Blog Search Results

What is Monarchical Trinitarianism?

...is divine origin and eternal existence within the Father’s bosom (cf. John 1:18 in Greek). As Justin Martyr explains, “For Christ is the first-begotten of God, and we have declared above that He is the Word of whom every race of men were partakers; and those who lived reasonably are Christians, even though they have been thought atheists” (Justin Martyr, First Apology, Chapter 46). This highlights that the Son, the Word, existed eternally with the Father before being begotten and manifested. Similarly, Hippolytus expounds on this concept, noting that “God, subsisting alone, and having nothing contemporaneous with Himself, determined to create the world...

The Battle for the Trinity: Historical Heresies and Church Defences

...ource and origin of the Trinity. The Father begets the Son and breathes forth the Holy Spirit. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father, meaning His origin is from the Father, but this begetting is an eternal reality, not a point in time. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father (and, in Western theology, also from the Son [filioque]), emphasising the Spirit’s origin in the Father. This model highlights the relational structure within the Trinity without compromising the equality and unity of the three Persons. The Father is seen as the “fountainhead” of divinity, but the Son and the Holy Spirit share the same divine essence. Patristic Insight:...

Does Easter Have Pagan origins?

...ching its origins, along with the Easter celebration, to see where they have their basis. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that many of the accusations against Easter and Lent as “pagan” are either fabricated or are just misinformation. So let’s examine the different aspects of Easter to see how we got from Passover to resurrection, to little bunnies and chocolate eggs! The Lenten Fast A forty-day fast prior to Easter has been a long-established practice within the Church, dating back to possibly within the first century. This is well established from ancient letters we still have available, such as from Irenaeus in the second century: For some consider t...

Does Christmas have pagan origins?

...For most people, the question of the origins of Christmas is probably far from their minds. Some may recognise and give a cursory glance towards the Biblical narrative on the birth of Jesus as something to do with it (although a 2017 study showed that almost 1 in 20 Brits thought Easter was the birth of Jesus!);—but in some Christian circles the question (accusation?) that “Christmas is pagan” is at the forefront of their minds. Table of Contents When was December 25th celebrated? The Christian Calendar Concluding Thoughts Bonus Information Further Reading & Sources: As time goes on and we move further and further into the future,...

The Coming of Jesus: Our Future Hope - What Now?

...a/rapture-origin-john-nelson-darby-1830ad.htm http://www.patheos.com/blogs/daylightatheism/essays/2000-years-late/ http://georgekouri.publishpath.com/the-early-church-fathers-and-the-last-days-of-the-jewish-age https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preterism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism_(Christianity) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology http://www.preteristarchive.com/Hyper/2002_green_time-indicators.html...

Is The Rapture Biblical?

...cal? The origin of The Rapture The word “rapture” itself comes from the Latin word rapere, which means: “to seize” or “to abduct”. It is a translation from the Greek word that is rendered as “caught up” (ἁρπάζω / harpázō) in our English Bibles today. For many, asking if this belief is biblical is a non-starter because it is assumed so based on 1 Thess. 4 so obviously it is. But this is a presupposition, reading the modern ideas of what “the rapture” means into the text. The modern idea being that Jesus comes back briefly (and maybe secretly), whooses all the Christians into the sky and takes them to heaven, away from all the trou...