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The Temptations of Jesus: Pride

Welcome to the first part of a short series I'm writing during Lent. We’re on the first Sunday of Lent, and so I’m going to be looking at the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness, and the temptations he endured. A new post will be up every Sunday, and you can view the series overview here: Lent 2018. Mark 1:12-13And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. That’s all Mark has to say on that time Jesus spent there, and John doesn’t mention the forty days at all. That leaves only Luke and Matthew which mention th...

Will UK Councils Criminalise Christianity? The Alarming Precedent Set by a Labour Council

Every now and then something happens in this country that feels small on the surface but carries a deeper spiritual weight beneath it. In this case it comes from a Labour council just outside of London when in March of this year, Rushmoor Borough Council attempted to criminalise Christian street preaching. The injunction has thankfully been paused (for now) as Christians rallied, prayed, and pushed back. But the implications of what nearly happened, and could still happen, should give all of us pause. Because once one council tries something like this, others start paying attention. A precedent has been set — not necessarily in law, but in what could be....

Did Herod’s Massacre Of The Innocents Historically Happen?

January 6th marks the day in the liturgical calendar when the arrival of the Magi visiting baby Jesus with their gifts is celebrated. But with it comes the often distressing account of what is known as the Massacre of the Innocents. Matthew places this moment of revelation of Jesus as King alongside one of the darkest episodes in his Gospel, and it’s a stark contrast: one King is here to bring peace on earth, as the angels declared, the other king brought death and destruction. For some readers, this raises an immediate historical question. If Herod truly ordered the killing of all the male children under two in Bethlehem, why does no other ancient historian...

Important Updates about That Ancient Faith

I am excited to announce that the brand "That Ancient Faith" will be changing its name to The Sacred Faith.  As the readership of That Ancient Faith has grown, there has been a risk of confusion with the well-known Orthodox Christian publisher and broadcaster “Ancient Faith”. To develop a distinctive look and to avoid any potential confusion, I have decided to rebrand the website as The Sacred Faith.  The Sacred Faith will continue to offer the same great content that readers have come to expect from That Ancient Faith. The website and social media channels will remain the same, with only the name and branding changing.  I'm excited about this new ch...

Scientist Uncovers Hidden 1,750-Year-Old New Testament Translation with Ultraviolet Imaging

A scientist has reportedly uncovered an ancient translation containing sections of the Gospel of Matthew, believed to be the sole surviving evidence of the fourth manuscript supporting the Old Syriac version of the Gospels. The research team, which includes medieval expert Grigory Kessel from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), employed ultraviolet imaging to reveal the ancient translation concealed beneath three layers of text. The research, published last month in the journal New Testament Studies, presents an interpretation of Matthew 11:30 to Matthew 12:26, initially translated as part of the Old Syriac translations around 1,500 years ago. According...

Horus, Jesus, and Egyptian Mythology: Separating Fact from Fiction

If you've ever found yourself immersed in the world of ancient Egyptian mythology or perhaps watching a documentary on the subject (or even just browsing social media around Christmas time), you might have come across the claim that the story of Jesus shares striking similarities with the story of Horus, an ancient Egyptian deity. While it might seem convincing at first that there's a direct connection between the two, it's essential to understand that the similarities are often exaggerated in popular culture, and many scholars consider them vastly different. In this article, we'll explore the life of Horus, his birth, the miracles he performed, and the truth b...