THE FIFTH DAY OF APRIL IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN The acknowledgement came slowly and with much hesitation, but the sequestered disciples finally said it: The Lord is risen." Indeed (Lk. 24:34). This from Jesus hardcore survivors. Roughly ten dozen of them--if anyone is counting. Unlike other rabbinic clusters, this one includes women right alongside the men. To Jesus they all are the same, but most males in the company will die before they share his thinking on this point. So here they are this Sunday morning, 120 men and women waiting together for God knows … [Read more...]
THE LINCH-PIN OF OUR FAITH
.The Age of Reason was dawning, and an anti-Christian intellectual named Lepeau was desperate for advice. He had created a rational new religion, Lepeau told French Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, but, despite its superiority to Christianity, it had failed to catch on. Might Talleyrand have any suggestions? “M. Lepeau," the diplomat dryly replied, "to ensure success for your new religion, you need only two things. Arrange to have yourself crucified, and three days later rise from the dead.” New religions recoil with horror at the suggestion and respond with derision … [Read more...]
JESUS’ BURIAL NAPKIN
Over the past year several subscribers have asked if I can verify a popular internet explanation of the folded "napkin" that Peter and another disciple saw in Jesus' vacant tomb (John 20:7). The anonymous email describes the purported first-century Jewish practice of a master who temporarily leaves the meal but neatly folds his dinner napkin to signal his servant that he is coming back. The email concludes that Jesus folded his "napkin" as a subtle promise to his followers that he also would return. * * * When the King James Version was translated in 1611, the English word "napkin" … [Read more...]
HE IS RISEN INDEED!
The acknowledgement came slowly and only with much hesitation, but the sequestered disciples finally said it: "The Lord is risen indeed" (Lk. 24:34). This from Jesus' fellow-travelers. Hardcore survivors. Roughly ten dozen in number, if anyone is counting. Unlike typical pupil groups of other Jewish rabbis, the Jesus group includes women--right alongside the men. To Jesus, they all are the same, but most males in the company will die before they share the Master's thinking on this point. So here they are, about 120 men and women, waiting together on this Sunday morning for only God knows … [Read more...]
THREE RESURRECTION TRUTHS
To encourage Christianity's acceptance by a pagan world, the early institutional church "baptized" many pagan customs, forms and names, mixing old with new and infusing Christian meanings. The word "Easter" itself had pagan origins, as did its association with bunny rabbits and colored eggs. Today, all those origins are long lost in the mists of ancient history. For most Christians, Easter is a special day to remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the very core of the Christian gospel (1 Cor. 15:3-5). Without his resurrection, Jesus is no more Savior than any of us, and we all remain … [Read more...]