Search results

Your notion here, I take it, is that that if the Son was "begotten," then he must have been created at a point in time prior to which he did not exist. Do I understand you correctly?

I totally believe in the pre-existence of Jesus Christ (although it seems a little strange to give him that name before he became incarnate). And I note that pre-existence (existence prior in time to the birth in Bethlehem) and eternal existence (NO point in time when he did not exist, i.e...

Did the story recounted in 1 Sam. 28 really happen? Wherever you come down on this, you’re going to be in good company. Smelik, “The Witch of Endor: 1 Samuel 28 in Rabbinic and Christian Exegesis Till 800 A.D,” Vigiliae Christianae, Vol.33 No. 2 (June 1979), has done the survey: Justin...

So, Matthew was bishop in Ethiopia. I can accept that. But "Bishop of Jerusalem for a little while?" I cannot see the slightest evidence of that. Did you ask your Ethiopian priest to provide some?

And what of the unrepentant Christian sinner? Is his/her salvation assured anyway?

I don't advocate ignoring ANY part of Scripture. I simply think that some passages (like Matt. 27:9 mentioned above) are tainted by human error. Doesn't mean we should IGNORE them.

Inerrantists like yourself care deeply that their Bible contain no factual inconsistencies whatsoever, even as to the extraneous historical details that have no bearing on the theological message of Scripture. And they are willing to indulge in some rather convoluted explanations to reach their...

James, the head of the early church in Jerusalem, was actually Matthew the Evangelist's younger brother rather than the brother of the Lord? Seriously? And Matt left his "title" with young Jimmy? ("If I don't come back, you're the bishop, bro.") Wow! I didn't know the episcopal See was...

I think we should distinguish between theological truth and literal truth here. We don't need to give credence to every sentence of the Bible in order to give credence to the message. Some literary license is allowable. And some room for human error (as in the verse from Matthew I quoted...

OK. Matt. 27:9 mistakenly attributes the story of the purchase of the potters’ field to Jeremiah rather than Zechariah. “This passage is not found in Jeremiah at all but in Zechariah,” says Jerome. Philip Schaff: NPNF2-06. Jerome: The Principal Works of St. Jerome - Christian Classics...

James, I would love to know where you are getting your information that Matthew the Evangelist was Bishop of Jerusalem -- and for what years. Eusebius lists those bishops, in order, as James, Symeon and Justus. Consensus scholarship puts Justus's episcopate in the second century. By the way...

Gotta disagree with you, James. I don't know whether Matthew's gospel was originally written in Greek or in Aramaic, but for purposes of explaining why I must question your decision to use "kindhearted" in your translation, it won't matter. Here's why: If originally written in Aramaic with a...

I have looked at this. Tampering may have occurred, although not by "the RC church . . in the second century," since strictly speaking there was no RC church in the second century. There were co-equal Sees in Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, with equal claim to being "catholic" --...

To conclude that Paul's directive for women to shut up in church is "a commandment from the Lord" simply because of Paul's own ipse dixit in v. 14:37 is circular reasoning. Either that directive about women is a commandment from the Lord or it isn't, but either way, Paul saying it is adds...

Good luck in your endeavor. In 1:19 you refer to Joseph being "kindhearted." What Greek, Latin or Aramaic word or words are you translating as "kindhearted"? I understood that most Greek manuscripts have "dikaios" and that the Vulgate has "justus" -- both of which would suggest "righteous"...

The possibility of adding clarity. Recognition that the Bible may not say everything there is to say on the topic. Appreciation of the early Church Fathers' contributions to the subject during the patristic period. Identification of definitional as opposed to analytical objections to the...

Is there any possibility whatsoever of a discussion here of the concept of Christ being both God and man without quoting the Bible?

"After all, if you're going to accuse Paul, then you have to include Jesus who gave the Scripture to Him personally, and kept it as Scripture for us to read and obey today. Or do you see places where other prophets and apostles dropped the ball?" Hold on, my friend. What basis do you have to...

Cute little metaphor -- but No, Adam was indeed buck naked and "uncovered" by clothing well before he sinned. He just didn't appreciate the materiality of the clothed-naked distinction until after his sin revealed to him the knowledge of carnality. The exhortation to "put on Christ" (Rom...

Not especially.