripture throughout the Old Testament is similar to that of Leviticus 19 and so we begin to see a theme here which the Law book was most likely also speaking against, rather than just being against body decoration in general. So can a Christian get a tattoo? Having said all that, and much of this restriction is from an Old Testament Law perspective, where does that leave Christians today? Since the prohibitions from the Law were in relation to pagan worship and mourning rituals, tattoos for God’s glory and worship shoul...