The more popular claims of borrowing or influence between Christianity and the mysteries pertain to the birth/death/resurrection of Jesus Christ. What were the mystery religions? The mystery religions (contrary to George James’ book Stolen Legacy: Greek Philosophy is Stolen Egyptian Philosophy) were really Hellenistic religions, called ‘mystery’ because they involved secret ceremonies that were thought to bring their initiates some special benefits. They were more or less based on the annual vegetation cycle of life (spring) and death (fall). Each religion originated from different areas. From Mesopotamia—Tammuz or Dumuzi (the Sumerian version); from Egypt—the cult of Isis and Osiris (later called Serapis); from Greece—the cults of Demeter and Dionysus which later developed into the Eleusinian and Orphic mystery religions; from Phrygia in Asia Minor—the cult of Cybele and Attis; from Syria/Palestine—the cult of Adonis and from Persia (modern Iran)—the cult of Mithra (twin brother of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda). Before responding… read more
Search Results: New Testament
The Bible is probably the only ancient text that any Mike, Mary or Marcia waxes warm about despite stark ignorance of the book’s actual texts and historical contexts (plural). The lay critic may be very educated but (s)he and even most Christians need to understand how to read an ancient text from a different linguistic and cultural milieu than ours. I illustrate the need with the issue of slavery in the Bible, an issue I had to deal with in a Barbados newspaper years ago in response to a learned critic there. Said critic charged that “Slavery is justified in both principle and practice throughout the Old and New Testament.†Most of us learned in English literature class the basic point that a text must be read in light of its context. What contextual cues do we need to bear in mind to read the Bible responsibly? Well for starters we need to… read more
It may be rebutted but it cannot be refuted that no one can live and no academic discipline can operate without faith, properly defined! Faith, like its twin sister hope, is fragile but is a fundamentum in life, by that I mean it is absolutely foundational to life. So you ask me what then is faith in my book? As I have argued in lecture theatres and urged in sermons, faith is belief, based on but slightly in excess of evidence. Hope, if you must know, is confident assurance about the ‘not yet’. Those who are familiar with Hebrews 11.1 may be wondering about the nature of my definition. For those who lack familiarity with the Bible I’ll quote that text then explain the difference between it and my approach to faith. Heb. 11:1, from the New Revised Standard Version reads, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,… read more
Ancient books are not always, if ever, easy to read properly, unless one can find helpful background information. The Herods in the New Testament are not clearly differentiated, so we read about King Herod in Mt. 2:1(re the nativity of Jesus) then there is a King Herod in Mk. 6:18 (the one whom John rebuked for marrying his brother’s wife) and there is yet another King Herod in Acts 12:1-2(who had James the brother of John killed). Same guy? No. The King Herod of the nativity accounts was King Herod the Great, that master-builder who was appointed puppet King of the Jews in 40 BC and who ruled as King of Judea from 37 BC until his death in 4 BC. When Herod the Great died in 4 BC the territories under his jurisdiction were divided among his sons. So [Herod] Archelaus (called ‘Herod the Ethnarch’ on his coins) ruled… read more
Suppose you found a friend carving a small statue out of a piece of wood. “What are you going to do with that?†you ask. “I’m going to worship it,†he says. “I’ve got a nice spot in my bedroom where I can kneel down and ask it for things.†Or imagine people on a suburban street pooling their wedding rings and other jewelry to make a statue they can put in the park. They plan to kill animals and leave the meat out in front of the statue. To moderns, idolatry is as weird as cannibalism; we’re not tempted to try it. But since a great part of the Old Testament is concerned with idolatry, we need to get some idea of what people saw in it—and why God condemned it. “They have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods.â€Â Jeremiah 19:4 Mixing Religions In Jeremiah’s… read more
When I was born my dad had already joined the Iraqi army so I really didn’t see him much. He actually joined the army one year after he got married at the age of twenty five and left the army in his late thirty’s. Back home men are forced to join the army; they fought and died for a cause they didn’t believe in, against a neighboring country they did not consider an enemy, in support of a president they did not elect. My dad had a vacation of around seven days every forty five days, so when he came home he didn’t want to shave because in the army they are forced to wake up at 5 am and shave every morning, so he just wanted a break from it! Needless to say I didn’t know who my dad was! I actually didn’t know what the word “Dad” meant!… read more
I grew up in a semi-devoted Roman Catholic family. My parents are good people, but my mom was never the religious type and my dad had more doubt than faith. The only religious influence on me and my sister was our grandmother even though she didn’t have spiritual understanding of the Bible. She didn’t understand grace, or Salvation, nor did she have an accurate view of God’s character or ways. Nevertheless, seeing her reading prayer books everyday encouraged me to read the New Testament. In my early teens in the summer time as soon as it gets around 4 or 5 PM I would get ready to go play soccer and burst running out of the door in excitement! Just then I would hear my mom yelling to me, “Fadi, come take the garbage out!†After running for few more meters I would remember those words of our Lord in… read more
I feel utterly inadequate and unworthy to share any Biblical truth with anyone, because how can a law breaker like me promote the same law he breaks? I am no less of a hypocrite than anyone else ever lived. But if every Christian stops sharing Biblical truths because he or she is not perfect then the gospel will not be preached anymore. Joseph Reassures His Brothers – Genesis 50:15-21 And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the… read more
As we study the story surrounding Jesus’ death and resurrection, we may be led to believe things that are not supported by the Bible. Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. The Gospels speaks of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. Christians celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday (Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday), two days after Good Friday and three days after Maundy Thursday. Rev. Clinton Chisholm. clears up a few of the myths surrounding this much celebrated historical event. The words ‘crucifixion’ and ‘excruciating’ are derived from the Latin crux = cross. Crucifixion is primarily an extreme method of torture/punishment and is not necessarily synonymous with death. Death normally resulted from crucifixion, but in history there are cases where a crucified man survived on the cross for a few days. The nails in Jesus’ ‘hands’ were… read more
I am in Vienna-Austria, waiting for my dad and sister to arrive, so I have some time to myself. I was thinking about life these last few days and I have really been bored with life. To be honest, if I had the choice of being here or back at school I would choose the little, dinky town of Schladming (where school was). Here I have been living the “good life,†I have a hotel room all to myself with a nice view and I have a public transit pass to get me anywhere in this beautiful city. Yet compared to experiencing God, it does not even come close. I say this because I feel that too few Christians truly experience Christ. They go to Church on Sunday, going through the motions, and then live life pretty normally throughout the week. Life with Christ is an adventure and… read more
I read an article by Brandon, about demons, and I decided to share my personal story of some accounts I had in the past. This is the first time I am sharing this with anyone on-line, but I think it can be an eye opener for some. Demons are very real, I have had my experiences. Let me share one with you. First, let let me give a disclaimer: I don’t smoke, drink, take any kind of drugs, I have no mental problems etc, etc and what I am about to say may sound crazy!! For a few months, about five or six years ago, I was working on a Creation Book and during this time, I had some experiences that led me to believe that I had demon activity in our house. I would be troubled in my sleep almost every night and sometimes when I was taking a nap… read more
Clouds are always interesting to look at, most times we can see different shapes in them that captures our imaginations, but what exactly are clouds?, how are they made?. On Earth the condensing substance that form clouds is typically water vapor, which forms small droplets or ice crystals. When surrounded by billions of other droplets or crystals they become visible as clouds. Dense deep clouds exhibit a high reflectance throughout the visible range of wavelengths; they therefore appear white, at least from the top. Cloud droplets tend to scatter light efficiently, so that the intensity of the solar radiation decreases with depth into the gases, hence the gray or even sometimes dark appearance at the cloud base. Thin clouds may appear to have acquired the color of their environment or background and clouds illuminated by non-white light, such as during sunrise or sunset, may appear colored accordingly. Clouds look darker… read more
The Bible Translation issue is more challenging than what it seems, we as Christians need to be careful on how we approach this topic, or else we can go down some dangerous paths, sometimes we see missing verses or seemingly changed words in the new translations eg. the New International Version, but we do not know the reason why these changes or omissions have been made. So the question about these are quite reasonable, but we must try to find the answers before we jump to conclusions. This is what I found out. A pastor was speaking on the radio, and answered a question from a caller who asked him why some Bible translations have missing verses? The pastor explained that there are three different “text” that governs Bible translations, I also found a forth. Deciding which translation is more accurate depends on who you ask, but the majority of… read more
I can certainly understand why some people do not trust the Bible and the many translations that have been done. With a little understanding of the History of the Bible and how much pain, hard work and dedication that went into making the translations accurate, you would then see that the Bible is the most accurate piece of historical document that man has in his possession. I am not just saying this because I am a Christian, here are the facts, the only book that comes close as far as accuracy is the manuscripts (copies) of “Homer” (writer of the Trojan Horse) These writings were copied 500 years between the times of the original documents. Six hundred and forty three (643) copies still exist and the writings are 95% correct. The original document was written 900 B.C. the earliest copy was done about 400 B.C. Compare those stats to the… read more
The Easter season is a time of joy, reflection, and celebration, and what better way to spread the good news than through visually captivating and spiritually uplifting marketing materials? In this blog post, we’ve curated a list of 26 Easter Church Marketing Flyers and Postcards designed for Canva by Godserv Designs, available on Etsy. These templates are not just visually stunning; they are crafted with a deep understanding of the essence of Resurrection Day, making them perfect for Easter Sunday services, as well as other events like plays, cantatas, and pageants throughout the Lenten season. The Significance of Easter Marketing Marketing Easter Sunday services holds immense value for churches. It’s a time when communities come together to celebrate the central event of the Christian faith – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Utilizing visually appealing and thoughtfully designed marketing materials enhances the reach and impact of these celebrations. Godserv Designs’ Canva… read more
Hosea begins with a love story; a painful, personal love story, the prophet’s very own. Hosea had married a woman who acted like a prostitute. Yet the more she went out on him, the more Hosea loved her. He gave her everything a good wife deserved: his love, his home, his name, his reputation. She responded by sleeping around with other men. He warned her, he pleaded with her, he punished her. She humiliated him until he wanted to cry, yet still he clung to her. Why did Hosea begin with his personal life? Because God had expressly told him to relate it to another, more tragic love story: the painful love of God for his people. God could have simply declared, “Israel is like a wife to me, an adulterous wife.†Instead, he used Hosea to act out the treachery in real life and to show in living color… read more
Idolatry, Why The Big Fuss? A few months ago before a test I saw a classmate holding the cross that hung around his neck and was praying in preparation for the test. Later I e-mailed him asking if he was a Christian and if it was OK with him to add his e-mail to my “Christian forwards/messages†list. He replied to my e-mail saying that he was not a Christian: he simply had the cross for “good luckâ€. “And God spoke all these words: ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ‘You shall have no other gods before me. ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD… read more
I want to talk about a topic I think most Christians won’t like, but I feel burdened to talk about it, so please if you start reading the next line, keep reading to the end…otherwise you will get the wrong idea. Growing up in a Christian family meant I had neutral feelings towards Israel or the Jews. But as I started reading the Bible starting from the Old Testament at the age of 16 I started to be really impressed by the Jews because of their rich history, God’s mighty work among them, and their lasting legacy. When all other civilizations disappeared they still existed. And being a teenager and wanting to find a purpose in life and belong to something, I really considered going to Israel and becoming a Jewish Rabbi!!! Later on when I came to Canada and started reading novels about the Holocaust I again admired the… read more
This Inspirational Art was done on a whim after I was viewing entire photo groups on Flickr with Piclens. I actually looked at a lot of great photos very fast. Last year this was impossible!!..at least I did not know about Piclens then. “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel 12:4 We have so much knowledge at our disposal now more than ever, with Google, Wiki and all the social networks out there, and not to mention all the modern inventions which have only taken place since the 19th century…it’s unbelievable!! The Lord never leave his people blind to what is going to happen, the only people who are blind to what is happening are unbelievers. It was the same way when Jesus came to earth…. read more
The Bread of Life is the spiritual food needed by man. Without the bread of life man cannot live spiritually. Just as physically man needs to eat in order to live, the bread of life gives nourishment for the soul. Unless one eats from the bread of life we face eternal death. Jesus said in John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. John 6:35 In the Old Testament God provided the Israelite with manna from heaven. They were told only to take what was required for a one day supply and they had to trust that God would send more the next day. The manna served as salvation for the Israelite physical needs on a daily basis. God, however knew of a greater need for the salvation… read more
This is part three and final part of my previous article called “Who is God”….Most of the time I live as if I had figured God all out and that there is nothing new to learn about Him. And after reading the Bible few times I feel that reading it again is just redundant. Yet it is so untrue. Sometimes when I read the letters of the apostle Paul which stresses holy living (which is of course God’s will), and then I go back to the Old Testament and see how He worked through prostitutes and murderers, I am forced to ask Him, “Lord, who are You?†Not that I don’t know Him: it is just that He is so great and He doesn’t overlook anybody which makes it is so hard, if not impossible, to categorize Him. I think we all have heard the saying, “You can’t… read more
Time is Almost Up Wallpaper: Many people ask, “Are we in the last days?†Well, to be honest, I certainly think that we are. Does this belief mean that every Christian should sell what they have, quit their jobs and move to the mountains to wait on the Lord? No, because that would be un-Biblical and just plain stupid. I would say this though, it’s time for the complaisant Christians to re-evaluate their walk with God and start running the race to save as many souls as possible. The signs are all around us, in the news and in our everyday lives. One doesn’t have to look far to see that time is winding down. ” This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers,… read more