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The Author of Life Knew Death For Our Sake!

...known to human history. And then his followers for centuries afterwards celebrate this day and even call it “Good Friday”! What’s so good about Good Friday though if the saviour is barbarically killed on this day? I wondered that for many years when I was younger, until one day it ‘clicked’. It may not have been a very good day as far as Jesus was concerned, by the fact he was being flogged, beaten and nailed to pieces of wood, but in terms of what he accomplished through his death – that is what makes Good Friday so very good! The death of Jesus is a very central point to our faith, though only made sense of by the resurrection. This is the Gosp...

Lent Day 24: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 31-40

...face, or human persecutions, this saying rings true: Romans 8:3 Nothing shall separate me from the love of Christ I hope this has encouraged you to stay strong in Christ whatever the circumstances....

An Examination of Conditional Immortality (Part One)

...ur souls, human souls, are inherently immortal. But where does this idea come from, because it’s never actually stated in Scripture that this is so. This is an Hellenistic philosophical assumption brought into the text (mainly from Plato’s influence) which can taint our interpretations. If we look at 1 Timothy 6:16 we can see that it is God alone who is immortal: It is he [God] alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen. Any other mention of immortality or eternal life is only ever spoken of as a gift given to us by Jesus, and is often contrasted with the a...

Did a Roman Catholic priest perform 'invalid' baptisms for years?

...ort-of “human sacrament” to the community etc., but I don’t believe that Jesus is not going to impart the Holy Spirit and his grace to the one being baptised just because the priest said the wrong words. This is not magic that needs the correct spell to be cast in order to make it effective. The faith and intent of all involved should suffice as far as this part is concerned. A few caveats though, as I don’t want my words to be misconstrued. There are correct words that need to be said for baptism to be valid on one very important level: what and who you are being baptised into. When being baptised, we are baptised into Christ in the name of the Father,...

Does Christmas have pagan origins?

...For most people, the question of the origins of Christmas is probably far from their minds. Some may recognise and give a cursory glance towards the Biblical narrative on the birth of Jesus as something to do with it (although a 2017 study showed that almost 1 in 20 Brits thought Easter was the birth of Jesus!);—but in some Christian circles the question (accusation?) that “Christmas is pagan” is at the forefront of their minds. Table of Contents When was December 25th celebrated? The Christian Calendar Concluding Thoughts Bonus Information Further Reading & Sources: As time goes on and we move further and further into the future,...

The Deity of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew - Part 2

...gh a real human mother in order to be the Saviour of his people. (Matthew 1:21–23) Matthew tells us his account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and how he accomplished his task of securing salvation for his people as predicted (Matthew 1:21). The gospel was written after his ascension. Matthew has one final question to ask. Having come closer to us than ever before and fulfilling his purpose, especially after predicting the destruction of the second temple, has Jesus left us? This is answered with a resounding “no!”; Jesus promised before ascending to heaven that he would always be with his people, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20...