Theology
Using Fear, Pride, and Greed to pay Tithing
This is an unusual post for me on 2 counts. (1) I generally hate lessons on tithing, because I don’t think there’s much new to say on the topic. (2) I tried to read “The Screwtape Letters” by CS Lewis a few years ago, and just couldn’t get through the book. I’ve heard many people […]
Joshua’s Unholy War
When most of us hear the word “jihad” or “holy war”, we immediately know that a jihad is not what God wants. Most of us feel the same when we hear the word “crusade.” Really, does anyone think God wants people to fight in his name? In the book of Joshua, Joshua claims to be […]
Eastern Orthodoxy: Theosis/Deification
I’ve learned some interesting concepts from class #23: Eastern Orthodoxy. The podcast is one from the Ancient and Medieval Church History class from Covenant Theological Seminary. First, let’s have a little background. (Incidentally, the seminary is a Presbyterian seminary.) The Eastern Orthodox Church officially split with the Catholic Church in 1054. The Pope excommunicated the […]
History of Baptism/Mikvah
The history of baptism is quite interesting, and much more complex than most people know. Baptism seems to be related to the ancient Jewish rite called “mikvah”, which was/is used for conversion to Judaism, ritual cleansing (Law of Moses type things, childbirth, women’s menstruation, and other things.) If you go to this link at Wikipedia, […]
DNA and Tradition, Guide for the Perplexed
Ok, the title of my post actually comes from two different books. The first is called “DNA and Tradition: The Genetic Link to the Ancient Hebrews“, by Rabbi Yaakov Kleiman. The rabbi looks into DNA evidence concerning the tribe of Levi, as well as the other lost tribes of Israel. In the introduction to the […]
How Should We Define Scripture?
I posted previously on the topics of Gnosticism, Marcionism, and Montanism in my previous three posts. While discussing Marcionism, there was a debate about the apostasy. The topic got sidetracked into a discussion of the definition of scripture, so I thought I’d post a new topic regarding that topic. Falcon makes the case that Joseph […]
Montanists, Mormons, and Early Christian Doctrines
This is part 3 of Heresy and Orthodoxy. I’ve been listening to class 5 from the Covenant Theological Seminary on Ancient and Medieval Church History. They have talked about Gnosticism and Marcionism. I’d like to talk about a little known movement in early church history called Montanism and compare this to Mormonism.
Early Christian Heresies: Gnosticism
I found a really cool website that offers free downloads from a seminary. It’s found at Covenant Theological Seminary. I believe it is a Presbyterian Seminary, and I’ve learned a ton about the Bible, and Jewish and Christian History. Currently, I’m listening to the course called Ancient and Medieval Church History. Class 5 deals with […]
The Exodus and the Book of Mormon
I recently came across a blog of Zelph, who is struggling with some tough issues in Mormonism. I also posted a comment in The Milk Ceiling about the Exodus. I thought I would address some of these issues. Too often, I think we have a concrete view of religion. Either something is true, or it […]
Have the Lost 10 Tribes been found?
Ok, I probably won’t get too many comments on this, but it is an interesting topic for me. For some quick background, I previously posted on this topic. I recently purchased a copy of “Quest for the Lost Tribes” by Simcha Jacobovichi. In this documentary, he tries to make a case where he identifies most […]
Mormon Heretic 