Most people are aware that Christmas has something to do with Christ, but even many Christians seem unsure of some important details about His purpose in coming to earth. What follows is an attempt to pinpoint and summarize the essential facts about Jesus’ first coming, in the hope that Christians will re-focus on the reason… Continue reading»
In ancient times there were of course many misconceptions (pun intended) about conception, such as Aquinas’ belief that women were misbegotten men. But a related (another pun intended) myth still persist among some Christians, that somehow the virgin birth of Christ must have been necessary from a biological standpoint to ensure His sinlessness. A typical… Continue reading»
Halloween is fast approaching, so I thought it appropriate to tell a very scary story. Enjoy. A man walks into the local costume shop. “I’m going to a historical figure-themed Halloween party tonight. I know it’s short notice, but what do you have left?” The shop owner replies, “Well, not much. All we have are… Continue reading»
When Jesus said “open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35), who’d have thought this could one day apply to the Body of Christ itself? Of all the people on the face of the earth who should know the gospel and be united around our faith, it should… Continue reading»
This unusual word is used in some theoretical physics and medical journals. But it comes from the word hypostasis, whose religious/philosophical meaning is “an underlying reality or substance” that refers to either all three Persons of the Trinity or the “hypostatic union” of divine and human in Jesus. But we need to be aware of… Continue reading»
This common English idiom usually refers either to literal tumbling or metaphorically to a feeling of elation. But suppose I used it in this context: I’m head over heels about this new hat and the matching shoes! (head==>hat, heels==>shoes) That’s an example of a play on words, a pun, and the apostle Paul made extensive… Continue reading»
A friend alerted me to the article Reexamining the Eternal Sonship of Christ by John MacArthur, and I felt the need to comment. At this time I don’t see any date stamp on it so I don’t know when it was written [EDIT: apparently 1999; see near end of document]. But while I had hoped… Continue reading»
Back a few years ago I made up a chart to try and illustrate all the events of Jesus’ last week as a mortal, combining data from all the Gospels. But recently I took another look at it with details I hadn’t known before, especially the fact that the Greek does not say “first day… Continue reading»
One would presume that a title like that would be for an article about the quality of our lives as Christians, and of course that’s the goal: to be like Jesus (Rom. 8:29). But today, as the churches plan to celebrate “Easter”, I’d like to focus on Jesus’ resurrection as it pertains to the physical… Continue reading»
There’s a phrase I heard thirty years ago that I like to use: Those who know all the answers haven’t heard all the questions. It’s a good one to remember when it comes to things we take for granted, sometimes for our entire lives, until someone else brings it up. And there isn’t anything about… Continue reading»