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Biblical inspiration and the Canon: How We Got the Bible

...alogy for inspiration is that of an architect designing a great building. Consider St. Paul’s Cathedral in London — Christopher Wren was the architect who planned and designed it, yet he himself did not lay a single brick. Instead, countless workers followed his design to bring the cathedral into existence. Similarly, God is the ultimate author of Scripture, yet He worked through human writers to bring His message to us. The Holy Spirit inspired them, guiding their words while allowing their personalities, historical context, and literary style to remain evident in their writings. This means that while the Bible is written by human hands, it carries div...

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

...A common modern perception of the inspiration of Scripture often portrays it as a rigid, divine dictation of words from God to be written down verbatim. This perspective leads to concerns among some religious communities, such as Muslims, who view any alteration or addition to the text as a potential threat to the entire faith. The Islamic understanding of inspiration emphasises direct and unalterable divine dictation, contributing to their scepticism of multiple Bible translations, which they falsely label as “corruption”. In contrast, the Biblical inspiration of the Scriptures has never been viewed as a literal divine dictation, as if the apostles were un...

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

...w this by inspiration, “but from experience and practice”. In the same way these demons also operate. Should we desire to know the future, desire to use the gifts of the Spirit, as Paul encouraged (1 Cor 14:1,5), then it should be through our discipline to God to keep ourselves pure so that when our “soul is perfectly pure and in its natural state, it is able, being clear-sighted, to see more and further than the demons--for it has the Lord who reveals to it”. How do we distinguish between the good and the evil? “When, therefore, they come by night to you and wish to tell the future, or say, "we are the angels," give no heed, for they lie …  bu...

Christians and the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

...a as some inspiration for us during this trying time: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”   Further Reading/Sources: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/articles/three-ways-you-can-help-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.html https://www.churchtimes.co....

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

...t did get inspiration from Christian practice, or if Justin is vilifying the similar practices as a way to defend and promote Christianity. Though there is some evidence to suggest much of the Mithraic practices we do know about come from post-New Testament times. Nonetheless, these quotes provide insight into how early Christians viewed the Mithras cult and its perceived similarities with Christianity. It is entirely possible the Mithras cult did incorporate similar Christian practices, as they were seen as a rival religion, especially as the earliest literary references we have to Mithraism are between AD 80–100 from Latin poet Statius, and Plutarch, a Gree...

Did St. Nicholas Really Slap Arius?

...It’s nearly Christmas time again, and like clockwork, the internet memes come out all over social media about Saint Nicholas giving the heretic Arius a slap across the face at the Council of Nicaea! As it’s almost the end of November and coming up soon is the feast day of St. Nicholas on December 6th, the original inspiration behind Santa Claus, I thought I’d address this long-standing myth about Nicholas of Myra (present-day Demre, Turkey), the fourth century bishop. St. Nicholas is often humorously portrayed in social media memes which playfully recount the infamous incident during the Council of Nicaea when the good bishop, provoked by Arius’s blasp...