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Jesus, Mithras and Ancient Roman Cults: Separating Fact from Fiction

...sion, and forgiveness. His miracles, such as healing the sick, command over nature and turning water into wine, demonstrate his divine power and connection to God as Lord and creator of the world. Another key difference is the fact that women were excluded from the Mithraic cult, which lies in stark contrast to Christianity which, in many ways, elevated the status of women. Jesus openly had women disciples and included them in his ministry and witness, as well as financial and other support (Luke 8:1–3) which went against the grain of society at the time (and later, even hosting churches in their homes!). For example, the scholarly view of Mary sitting at Je...

Did St. Nicholas Really Slap Arius?

...love and forgiveness. WWJD? Reflecting on the Arius memes, it’s essential to strike a balance. While humour has its place, some jokes may lead those weaker in the faith, and unbelieving onlookers, to assume that some acts of violence are OK and ‘approved’ by Jesus and the Church, and understanding the legendary aspect to this particular story about Saint Nick and Arius could help to alleviate that.   Further Reading Who was the real Santa Claus? | The Sacred Faith: Timeless Truths for Modern Minds Let’s Stop Celebrating St. Nicholas Punching Arius| National Catholic Register (ncregister.com) Bishop Nicholas Loses His Cool ::: St. Nichol...

Great Lent: The Season of Fasting

...utors and forgiveness.(See a more in-depth examination of early Christian thought on fasting and the reasons for doing so here: Fasting through patristic era.) Some Fasting Guidelines If you want to fast in the same way as the Early Church and keep with historical Christianity, fast every day until sunset (or 3pm) during your fasting period. Historically also, the Church has always had a weekly partial fast on Wednesdays and Fridays alongside other times (such as Lent). Generally, you can drink what you like (except soup, as it’s still a food), though there are different types of fasts the Church has kept throughout the year (the Catholic and Eastern Or...

David, Saul, And How We Respond To Broken Leadership

...offering forgiveness to those who crucified him (Luke 23:34). His revolution was — and is — a revolution of love. How Should We Respond to Today’s Leaders? Many young Christians today look at global leaders, such as Trump, Putin, Biden, Sunak, and Starmer, and see examples of corruption, selfishness, and injustice. The temptation is often to respond with anger, hatred, or violence. Sometimes, people do, as we’ve seen in recent news. (2 May) Big crowds turned out to mark May Day in Paris, where protestors wearing black masks targeted Socialist figures. | Source: Yahoo News But David (and later Jesus) demonstrate to us a different way....

Kirk Cameron And The Biblical Case For Annihilationism

...ers life, forgiveness, and resurrection in Christ. Salvation is God saving us from death, not eternal torment. Judgement matters precisely because life matters. Hell is tragic not because it is endlessly painful, but because it represents the ultimate loss of life and existence itself. If our evangelism depends upon defending a particular model of punishment rather than proclaiming the risen Christ, then the problem lies not with annihilationism, but with our priorities. Even Paul points to the resurrection as being the central point of his preaching, and if that isn’t true then our faith is pointless and we will all perish in death, not just sinners: 1 Cor...