Old Covenant Judaism, by the time of Christ, was riddled with various sects. For example, the Jewish historian Josephus, writing at the close of the first century, describes five major factions: the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots and Sicarii. Other factions existed as well, like the Herodians, the mortal enemies of the Sicarii. And of course,… Continue reading Healing the Scandal of Denominationalism
Tag: Bible
Luke 2:2 and Historical Accuracy in the Gospels
Nick, the atheist I’ve been talking with about the historical accuracy of the Gospels, wants to know how Jesus’ Nativity could have happened during the time of the first Census of Quirinius (Luke 2:1-2). The NIV translates it as: “This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria,” and most other… Continue reading Luke 2:2 and Historical Accuracy in the Gospels
Are the Infancy Narratives Historically Reliable?
Nick, the atheist whose original arguments I addressed here, returned with better ones. Specifically, he points to seeming contradictions in the Infancy Narratives: Marten de Vos, Nativity of Jesus (1577) I’m sure you’re aware that the [G]ospels were written long after the death of Jesus and also after the epistles of Paul, which mention none of… Continue reading Are the Infancy Narratives Historically Reliable?
Reflecting on the Parable of the Talents: You Are Not St. Francis
Yesterday’s Gospel, the parable of the talents (Mt 25:14-30), has some interesting elements: the Master gives one servant 5 talents, another servant 2 talents, and the third servant 1 talent. . Talents, if you’re not familiar, are a unit of currency (which we’ll get to below). The first two servants invest these talents, doubling their investments, while… Continue reading Reflecting on the Parable of the Talents: You Are Not St. Francis
Martin Luther and the Book of James
Martin Luther’s hostility to the Book of James is well-known, and I’ve mentioned it in other contexts, but I wanted to consider today the implications for the Lutheran view of justification, at the heart of the Reformation and of modern Catholic-Protestant disputes. Here’s what Luther had to say about the Book of James: In the… Continue reading Martin Luther and the Book of James
Three Quick Points on Rendering Unto Caesar
Friday’s post on religious images involved the “Render Unto Caesar” discourse from Matthew 22:15-22: Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap Him in His words. They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God… Continue reading Three Quick Points on Rendering Unto Caesar
Come and See: Bringing Others (and Ourselves) to Christ
How can we bring others, especially those we love, into a right relationship with Jesus Christ? And how can we ourselves come to know and serve Jesus better? Almost every Christian struggles from time to time with at least one of these two questions. And if we don’t, we should. Fortunately, Scripture deals with this… Continue reading Come and See: Bringing Others (and Ourselves) to Christ
John the Baptist and the Canon of Scripture
Busy day today, but you should check out Devin Rose’s most recent blog post, in which he points out something that I’d never thought of. Protestantism typically views the prophetic age of the Old Covenant as ending long before Jesus, with a lengthy “intertestamental period” of about four hundred years. They claim that the ancient Jews… Continue reading John the Baptist and the Canon of Scripture
Can the Catholic Church Ordain Female Deacons?
I explained last week the basic reasons that the Catholic Church can’t ordain female priests. In response, Tess asks, Joe, what are the Catholic Church’s reasons for not allowing women to be permanent deaconesses? Deaconesses seem much more justifiable both scripturally and by early Tradition. Are different arguments used against them, or the same (ie that the Twelve were… Continue reading Can the Catholic Church Ordain Female Deacons?
Did Jesus Rebuke His Mother in Luke 8:19-21?
Yesterday’s Gospel is an easy one to stumble over as Catholics. It’s from Luke 8:19-21, while Jesus is teaching the crowds: Then His Mother and His brothers came to Him but were unable to join Him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your Mother and Your brothers are standing outside and they wish to… Continue reading Did Jesus Rebuke His Mother in Luke 8:19-21?