Acts 2:4 says that when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost, they “began to speak with other tongues”. This may seem like an odd, and possibly unnecessary miracle, but I believe it served a very specific purpose. And that purpose was not strictly so that the Hellenistic Jews from other lands who…
In honor of Earth Day on April 22nd, I want to talk about Creation. Creation was good. We find a declaration of goodness at the end of each day of creation, with the strange exception of day two, after separating the waters above and below the firmament. However, the work of day six was declared…
What does Easter mean? In most countries, the name for Easter is derived from the Aramaic word for Passover, because the Jewish Passover festival was celebrated at the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection. In French it is Paques; in Spanish, Pascua, and in Italian, Pasqua. Though there are competing theories, it is now widely believed that the…
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA It is commonly accepted among biblical scholars that when Paul is bemoaning his internal struggle with sin in Romans chapter 7, he is actually taking on the voice of a character. He is not speaking as himself. This was a common rhetorical technique in the ancient…
[The following article was taken from www.catholic.org/saints/] Saint Valentine, officially known as Saint Valentine of Rome, is a third-century Roman saint widely celebrated on February 14 and commonly associated with “courtly love.” Although not much of St. Valentine’s life is reliably known, and whether or not the stories involve two different saints by the…
No, this isn’t some future dystopian headline; it’s actually a part of US history! This blog article is long overdue. Christmas Day may be over, but as we are still in the early days of the Christmas season, it is totally appropriate to have a Christmas article. Except that this isn’t an article. It’s a…
Wisdom is one of the most highly sought out attributes in the ancient world. King Solomon was so famous for his wisdom that the Queen of Sheba visited him to see if the reports were true. The Proverbs is an entire book of the Bible dedicated to wise sayings. Many people throughout history have gone…
Who do you support in the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza? Misunderstanding and misinformation about this complicated subject abound. One’s position doesn’t necessarily align with the normal right-left dichotomy in US politics. If anything, the larger divide seems to be between the older generations who recognize the need for a Jewish…
Many people think that if you believe a certain biblical truth, then that leads to a particular political belief. The fact is that is rarely true. That is why there are Christians with genuine faith who disagree on every political position under the sun. For example, the 10 Commandments say not to murder, and yet…
If you are like most Christians, you struggle with trouble. What do I mean? I mean someone tells you they just got diagnosed with cancer, or they lost their job, or any other significant unpleasantness. What do we so often turn to? Some Christian-sounding half-true bromide, like, “trust in Jesus and everything will work out.”…