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Should Christians get tattoos, and is it Biblical?

...Or in the Old Testament, Isaiah speaks of God in a similar manner as having “engraved” the names of his people on the palm of his hand — a word with a much stronger and more violent visual than simply tattooing ink into the skin. Possibly even a nod towards what Jesus would eventually do for us when he would literally have his hands “engraved” (or “hacked” as this root word can also mean) for us on the cross! Isaiah 49:16a (WEB)BehOld, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Similarly, a couple of chapters previously to this one in Isa. 44:5, it speaks of the people writing the name of the LORD of their hands in celebration, and a sim...

Understanding The New Testament: Inspiration, Canonisation, And Historical Context

...A common modern perception of the inspiration of Scripture often portrays it as a rigid, divine dictation of words from God to be written down verbatim. This perspective leads to concerns among some religious communities, such as Muslims, who view any alteration or addition to the text as a potential threat to the entire faith. The Islamic understanding of inspiration emphasises direct and unalterable divine dictation, contributing to their scepticism of multiple Bible translations, which they falsely label as “corruption”. In contrast, the Biblical inspiration of the Scriptures has never been viewed as a literal divine dictation, as if the apostles were un...

Support Israel? OK, which Israel?

...ad of the Old Testament, it was GOD who protected Israel and often specifically tOld them to go to battle with seemingly weaker positions so that it could be shown that God was their protector, not their own might (eg. Judges 7:2; Lev 26:7-9). With that in mind, can we honestly say that what Israel is doing now is under orders from God? That they are fighting from a weaker standpoint to prove God is on their side? More to the point – is any of this war "justified" religiously by the Israelis, or is it simply a secular war over land ownership? I suspect it's the latter, yet many Christians seem to be blindly "supporting" Israel just because it's Israel, as...

Lent: Day 4 - Polycarp to the Philippians

...couple of Old Testament quotes, including one from Tobit! This in itself gives a small insight to what books were being considered as authoritative Scripture within the Church communities during this early period. If you're curious, you can read a version of this epistle with all the New Testament quotes highlighted for easy reference here: newadvent.org. Polycarp does mention the “blessed and glorified Paul” in his letter, and gives him his dues so as not to appear to be stepping on toes, with a short summary of Paul's original letter to this church and it's purpose: He (Paul), when among you, accurately and steadfastly taught the word of truth in the...

Fact-Checking the Viral Post Connecting Human Anatomy and the Bible

...A poetic post has been circulating widely on Facebook, suggesting that our anatomy mirrors various aspects of Scripture. On the surface it sounds inspiring, but when we take time to weigh its claims, two main problems emerge. The viral post circulating on Facebook [Source] First, some of its imagery unintentionally undermines the pre-existence of Christ, as if Jesus only “held the earth together” for the 33 years of His earthly life. Second, it risks reducing the resurrection to something like biological regeneration, as if Jesus simply restarted after three days, instead of being raised in the miraculous power of God. Alongside these theolog...

Was there death before the Fall?

...rough the Old Testament, you begin to see it as "a place of darkness to which all the dead go, both the righteous and the unrighteous, regardless of the moral choices made in life, a place of stillness and darkness cut off from God" (Mercer Dictionary of the Bible, p. 819).  Only in Dan 12:2 do we find any idea of people coming back from the place of the dead: Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. The concept of the Resurrection is a relatively late concept, as Daniel is the latest book of the Hebrew Bible, and as we get to the 1st Century onwards, all we...