COVID-19 and Closing Churches

With the spread of the flu-like Covid-19 virus, government orders to close, and the community in fear of getting sick; at what point should a church close its doors and temporarily end meeting?  To get clear guidance, we must seek God's Word, and not our feelings or thoughts from our fragile emotional state.  What did Jesus and The Apostles do?  What did the early church do?  What does Holy Scripture say?

The Original Biblical Writings

It is true that we may not currently have the original writings of the Prophets and Apostles BUT when researching the accounts from the early church teachers we can say that there exists a real possibility that we actual may have, if not the originals, first or second generation copies of the originals.  That's a big deal.  But how can we know that this possibility exists?

Evidence for the Crucifixion of Jesus

How do we know Jesus died on the cross?  We must look at the historical evidences recorded for us in ancient history.  What evidence is there?  We have the ancient accounts from Jewish historians, Syrian philosopher, ancient Roman historians and writers, and archeological evidence support; all within the 1st and 2nd century.  With all this evidences, what can we reliably conclude?

Muhammad, a Prophet of God?

When a person is chosen by God to be God's Prophet to the people they have unique characteristics that support their claims.  There are 4 key elements that reveal a true Prophet of God which can be used to test and see if this individual is from God.  Was Muhammad a true Prophet of God?

Jesus and Islam

Jesus is one of the greatest figures in the world.  For Christians, he is the absolute greatest of all, but in Islam, he I just a highly respected prophet to the Jews.  Given the sharp differences in the two understandings of Jesus, both can not be true.  What does Islam and Muslim scholars say about Jesus?

The Quran: Who Wrote It?

Is the Quran today the same as the original teachings from Muhammad himself?  Of course Sunni Muslims would say yes.  In fact, all Muslims must agree that they are, but, in the Shiite sect of Islam, not all are in full agreement of the source of the final product of the original teachings.  To remove Christian bias, we will look at the historical quotes from Muslims themselves and see how accurate the Quran is.

Commonalities of Cults

There are many subgroups of the Christian faith.  These subgroups tailor their teachings and focuses in different ways.  That is exactly how the Body of Christ functions BUT there are some groups that claim to be 'Christian' when in fact, they are not.  Some deny being 'Christian' but claim to have similar beliefs and 'more correct' views than that of orthodox Christianity; but how can you identify a cult?

The Solar Eclipse

The big question for religious and superstitious folks is; "Is the solar eclipse a sign from God?".  When considering what the Lord has allowed us to know in the realm of science and history we can come to an easy answer.

The Watchtower's New World Translation of the Bible

There are many bible translations but none that contradict each other except for the New World Translation.  This translation translates words and ideas differently causing conflict with the other translations.  Both can not be true so is the New World Translation a true biblical translation?  This article will look a a few areas of the translation where words are changed or added and explore the true meaning found in the Alexandrian, Byzantine, and Old Testament ancient texts.

Manuscripts of The Bible and Textual Criticism

The Bible is a collection of ancient manuscripts of the original texts passed down through history.  Scholars gather, compile, translate, research and compare all discovered manuscripts and support texts to determine the original biblical texts.  This article will discuss an overview of biblical manuscripts and textual criticism; we will explain a brief overview of what Textual Criticism is, creation of source documents to recreate a document that closest resembles the original, what actual biblical manuscripts we currently have to study, and what source documents current bible translations depend on.

Is The King James The Best Translation?

There is a belief in fundamentalist Christian groups that the King James Bible is the most reliable biblical text and some even claim it is the only true Bible translation. They are firm in the loyalty to the KJV and trust it is the closest version to the original texts of scripture and some claim it is the exact same as the originals in translation.  But is this true?  To figure this out we will look at the KJV sources, translation, author, and consider God's prevision of his Word through textual criticism.

The Worldly Construction of 'Race'

In changing times and as cultural identities evolve, a constant issue has been and seems always will be the struggle of favoritism and discrimination of people who look and act different.  Even God's people struggle with this issue to this day.  How we address the issue is not found in worldly political strategies and policies but in the truths in Holy Scripture and the Characteristics of God himself.

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?

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.

Hebrews In Egypt

The Bible records Jacob settling in Egypt, in the land called Rameses.  They became slaves to Egypt and were used to construct the Rameses city.  After 430 years of intense labor and poverty, they left.  (Genesis 47:11,27; Exodus 1:11, 12:37-40).  Is this the only explicit record of Israelites being enslaved in Egypt?  There are a couple logical questions we must ask then we can ponder any sort of evidence or support for the bible's claim.

Why The Bible is Divine: Miracles

A proof, or a sign of someone who has supernatural and immaterial powers is through conducting miracles.  A miracle is defined as 'a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency; a highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences.'  What evidence is there that Jesus of Nazareth performed such inexplicable, highly improbable, extraordinary supernatural acts?  Besides the eye witness accounts of the synoptic gospels, we can look at other outside biblical sources, some even hostile to Jesus, yet, unintentionally validate him.

Why The Bible is Divine: Prophecy

One of the evidences for us to know the bible contains a supernatural element and is from a divine source can be seen in the remarkable prophecies validated by history and supported unintentionally by outside unfriendly sources. We will look at historical prophecies of other nations and Messianic prophecies.

God's Judgement on Nations through its Leaders

God is in absolute control in propping up and/or allowing Leaders of nations to rise and fall.   These leaders either lead to the nations dependence on God or lead the nation to not depend on God.  This article will look at God's judgement on a nation through its leaders.

What Makes Christianity The True Faith?

 What Makes Christianity The True Faith?  Can it be trusted and what makes it different from all other faiths?  We will briefly provide unintentional historic support, modern secular historians opinions, archeology and philosophical supports; as well as discuss the support from the death and resurrection and biblical prophecy for what makes Christianity true.  Again, these are brief to allow for self reflection and research. 

The Great Flood

This is a hotly debated issue; was there an actual historic Great Flood or is Noah's story just a myth taken from other cultures?  To address this question we will look at the ancient flood stories of different ancient cultures, and discuss evidences in geology and fossil records.  This topic requires and open mind but also requires a spiritually open mindedness.