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

...tion as a series of momentary “supernatural writing sessions” creates an expectation that anything “spiritual” written by an apostle or associate had to be preserved. This mindset suggests that missing letters indicate a failure in the process of collecting inspired books. Instead, we should understand inspiration as a collaboration between normal people and God’s providence. The apostles, as normal individuals, used common vocabulary, styles, and forms of expression of their time, as evidenced by comparisons with contemporary literature. In essence, understanding the New Testament requires acknowledging the diverse and dynamic nature of the canonisat...

Does Easter Have Pagan Origins?

...Much like any major Christian holiday, there are the usual arguments and accusations about how it’s all just pagan festivities with a “Christian mask”. Easter is no different, and usually gets hit the hardest over its so-called “pagan roots”, or in the month or so preceding it, Lent being some “invention of the Catholic Church”. Table of Contents The Lenten Fast The Easter controversy and why we celebrate it when we do Is the Name “Easter” really the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre? Chocolate eggs and bunnies? Concluding Thoughts Further Reading and Sources I like to try and observe Lent, as it is one of the most ancient custom...

Before The Pumpkins: The Road To The Lions

...egin this series. A Disciple of the Apostles Ignatius lived in the generation just after the apostles, serving as bishop of Antioch in Syria. Tradition says that Ignatius was the small child whom Jesus held in his arms in Matt. 18:2, though this cannot be verified as Ignatius himself never states it. A more trustworthy tradition 4tells us that he was a disciple of the Apostle John, and this lineage can be felt in his writings. His letters echo the same themes and emphasis on Christ as John does in his Gospel around the incarnation, never failing to highlight the physical nature of Jesus as well as his divine which can be seen with such statements like “Jesu...

Lent Day 38: Leo the Great: Sermon XXI (On the Nativity Feast I)

...lose this series with. Celebrating Christmas is to celebrate “the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity”. "There is for all one common measure of joy, because as our Lord the destroyer of sin and death finds none free from charge, so is He come to free us all." Through his birth, Jesus has “taken on him the nature of man, thereby to reconcile it to its Author” by defeating the devil and death (Gal 4:4). And so it was, “the Word of God, Himself God, the Son of God”, the one who was in the beginning with God; the one by which all things came into being (Jn 1:1-3), came with the pur...

Before The Pumpkins: Faith In The Flames

...t in this series, we’ll journey to the third century, to Carthage, where a young mother named Perpetua faced death in the arena with unshakable courage and a vision of heaven that strengthened all who watched her die. Subscribe to updates so you don’t miss a thing! Further Reading Smyrna Theatre — Smyrna Agorası Smyrna Antik Tiyatro — 3D model by ITM [a525a1d] — Sketchfab Smyrna Dig Reveals Ancient Greek and Roman Past — GreekReporter.com The Martyrdom of Polycarp | Patristics.info — Full texts and Resources from Early Church History  ...

Before The Pumpkins: The Day Two Women Defied Rome

...eceived a series of visions that strengthened her for what lay ahead. In one, she saw a golden ladder reaching up to heaven, guarded by a fierce serpent below, and sharp iron spikes along either side. Only those who stepped on the serpent’s head and climbed the ladder could enter. She interpreted this as her coming trial — the climb of faith through suffering to eternal life, realising that God wasn’t going to deliver her from this trial, but that it should be her passion (i.e. her death). It’s an image of triumph through endurance that echoes Christ’s own words: “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10)....