Month: September 2020

One of the most common objections to Christianity is that the divinity of Jesus was “created” by later Christians long after the first century.  No one in primitive Christianity believed Jesus was divine, we are told.  He was just a man and it was later believers, at the council of Nicea, that declared him to…

Was the Divinity of Jesus a Late Invention of the Council of Nicea? — Canon Fodder

The Local Church Was Made To Serve The Christian, Not The Christian The Local Church

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-science-of-male-and-female

The biblical “Neco, King of Egypt” is identified with Pharaoh Nekau/Necho II1, one of the pharaohs of the 26th Dynasty, who ruled Egypt from ca. 610–595 BC.2  He is named in eight verses in Scripture, and is connected with three significant events: he defeated of King Josiah of Judah at the Battle of Megiddo (2 Kings […]

Necho II: An Archaeological Biography — Bible Archaeology Report

ABSTRACT: The New Testament authors quote, allude to, and interpret the Old Testament in a great variety of ways — and sometimes in ways that seem illegitimate to modern readers. But the apostles’ use of the Old Testament becomes clearer as we grasp the distinct practices and postures they brought to the Scriptures. Such practices and postures reveal not only how the apostles understood the Old Testament, but also how it shaped and saturated everything they wrote. In the end, the apostles not only thought about and interpreted the Old Testament; they also thought with and through the Old Testament and were interpreted by it.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/scripture-in-scripture

https://www.str.org/w/thinking-critically-about-critical-race-theory

What You Should Know About the 2020 Libertarian Party Platform

Apostolic and authoritative, Paul tells us the concept of Christian Baptism refers to one idea of that rite. “One Baptism” means the concept of Christian Baptism has singular meaning. Since the reality of God’s mystery, Jesus, the types and figures of the Old Testament are fulfilled in this New age.

Israel was baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea (1Cor. 10.2). This means the were protected by God through His presence in the cloud from their enemies-a key conceptual truth carrying over to this age. They were baptized in the sea signifying deliverance from death since when the Egyptians tried crossing, they were engulfed and died.

Baptism is a one-time observance for the Christian also and not to be repeated as seen in Jesus’ instruction to Peter at the Last Supper: “He who has bathed need only to wash his feet, and is completely clean” (John 13.10). This is regeneration (who has bathed) and is pictured by immersive baptism signifying dying to self and ‘all in’ with regard to being dedicated to Christ and His mission. The washing of the disciple’s feet and the subsequent teaching to wash one another’s feet refers to the restorative act of forgiving impulsive sins that occur in all Christians. Christians still sin but are new creatures in Christ along with having to old self still present and needing contention from the ‘New Person.’

The “One Baptism” is therefore a creedal stance of the believer where they identify themselves as united with Christ by performing a ritual picture in immersive baptism (the only kind there is). The one submitting to baptism is saying in essence: “I die to myself and henceforth rely on Jesus’ resurrection power to live a new life.”

 

Of course local churches are correctly termed as “church” but it is wrong to use arithmetic language such as the term “subset” to refer to visible groups and say they attach to each other. Since the Invisible Church (Universal Church) is known only to God, no one can present evidence that visible churches subsume to the unseen group that God only sees.

Its almost like trying to use math in distinguishing “Not all Israel is Israel” (see Rom. 9.6-7). No, God foundation is immovable and sealed: He knows who are His (2Tim. 2.19).

While Narnia is a land filled with magic—where animals can talk and even sing—not all people can hear them. In C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew we learn that Uncle Andrew is one of those people. When the animals speak to him, Uncle Andrew hears only animal sounds. Just noise, not words. Why? He is closed…

Seeing What We Want to See: Reflections on the Saga of the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife — Canon Fodder