While Christians often think about the death (and resurrection!) of Jesus, many Christians (especially Protestants) rarely consider how the earliest followers of Jesus lived out their last moments on earth. In part, this is because–unlike with Jesus–we have relatively few historically credible accounts of the death of the earliest leaders of the Jesus Movement. WhatContinue reading “What Happened to the Apostles?”
Tag Archives: Death
The Trinity in the Early Church (Part II)
Historian J.W.C. Wand argues that the orthodox belief of the early church included the deity of the Holy Spirit, as it was essentially argued along with the deity of Christ in the Christological debates and was held as popular belief among Christians.[8] Yet as Rebecca Lyman argues that one cannot merely accept popular opinion asContinue reading “The Trinity in the Early Church (Part II)”
The Trinity in the Early Church (Part I)
The doctrine of the Trinity–espoused by the Cappadocian Fathers as “God is one object in Himself and three objects to Himself”–is commonly understood to be one of the more difficult concepts to grasp in Christian theology. Much of Early Church history revolved around debates concerning the Person of Jesus Christ and His relationship to theContinue reading “The Trinity in the Early Church (Part I)”
The Day That Jesus Died
“When students are first introduced to the historical, as opposed to a devotional, study of the Bible, one of the first things they are forced to grapple with is that the biblical text, whether Old Testament or New Testament, is chock full of discrepancies, many of them irreconcilable…. In some cases seemingly trivial points ofContinue reading “The Day That Jesus Died”
After Death
Last week, Conciliar Post ran a Round Table discussion what happens to human beings after physical death. Below are my reflections for your consideration. Just a couple of weeks ago, someone posed this very question—what happens to people after death?—while I was teaching a Sunday school class on the Apocalypse of John (the book ofContinue reading “After Death”
Did God Command Genocide? (Part VI)
This is the final post in a series examining whether or not God commanded Israel to commit genocide in the conquest of the Promised Land. A Way Forward Given Ancient Near East warfare terminology, “driving out” language, and an emphasis on the destruction of the heads of state, it seems that the vast majority ofContinue reading “Did God Command Genocide? (Part VI)”
The Marcion Problem: Tertullian (Part I)
This post is part of an ongoing series examining Marcion of Sinope and his influence on the development of the New Testament canon. In comparison to all other extant ancient works, the writings of Tertullian of Carthage against Marcion remain the fullest and most precise rejection of Marcion’s theology. Tertullian composed as least six worksContinue reading “The Marcion Problem: Tertullian (Part I)”
Jesus and Crossan (Part II)
This is the second part of a two post-series looking at John D. Crossan’s view of the Historical Jesus as outlined in Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. Key for understanding Crossan’s perspective on the historical Jesus is his understanding of Jesus as a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant.[13] In Crossan’s view, this understanding points to Jesus as aContinue reading “Jesus and Crossan (Part II)”
The Passion of Jesus Christ
When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name wasContinue reading “The Passion of Jesus Christ”
What Day Did Jesus Die?
This post also appears this morning at Conciliar Post. “When students are first introduced to the historical, as opposed to a devotional, study of the Bible, one of the first things they are forced to grapple with is that the biblical text, whether Old Testament or New Testament, is chock full of discrepancies, many ofContinue reading “What Day Did Jesus Die?”
Pursuing Veritas 