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The Temptations of Jesus: Worship and Glory

...also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Contrast that with what John writes in his first epistle: 1 John 2:15-16 The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride of life (or in riches) comes not from the Father but from the world.   The sin that separated Adam and Eve from God in the beginning is the same in essence as what John says comes from the world and not the Father. These are the same areas of sin and temptation that the devil was using on Jesus in the desert too — and no wonder since Satan is the god/prince of this world,...

Doubting Defying Jihad: Questioning the Popular Conversion Story

...at least some of the scholars she engaged with. Security concerns being taken into account, of course. I have no wish to unfairly damage Esther’s reputation or hinder whatever ministry she is involved with for the sake of Jesus, but I encourage a healthy and sensible degree of skepticism until further verification surfaces. ^ The Changing Roles of Women in Violent Islamist Groups by Devorah Margolin ^ I enclose a couple of links about this for your information. Note that the scholar giving the ruling is from the Hanafi school of thought, which dominates throughout Pakistan, not that there is any difference between schools about this anyway. Can a...

My new book, available now! Take a journey through the first 400 years of Church History in only 40 days!

...Take a journey through the first 400 years of Church History in only 40 days! "40 Days with the Fathers" is a daily reading plan/devotional spread out over forty days; and over the course of this reading plan you will read extracts and commentary on 23 different early Church texts from a selection of some of the most influential Church Fathers, such as: Didache, Diognetus, Polycarp, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Cyprian, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose of Milan, and Leo the Great. These people who came before us, those great men of faith, many of whom suffered persecution and martyrdom to preserve the Church and Christ's mission, bridge the gap between th...

Free Early Church Resources

...Free Early Church Resources I've created a few resources to aid with your studies or interest in the Early Church. The below maps are converted from the appendices in my book. I'll also soon add some hi-res versions as A3 poster size to purchase as well. Below the maps is an interactive chronological timeline of when the New Testament and Early Church texts were written. At the time of writing, I have covered most of the Ante-Nicene (pre-325 AD) period. Geographical Locations of Early Church Texts Approximate locations of where the NT and Ante-Nicene texts were written (or sent). Blue book icons represent the New Testament books, the red crosses are a selec...

When Church History and Science Collide

...I recently saw a video on TikTok from a guy who makes videos about physics and the universe in all its complex wonder, and the video that popped up was one about a supernova that happened 1000 years ago. These things interest me in general, but this one in particular caught my eye for other reasons: it’s a pretty unique event and is known as “the supernova of 1054”. Now for some of you reading this, that year may sound very familiar if you know your church history. This is the year of The Great Schism (also known as the East-West Schism)! Why is this relevant, you might be asking yourself… Well, let me tell you what my thoughts are. My thinking went...

Coffee with Jesus: John 1

...s towards something Jesus later declares about himself in John 8:58 when he says, “before Abraham was, I am.”. So definitely not an age thing! But if that wasn’t clear enough, John really drives the point home in verse 18 by saying that the “Son” is “himself God” alongside the Father: John 1:18No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. I like how the CSB translates v.18 as it seems to point more directly back to Daniel 7 and the Son of Man imagery, and the ancient Jewish theology of the “two powers in heaven”: V.18 (CSB)No one has ever seen God. The one and only S...