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Lent: Day 17 - Justin Martyr: First Apology: Chaps. 60-68

...s all the Greek thinkers and writers, what Christians preach, no matter how similar sounding it is to certain Greek fables and myths, is imitation. It is not, then, that we hold the same opinions as others, but that all speak in imitation of ours. Baptism There's a short overview of the rite of baptism and how that what Jesus preached about being born again in John 3:5, was also prophesied by Isaiah: Isaiah 1:16-20 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from your souls; learn to do well; judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow: and come and let us reason together, says the Lord. And though your sins be as scarlet, I will mak...

Creedal Christians: The Apostle's Creed

...from the Greek word καθόλου (kathólou) which literally means “on the whole” or “according to the whole”, often translated as “universal” or “global” in modern usage. Additional Phrases Other than the “catholic” addition, there’s two more noticeable additions that weren’t in the Old Roman Creed, but that still have their basis in Scripture. The first is one that can be quite controversial, depending on how it gets translated, is: “descended into the grave”. You may also see this worded as “descended into hell”, which is where the controversy can come in. Apart from the obvious meaning that Jesus died and was buried, it...

BOOK REVIEW: Four Views on Hell 2nd edition

...which the Greek term olethros is used here.” (35) But notice: this car wreck is as good as non-existent for all practical purposes of driving, thus destined for crushing or scrapping, aka obliteration. This is similar to Doug Moo’s analogy backfiring, as he paints a similar image: “ ‘The tornado destroyed the house.’ The component parts of that house did not cease to exist, but the entity ‘house,’ a structure that provides shelter for human beings, ceased to exist.”20 Precisely: the car and house in Burk’s and Moo’s thought-experiments no longer exist in any practical, usable sense (though they cannot be said to be ‘dead’, of c...

Lent: Day 2 - Mathetes to Diognetus, pt. 1

...Day two: Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus: Chaps. 1-6 Who: Anonymous author, “mathetes” is not a name, but is the Greek word for “a disciple” What: possibly one of the earliest examples of a Christian apologetic defending the faith from its accusers, written to someone interested in learning more about the faith and its customs Why: The Christian faith was under attack and ridicule in the early centuries, many things about the Church were misunderstood and so various Christians took to writing apologetic's (defences) to clarify doctrines and beliefs from being maligned. When: Estimated between AD 130 and late 2nd century I've only ever come acros...

Does Christmas have pagan origins?

...ually the Greek letter Chi which is the first letter of “Christ” in Greek (Χριστός) and so the “Xmas” is simply an ancient shorthand word, nothing nefarious about it! See also: Who was the real Santa Claus?  Fun fact about New Year's Day: It didn't really exist as a thing until Julius Caesar changed the calendar to add in a new month called "January" in honour of the god Janus. Janus was a god of new beginnings and such like things, with two faces looking into the past and future which is where new year resolutions are thought to come from as a way of asking the god to help or make promises to him. January 1st was the day of honour for the...

The Deity of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew - Part 1

...phrase in Greek[1]  includes the word “he” which is actually grammatically unnecessary and as a result can only have been included by the author to highlight that the child is to be given this name (Jehovah is salvation) because he himself is going to be doing the saving. As if this is not enough, the word is not only included but also placed in the emphatic position at the beginning of the phrase. In Greek, the word to be emphasised is placed at the beginning. Beyond all doubt, the angel is identifying Jesus himself as Jehovah who saves! Further, the Old Testament states that it is Jehovah who will save Israel from their sins, Israel being the group most...