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Lent: Day 1 - The Didache

Day One: the Didache (in full) Who: Written by an anonymous author, possibly multiple sources compiled into one book at a later date. The title translates as “the teaching”, or in its full tithe: Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. What: The Didache is basically a church handbook with a summarised collection of the basic teachings of the Church and Gospel, aimed at local church leaders and new converts. Why: Tradition has it as being a collection of the apostles teachings, so it was probably written to preserve this information as they grew older or died, or moved away from the communities they planted. When: Between 70-100 AD The Didache is one of my...

Did the Qumran community predict the coming of Jesus?

I'm going to start a new category here for "General Interest" which will be for things I see or read about that I think are interesting or informative about the Bible, Christianity or the Faith in general; but which aren't necessarily topics I could, or would need to, write a full blog post about. I'll kick off this new venture with an brief look at something I read the other day from the Dead Sea scrolls which is very interesting – Qumran text 4Q521. It gives us a glimpse of early Jewish expectations of the coming Messiah from the time before Jesus arrived, and shows just how Jesus did actually meet those expectations. For example, when John asks his disci...

Lent Day 23: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 21-30

...he begins some lengthy teaching on how our battles aren't against flesh and blood, but the “authorities”, “cosmic powers” and the “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12), whose number is great in the “air around us”, he says. Going into a little more detail on the deceptions of demons, Anthony explains how the more Christians press into God and keeping good discipline for living a Christ-like life, the more often demons will throw temptations and evil thoughts our way to try and distract us and cause us to stumble. But with prayer and fasting we can overcome and strengthen our resolve against their attacks, which we'll need...

Lent Day 25: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 41-50

...“Once someone knocked at the door of my cell”, he says, and getting up to answer the door, he sees “one who seemed of great size and tall” standing there. Enquiring who this person was, he answered, “I am Satan”. Unphased by this, Anthony just asks him what he is doing there at his door! Satan then just bemoans that all of the “monks and all other Christians” just blame him “undeservedly” and curse him “hourly”, to which Anthony simply asks him, 'then why do you bother them in the first place if you don't want to be blamed for it?'.  Maybe this is what inspired the Rolling Stones song title Sympathy for the Devil (sorry, couldn't hel...

Lent Day 36: Ambrose of Milan: Concerning the Mysteries: 5-9

...out here something unusual I’ve not heard before about foot washing. After these are baptised and anointed with oil, the converts then have their feet washed because of the example set by Jesus. It really is an example we are meant to follow too which is something I hadn’t noticed before, nor ever really been taught. Jesus specifically said to his disciples: John 13:14-15 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Ambrose here interprets this as meaning that although Peter was clean (vv.13), ...his feet were there...

The Temptations of Jesus: Testing God

...point of something. Otherwise Jesus would be standing on the spikes of the roof! No, in this case the pinnacle means a specific wing on the top most side of the temple, most likely being Herod's royal portico which was overhanging the ravine of Kedron, at the valley of Hinnom. Now this point was so high up, and the drop below so deep, that even the first century historian Josephus makes mention of this. He wrote that, “if any one looked down from the top of the battlements, or down both those altitudes, he would be giddy”! Other commentaries say that this wing or porch was about 350 feet above the valley – so that ought to give some context about what th...