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Does Easter Have Pagan Origins?

...r Eastern fertility goddess, but just because the names sound somewhat similar in English, it doesn’t mean there is any etymological connection at all. Ishtar is also originally Akkadian, which was a language spoken in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq and Syria) between about 2,800 BC and 500 AD, and was also the goddess of war and sexual love. Not really anything there to do with “rebirth”, rabbits or Spring, nor even a historical connection to ancient Britain. Eostre, on the other hand, actually does originate in ancient Britain from the Anglo-Saxons, and there is one (yes, only one) historical mention of a supposed Anglo-Saxon goddess by this name. The onl...

Great Lent: The Season of Fasting

...anism and fertility goddesses. So with that said, let's take a look at the practice of fasting. It seems to be a spiritual discipline which has been pushed aside in many churches today, with prayer, worship and bible reading taking more precedence in a Christian's life instead (not that those are bad things to do!). Why fast? Fasting is participation in the Gospel. It is the ‘death’ of the flesh through denial, so that we can enjoy the resurrection of Christ in the spirit (Rom 8:13, Col 3:5). It’s pure discipline and obedience. It’s putting to death the body – killing the flesh in order to live by the Spirit. (Gal 5:17) It’s training you in s...

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

...Welcome to the next instalment of my series looking at the ancient mythological gods and how they compare to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Mithras is yet another popular ancient god that people like to compare with Jesus and make wild claims about, proposing that they are the same deities with different names. But is this even remotely true? This article has ended up being a bit longer than anticipated as it’s one of the few ancient religions that was contemporary to the birth of Christianity which was seen as somewhat of a rival belief system, so there’s a lot of interesting things to cover! The Origins Mithras has his roots in ancient Persi...

Horus, Jesus, and Egyptian Mythology: Separating Fact from Fiction

...If you've ever found yourself immersed in the world of ancient Egyptian mythology or perhaps watching a documentary on the subject (or even just browsing social media around Christmas time), you might have come across the claim that the story of Jesus shares striking similarities with the story of Horus, an ancient Egyptian deity. While it might seem convincing at first that there's a direct connection between the two, it's essential to understand that the similarities are often exaggerated in popular culture, and many scholars consider them vastly different. In this article, we'll explore the life of Horus, his birth, the miracles he performed, and the truth b...

On the Feast of the Nativity, a sermon by Leo the Great

...In the days leading up to Christmas, I wanted to share a sermon from a man known as Leo the Great (aka Pope Leo I), who was a Pope from 440-61 AD. He was one of the most significant and important men in Christian antiquity, as he tried to combat the heresies which seriously threatened church unity in the West, such as Pelagianism. This sermon of his about the incarnation of Christ and what it means for us has always stuck with me since I first read it last April when writing my own book on the Early Church Fathers. It's not that long, so take the time to read it through and let the words sink in as we prepare for Christmas to remember and celebrate the birth...