The World Changes, The Worldly Hearts Do Not

When reading through the Bible and take note of social norms in the early cultures all the way through the early church writings about social norms of those times; a pattern becomes apparent.  A social norms pattern that conflict with God's moral standard.  Then, when looking at our modern times and its escalating social norms, we see the pattern continuing.  The pattern of child sacrifice and freedom for sexual immorality. But what is at the source of it and what is wrong with it?

Being A Confessional Church

What does it mean to be a confessional church and why is it important?  In this day and age most people do not even know what being a confessional church is, in any shape or form.  This article will address a very important issue in the Body of Christ that most Christian leaders have neglected for generations.  We will review what 'confessional' is referring to, why it is important, discuss statements of faith, and clear up common misconceptions about historic Creeds and Confessions.

What Did Melito of Sardis Teach?

Lightfoot believed that he is second generation Christian in this region and was a successor to an Apostle of his local church community in Sardis but given his estimated date of death, this is unlikely but close.  He knew Polycarp, his disciple Irenaeus, and personally acquainted with Ignatius.  He was martyred around 177AD.  He wrote numerous books but are mostly lost except for some fragments and a lot of quotes from Eusebius, Polycrates, Origen, Tertullian, and Jerome.  He is a important figure in the Church because he was very close to Disciples of the Apostle John and relatives of eye witnesses of people raised from the dead by the Apostles.  In his travels he also met Tatian and Theodotus and most likely would have also met Clement of Alexandria. 

What Did Apollinaris of Hierapolis Teach?

Apollinaris was a 3rd generation Christian who could have been influenced by Qaudratus and Aristides and was friends with Melito who was discipled by Polycarp.  Church historians after him spoke very highly of him and the soundness of his teachings.  He gained notoriety when he wrote treatises against Heresies of his time.  He also wrote an apology to the Roman Emperor.  It is unclear when he was born and his death is estimated to be before the death of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius around 177AD. 

What Did Hippolytus of Rome Teach?

Hippolytus was born around 170AD and died a martyr around 235AD.  He was a disciple of Irenaeus who was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John the Apostle.  Even Origen of Alexandria heard him preach at an early age.  He was critical of the popes of Rome and even accused Pope Zephyrinus of modalism.  Under the persecution at the time of Emperor Maximinus Thrax he was exiled where he later died as a martyr.

True Revival

What is a revival, who sparks it, and how does one begin?  In more charismatic circles we hear about revivals and supposed prophesied soon coming and that we need to do A, B, and C to usher in a revival. But looking at history, we see a couple major revivals.  We can also learn what happened and how it happened when we look through the lens of scripture.

What did Aristides of Athens teach?

Aristitdes was a greek philosopher and then converted to Christianity.  He is known for a letter he wrote to the Roman Emperor Hadrian that is estimated to have been delivered around 125AD.  He died around 134AD, only about 44 years after John The Apostle died after writing Revelations.   It is suggested that he also wrote Epistle to Diognetus.  Eusebius and Jerome both having knowledge of his letter to Hadrian and Jerome supporting the soundness of his doctrine.  The comprehensiveness and subject matter is still very relevant to modern society.

Ghosts, Hauntings, Spirit Possession; and God.

What are Ghosts?  Are there supernatural hauntings? What causes paranormal activity?  These are all questions that are growing more common in a modern scientific world.  The questions are not if a supernatural realm exists but what is the source of the supernatural elements.  When looking at what God reveals we can come to understand what the world is having a hard time understanding.