Blog Search Results

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

...n for the human race.   The Eucharist This chapter gives us a glimpse at how the early church took Communion together and what it meant for them. Only baptised believers were allowed to partake. Prayers of “considerable length” were then first offered to bless the bread and wine, which upon conclusion, everyone would “salute one another with a kiss” (Romans 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Thess 5:26) before the “bread and a cup of wine mixed with water” was handed out to everyone present by the deacons. Even if some were absent, a portion was kept and hand-delivered to those who were away! It would seem that Justin is teaching either an earl...

Lent Day 20: Cyprian: On the Unity of the Church: 19-27

...physical, human body, can't be torn into pieces and broken up, neither can the true Church body be dis-unified. So, Jesus, before he went to his passion, left us with a heritage of peace that he gives to us and leaves with us (John 14:27) so that we may be called “sons of God” (Matt 5:9); If we are fellow-heirs with Christ, let us abide in the peace of Christ; if we are sons of God, we ought to be peacemakers. Pointing back to the Apostles, Cyprian references Acts when “the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul” and that “these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14; 4:32), “and thus they prayed wit...

Lent: Day 7 - Ignatius to the Trallians

...thing but human in manifestation. There appeared to be those who taught “that [Jesus] only seemed to suffer” and if that were so, Ignatius argued, “then why am I in bonds … Do I therefore die in vain? Am I not then guilty of falsehood against [the cross of] the Lord?”. We don't see much of this heresy around today, though it has its forms here and there (such as within Islam), but it's not such a great threat to the Faith anymore. Even so, remembering the fact that Jesus was indeed “revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, [and] taken up in glory” (1 Tim 3:16) is the cor...

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,...