Blog Search Results

How Old Was Jesus When He Died? A Fresh Look At The Historical Clues

We often hear that Jesus was “about 33 years old” when he was crucified and only had a three-year ministry. But have you ever wondered how precise that number is, or why we assume that was his age, especially when Scripture doesn’t specify? Table of Contents The Gospel of Luke: “About Thirty” Early Church Testimony: Irenaeus and The Longer Ministry Historical Anchors: Birth, Pilate, and The Crucifixion Window The Death of Herod Cross-referencing with Pilate, Caiaphas, and Jesus When Did Tiberius Begin to Reign? 1. From his co-regency with Augustus (AD 11–12) 2. From The death of Augustus (AD 14) How Does This Affect Jesus’ Ag...

Women should be silent?

1 Timothy 2:12 - "I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent." Here's an often tricky subject, depending on who you speak to about it. Before I begin, it should be noted here that These words ("woman" and "man") could also be translated as "wife" and "husband", which Then changes The thrust of this command quite drastically. This verse, and oThers similar, are often taken by people to mean that it only applies in a Church setting (ignoring The fact that we are The Church - 1 Cor 12:27; Rom 12:5). A little while ago when discussing this topic, an argument was put forth about The 'Woman at The Well' preaching to oTher...

Lent Day 21: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 1-10

Day Twenty-one: St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 1-10 Who: Bishop of Alexandria; Confessor and Doctor of The Church; born c. 296; died 2 May, 373 AD. He was The main defender of orthodoxy in The 4th-century battle against The Arianism heresy. Certain writers received The title “Doctor” on account of The great advantage Their doctrine had on The whole Church, Athanasius especially for his doctrine on The incarnation. What: The biography of Anthony The Great’s life, which helped to spread The concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe. Why: From The letter’s own prologue: “The life and conversation of our holy FaTher, A...

New Covenant Israel is no longer physical (nor literal)!

If you've read my previous two articles on Israel, Then this will probably seem familiar. This is a combination of The previous two combined into one study, focussing more on who Israel is under The New Covenant raTher than The geopolitical/war situation of The Middle East. So Who is Israel? No doubt what I'm about to say will cause some knee-jerk reactions, but to properly understand The New Covenant, we need to address The issue of who is Israel, Biblically speaking? Yes, There is a modern nation known as "Israel" now since 1948, but is that The same Israel of The Bible? The same Israel to whom God made his promises? If so, does that mean...

Lent: Day 5 - Ignatius to The Ephesians

Day Five: St. Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to The Ephesians (full text) Who: Ignatius converted at a young age and later became Bishop of Antioch. A friend of Polycarp and fellow disciple of John, There is a long standing tradition that Ignatius was The child that Jesus held in his arms and blessed in Mark 10:13-16 What: The letter has a strong call to and for unity within The Church, along with respect for Their bishop. Why: Ignatius wrote a series of letters to The Churches in Asia Minor whilst en route to Rome to face martyrdom by wild beasts in The Colosseum around 108 AD. When: Around 107-108 AD There is a strong Theme to this letter from The outset, an...

Is fasting an expectation for Christians?

The season of Lent is here once again which of course brings up The topic of fasting, since The tradition of Lent comes from following Jesus’ example of his time in The wilderness (Luke 4:1–2). I wasn’t planning on writing anything specific this year like I have previous in previous years, but I felt inspired today at Church from one of Gospel readings: MatThew 9:14–15 Then The disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and The Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to Them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as The bridegroom is with Them, can They? The days will come when The bridegroom is t...