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Lent: Day 16 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 48-59

Day Sixteen: St. Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 48-59 Who: Justin Martyr was a Philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a tireless evangelist and apologist. Justin wrote more Christianity than any oTher person prior to his time. He is classified herein as Eastern, since he a native of Samaria and his thought patterns were Eastern. However, he spent The last years of his life in Rome, where he was executed as a martyr (c. 165). What: An apologetic (defence) essay to explain what Christians believe and do. Why: Justin is demanding The Emperor to investigate accusations and unjust persecution against Christians so that They at least may face...

The Temptations of Jesus: Testing God

Here we are at The final temptation that The devil directly attacks Jesus with (I say directly, because next week I’m going to look at The more subtle attacks and temptations we can face). Let’s begin with The text: MatThew 4:5-7 Then The devil took him to The holy city and placed him on The pinnacle of The temple, saying to him, “If you are The Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’    and ‘On Their hands They will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put The Lord your God to The test.’” (...

John Chau, missionary to The Sentinelese: martyr or madness?

You've probably seen it in The news lately: John Chau, The American guy who tried to evangelise The secluded Sentinelese tribe off The coast of India. Much of The debate in secular media has centered around The grief of his friends and family; how he could have brought outside disease to The tribespeople and potentially killed Them all (despite this not being Their first contact with outsiders, with no known ill effect), or that he ventured There completely in ignorance with no preparation or wisdom — something which The missionary agency, All Nations, has recently debunked. But The question I want to look at is this: was Chau's mission total madness or is...

7 Ways Jesus Reverses The Curse From Eden

Everything about The Kingdom of God is a reversal of worldly powers (servant leadership, first shall be last, etc.). God’s ways are opposed to The World’s ways. Likewise, everything about The Gospel is a reversal of what went wrong in The beginning of creation and nowhere is this highlighted more than during The Passion, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. So here are seven ways in which Jesus reverses all The mistakes and curses from creation. 1. The disobedience in The Garden of Eden is now rectified by The obedience of Jesus in The Garden of Gethsemane. Genesis 3:11Have you eaten from The tree of which I commanded you not to eat? Luke 22:42...

Jesus, Mithras and Ancient Roman Cults: Separating Fact from Fiction

Welcome to The next instalment of my series looking at The ancient mythological gods and how They compare to The life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Mithras is yet anoTher popular ancient god that people like to compare with Jesus and make wild claims about, proposing that They are The same deities with different names. But is this even remotely true? This article has ended up being a bit longer than anticipated as it’s one of The few ancient religions that was contemporary to The birth of Christianity which was seen as somewhat of a rival belief system, so There’s a lot of interesting things to cover! The Origins Mithras has his roots in ancient Persi...

Debunking The Crusades: 5 Myths You Probably Believe

The Crusades have long been a topic distorted by myth, legend, and misconception, especially in modern pop culture and film. Movies and television often portray The Crusaders as eiTher valiant knights on holy missions or brutal barbarians bent on conquest, feeding into a skewed image of The events. These simplistic portrayals fail to capture The complex motivations and historical realities of The Crusades. The Guardian article about The Reconciliation Walk One striking example of how These misunderstandings have influenced modern perceptions was The so-called Reconciliation Walk in 1999, marking The 900th anniversary of The First Crusade. Hundreds of Chris...