One of the doctrines that divide Christians today is giving in the church (see Giving vs Tithing). The debate is primarily between those who say that we need to follow the laws of tithing as described in the Old Testament, and those who say that all should give as Paul described in second Corinthians chapter […]
01.3.2 Church Giving in the Time of Justin Martyr Read More »
In the previous post we looked at how Justin promoted the Logos. He embraced the Stoic view, and furthered it by proclaiming that Jesus was the living incarnation of the Logos. Justin wrote that the Logos inspired the both the Jewish prophets, and the Greek poets and philosophers. He also declared that the Logos manifested
01.3.1.1 Justin Martyr Ranked Jesus, The Logos Made Flesh, as Inferior to the Father Read More »
Justin is the most famous of the first apologists and shows the beginning of the integration of Greek philosophy with Christian doctrine. As a caveat it must be stated that, like all the early Church fathers, everything that Justin wrote was not accepted as definitive for Christian theology. In fact, the earlychurch.org.uk website puts it
Justin the Martyr’s life spanned from 100 to 165 A.D[i]. Unlike the previous Christians we have looked at, Justin did not have the experience with the Jewish tradition and culture of Christianity of his predecessors. Justin, being born to a pagan family in Sheckham, Samaria, embraced philosophy as a young man, ” being first a
The location of the authorship of the Gospel of John is debated to be among Ephesus, Patmos, or some smaller place in Asia Minor. Its time of authorship is estimated at around 90 AD. As this time is later than the dispersion of the Jews it is not unreasonable to think that many Jews and
The Logos in the Gospel of John Read More »
“Beatitudes” comes from the Latin word for “blessings”. “The beatitudes” refers to eight blessings that the Gospel of Matthew says that Jesus proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: and he opened his mouth
What does Axiomatic Systems have to do with a study of Christianity? In fact, what are Axiomatic Systems? Why would anyone care about Axiomatic Systems in the first place? Well, it’s because Christianity is an axiomatic system! To give a little history, when I was growing I was one of the school math whizzes. Math
Axiomatic Systems ?!?! Read More »
Oh, it would be but so very wonderful and great if the books of the Bible had been written recently in my language by someone in my family. I would understand it much more easily. I would understand all of the colloquialisms, the grammar, the jokes, and all the other nuances of language that affect
Grammar and Logic – Boring But Invaluable Read More »
The Seventh-day Adventist began as part of what was known in 19th century as the “Millerite” movement. That movement was based on the belief of one William Miller, a farmer in New York, who believed that the second coming of Jesus was going to happen about the year 1843. Miller based his conclusion on his
19.4.3 The Seventh Day Adventist Movement Read More »
And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all? (Mark 12:28) Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
Jesus Taught Men To Love God Read More »
It sometimes surprises me to find Christian history and theology in unusual places. My son gave me Bill Bryson’s book AT HOME, and there on page thirteen the author goes into quite a bit about Anglican clergyman in the year 1851. He says there were 17,621 Anglican clergymen at the time. A country rector would
18.5.1 The Ministry of Anglican Clergy in 19th Century England Read More »
On this site we have many articles about how the original Christians believed and acted. We also have articles on the many doctrinal disputes that divide the many Christian churches and denominations today. But how does the Christian on the street decide how to go to a church? Is all the doctrine on these pages
21.1.1 How Americans Pick Churches in the Early 21st Century Read More »
The following article gives us insight into the process of Hellenization, the incorporation of Greek concepts and ideas into another culture. In this case, the culture being Hellenized is Judaism. The Old Testament is a book about how Yahweh leads and communicates with his people. The source of knowledge is by revelation: Surely the Lord
Philo of Alexandria on the Logos Read More »
Philo of Alexandria was a Jew that lived from about 20 BC to 50 A.D. As such he lived at the same time both as Jesus Christ, and Paul the apostle. Philo is a source of information about Hellenistic Judaism. (That is not to say that he is especially well regarded among the Jews. I
Philo of Alexandria Read More »
As seen in previous articles (Stoicism, Why We Must Learn A Little Philosophy In Order To Understand How Christianity Has Developed) the Greek term “Logos” was a term that was used by different philosophies and religions to describe God and how God worked. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, but as we have seen
Logos is a Commonly Used Word in the Old Testament Read More »
There are not as many tools for working with the Septuagint as with the KJV or the NIV. There is a concordance listed on Amazon, but it is expensive and written in Greek. If you want to search for a word in the LXX you can use the excellent free resource, the E-Sword program. The
How to Use the E-Sword Program to Search the Septuagint Read More »
In our short study of ancient Greek philosophy we have looked at some of the pre-Socratic’s emphasis on the physis. Then we looked at Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In the last couple of articles we have discussed some of the philosophies with religious elements like Pythagoreanism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism. But it is important to note
Other Greek Philosophies of Note in Ancient Times: Skepticism and Cynicism Read More »
The deaths of Alexander and Aristotle marked a diminishing of the domination of pure Greek philosophy in the culture. In his conquest, Alexander started adopting oriental culture. Alexander married the daughter of Darius and adopted Persian customs such as the diadem and the robe of state. Alexander introduced the oriental notion of the divine right
Epicureanism is named after its founder, Epicurus. Epicureanism is one of the philosophies that appeared in Greek culture after the demise of Aristotle. Stoicism was another philosophy that appeared about the same time (we will discuss Stoicism in a future article, but it is important to note that Stoicism and Epicureanism competed in the “cultural
Pythagoras (Samos, 582 – 500 BC), is famous for his Pythagorean theorem, but in reality, he was a pre-Socratic philosopher who emphasized the metaphysical more than mathematics. In fact, while the first time I heard about Pythagoras was in a math class because of the famous Pythagorean theorem, I spent much more time talking about
Pythagorus, a Pre-Socratic Religious Philosopher, and Also, Mathematician Read More »
We find in the gospels numerous places where Jesus instructed on prayer. Jesus taught us both how to pray, and how not to pray. And some of his instruction on prayer appears contrary to human nature. For example, in these next verses, we see Jesus telling us to pray for our enemies, and those that
Jesus Taught Men To Pray Read More »
In preparation for studying the apologist movement in the early church I have been studying philosophy more than I ever have. I am starting to understand the lure that philosophy has. If you don’t have any absolute truth that you believe that has been revealed by God that you are only left with whatever you
Paul Wrote About the Lure and Futility of Philosophy Read More »
Aristotle was a voluminous writer. I own a volume entitled THE BASIC WORKS OF ARISTOTLE. It is about 1500 pages, and has works on logic, nature, the heavens, the soul, the history and nature of animals, metaphysics, ethics and politics. Because this site is focused on Christianity I have chosen to look quickly at Aristotle’s
Aristotle, A Peek at his Writings Read More »
Aristotle is a fascinating individual and acclaimed as one of the greatest thinkers ever. He is the third in a direct line of great philosophers: Socrates, Plato (trained by Socrates), and Aristotle (trained by Plato). Whereas Socrates suffered public condemnation because of philosophy, Aristotle was elevated by King Philip to high social status, and was