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7 things the Lord hates (spoiler: questioning doctrine isn't one of them)

By now, most people (in Christian circles, at least) will have heard about the Jars of Clay controversy. For those that are thinking "how on earth could there be controversy over some jars?" let me clarify: they are a contemporary Christian music band. The controversy is because the frontman, Dan Haseltine, tweeted some thoughts on the topic of gay marriage. Shocking, I know.   This is what started it all: The treatment of people as less than human based on the color of skin is crazy... Or gender, or sexual orientation for that matter. — Dan Haseltine (@scribblepotemus) April 21, 2014   Not meaning to stir things up BUT... I...

8 Most Controversial Topics In The Church Today

What are Christians' thoughts on homosexual marriage? Are spiritual talents biblically sanctioned? Can Christians have alcohol? These are some of the issues that frequently spark passionate debate inside the church today. Christians hold widely varied views on these matters, and both sides cite Scripture to buttress their positions. Even within a community of Christians in today's world, discernment is unquestionably required. Whatever your thoughts are on each of those issues, studying this list of areas wherein the church regularly reviews division will hopefully inspire us as Christ-followers to strive for unity within our personal church buildings or even a...

Lent: Day 11 - Ignatius to Polycarp

Day Eleven: St. Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to Polycarp (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: A letter addressed personally to Polycarp giving him advice and encouragement as a bishop, plus some instructions on marriage to the church, which are reminiscent of Paul’s epistles. 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. Wh...

Who is the New Jerusalem?

This is a sort of ‘addendum’ to the Revelation Fulfilled? article    Yes you read the title correct: WHO (not what) is the New Jerusalem?   To answer this, you must ask yourself: who is the Bride of Christ?   If you answered “the Church” (as in, the body of believers, not buildings) then you’d be correct as they are both one and the same!   Roughly 1500 miles square.   Maybe you’ve always wondered why the Church is called the “bride”? Well, let’s examine some Scriptures and see! 2 Corinthians 11:2I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Chris...

Women should be silent?

...The whole marriage debate is also based on a creation-order logic that God 'made them male and female' (Gen 1:27; Mk 10:6), therefore man/man, woman/woman can't marry - and the church is fighting its hardest to make that apply to all people, secular or otherwise - despite Paul saying judging those outside the church is not our business (1 Cor 5:12). So why in the instance of women being silent, should this same creation-order command from Paul be only situational and the other not? Leaving aside the silence issue for a moment, those women out there who do keep to this non-authority, staying quiet thing - do you follow the preceding verse as strictly?  ...a...

An ancient fragment mentions Jesus' wife!?

...on, has a marriage supper (Rev 19:9) so it presumably married by this point too (or at least, will be), so it's really not that unusual for a reference of Jesus speaking of a "wife". Despite all this though, the fragment has been dated to be "between the sixth and ninth centuries CE" which means it was written long after the rest of the New Testament, which already has a rich narrative about Christ and his Bride, and so the small fragment of text could simply be a later interpolation by Christians writing about Jesus and his wife, the Church. Alternatively, it could also be a genuine saying of Jesus which had been preserved in other texts not included in the C...