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Biblical Inspiration and the Canon: How We Got the Bible

The Bible is often described as “God-breathed,” a phrase taken from 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” But what does it mean for Scripture to be “inspired,” and how did the books of the Bible come to be recognised as part of the canon — the authoritative collection of writings that make up the Bible? Were they really “decided” at the Council of Nicaea, as some popular myths claim? Table of Contents Understanding Biblical Inspiration What is the Canon? The Septuagint and the Deuterocanonical Books How Were the Books of the Bi...

The Coming of Jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 2

...y various Early Church Fathers, such as Irenæus). As an intriguing side-note, the 4th century “Codex Sinaiticus” included Barnabas and The Shepherd alongside the rest of the New Testament books in its canon. Barnabas even links the 70AD event to the completion of “the Week” which harkens back to Daniel’s prophecy, as did many other Early Christian writers over the first four centuries, such as: Clement of Alexandrea, Origen, Tertullian, and Athanasius. You can see why they thought this way if you contrast Daniel 12:4, in which the angel tells Daniel to “seal up” his words “until the time of the end” with Revelation 22:10 where the angel t...

Free Early Church Resources

...on of the Early Church Fathers texts. Zoom in and click on the icons for more details.   Journey of Ignatius to his Martyrdom The whole journey covers about 1524 miles (2454 km)! Blue pins are the known route that Ignatius took Green pins are where he stopped to write his epistles (zoom in and click the pins for info) Red pins are the conjectured route   Chronological Timeline of the New Testament and other Early Church Texts and Events A timeline of when the New Testament and other Early Patristic works were written*, plus significant historical events which may have influenced certain writings. KEY:Orange = New TestamentDark Green = Apostol...

8 Most Controversial Topics In The Church Today

...What are Christians' thoughts on homosexual marriage? Are spiritual talents biblically sanctioned? Can Christians have alcohol? These are some of the issues that frequently spark passionate debate inside the Church today. Christians hold widely varied views on these matters, and both sides cite Scripture to buttress their positions. Even within a community of Christians in today's world, discernment is unquestionably required. Whatever your thoughts are on each of those issues, studying this list of areas wherein the Church regularly reviews division will hopefully inspire us as Christ-followers to strive for unity within our personal Church buildings or even a...

A Journey Through Church History

...After many, many months of working on this in between COVID and other “life events” that kept me busy, I’ve finally released the Third Edition of my book, 40 Day With the Fathers: A Journey Through Church History! The Third Edition includes: a foreword by Paul Pavao (author of Decoding Nicea), updated content and also a new chapter about the Council of Nicaea explaining what did (and didn’t) happen there. “I cannot imagine there is a better way to get familiar with 350 of the most important years of Church history in seven hours spread over 40 days.” — Paul Pavao, author of Decoding Nicea If you are unfamiliar with my previous editions...

Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up (Book Review)

...Straight off, this book will challenge you in your thinking and quite possibly in your practice and outworking of life as a Christian—especially if you are from an evangelical/Baptist/non-denominational background. Will the Real HereticsPlease Stand Up The book starts of taking you carefully through some of the practices and beliefs of the Early Church and those who knew the Apostles personally. It all feels very hopeful and like you're being led onward in a journey towards a certain goal, much of which I'm sure you'll find agreeable in what Bercot points out as discrepancies between Early Christianity and today. Then we get to a few points about the Re...