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As a genre, Greek tragedy was highly valued in 1st-century society, with the plays of 5th and 4th century BC Athens being continuously performed in theatres and studied in Graeco-Roman education as an essential area of knowledge. Herod the Great made a particular effort to introduce Graeco-Roman theatre in Jerusalem... The Gospel of Mark, in particular, has a structure that closely resembles that of a Greek tragic play. According to Aristotle’s Poetics, the structure of the plot is vital when classifying a work as tragic drama, even more so than characterization. The structure of the plot in a Greek tragedy...

Richard Dawkins casts the Old Testament God as: "arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction - a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." (The God Delusion) Dawkins’ description is extreme and one sided, but even Christians struggle...We know that he is the God of life not death, creation not violence, mercy not destruction... Christians take several approaches to the violence of the Old Testament. 1. We can reject the depictions of God here as inconsistent with God as revealed in Jesus...However, this approach is to be rejected because...

How can Jesus still be active, given that He is dead (albeit now resurrected)? This is Luke’s starting point in Acts. Jesus’ Resurrection is more than simply a return of life from death...Rather, His victory over death is followed by a royal Ascension through which He is exalted and enthroned at the right hand of God, from where He sends out His Spirit and begins an active reign. For Luke and the early Christians, Jesus’ Ascension was more than an exit; it was an entry into the heavenly throne room from which He directs the course of history and the...

"For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, And all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, And all ate the same spiritual food, And all drank the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ."In I Cor. 10:1-4, Paul indicated clearly that the history of the children of Israel is a type, a foreshadowing, of the history of the New Testament believers in Christ. The crossing of the Red...

In a surprising twist of fate, a wildfire that swept through Israel’s Betiha Nature Reserve in late July has unveiled significant archaeological remains believed to be the biblical village of Bethsaida.Long thought to be lost to time, this site, located along the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, has been under excavation since 2016 at the official approval of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The recent blaze, while devastating to local flora and wildlife, has provided archaeologists with an unprecedented view of structures buried for centuries.El-Araj has long been under investigation as a potential site for Bethsaida, historically...

COCONINO COUNTY, Ariz. — The suspect accused a murdering the pastor of a church in New River admitted to the crime in a jailhouse interview with 12News. Before reading further, 12News wants to warn readers that the content of this story may be disturbing. The suspect, Adam Sheafe, said he planned to "execute" and "crucify" a total of 14 priests in 10 states across the country before being caught by police after the murder of his first victim, Pastor William "Bill" Schonemann of New River. Sheafe is currently in custody in Coconino County and 12News spoke to him from his...

In the biblical stories of barren women, maternity is further complicated in order to heighten the drama of the arrival of the promised son, emphasizing the divine role in conception and birth. In the case of the patriarchal stories in Genesis, the matriarchs’ barrenness emphasizes that it is God who disrupts continuity, in the transition from one generation to the next, and then selects the true heir to the covenant… There are six barren women in the Bible: three of the four matriarchs (Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel) in Genesis; Hannah, mother of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 1-2); the anonymous...

One of the latest discoveries in the world of biblical research comes as a result of ultraviolet light technology that allowed researchers to see and translate a portion of scripture written nearly 1,500 years ago.Historian Grigory Kessel from the Austrian Academy of Sciences published his work at Cambridge and explained how the new technology has provided more insight into the preservation of scripture:Kissel said that they found an ancient version of Chapter 12 in the book of Matthew in the Bible that had been hidden beneath a section of text for over 1,500 years. His discovering is one of the...

Ultra-violet light has revealed a hidden fragment of a Syriac Christian New Testament translation dating back 1,750 years, according to a study published by the Journal Of New Testament Studies. Grigory Kessel, a medievalist from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, was able to decipher a lost fragment of the Gospels that had been written in Syriac text 1,750 years ago. Because parchment was scarce in the Middle East at the time, manuscripts were often erased and reused. By using UV light on a 6th century manuscript, Kessel was able to uncover one of the earliest translations of the New Testament...

The popular quiz show “Jeopardy!” has courted controversy twice this week — this time sparking a debate of Biblical proportions. In the final round of Wednesday’s “Tournament of Champions” episode, contestants Amy Schneider, Andrew He and Sam Buttrey had to solve the following clue: “Paul’s letter to them is the New Testament epistle with the most Old Testament quotations.” Schneider answered, “Who are the Hebrews,” which host Ken Jennings said was correct. Buttrey offered, “Who are the Romans,” a response deemed incorrect, prompting outrage from home viewers who felt that that was the best answer.

The theory that the universe was crafted intentionally explains many essential realities that theories based on spontaneous chance do not.The scientific establishment is slowly beginning to allow scientists who believe in intelligent design to have a platform. Why? It may be because the theory that the universe was crafted intentionally explains many essential realities that theories based on spontaneous chance do not. Perhaps the simplest and best argument for intelligent design is to clearly state what you have to believe to not believe in intelligent design, as I did in my book, “In the Beginning and Other Essays on Intelligent...

Of course, during the last century liberal theology had no use for the historical resurrection of Jesus. But a remarkable change has come about during the second half of the 20th century. A new quest of the historical Jesus had begun. By 1968 the old skepticism was a spent force and began dramatically to recede. So complete has been the turnabout during the second half of this century concerning the resurrection of Jesus that it is no exaggeration to speak of a reversal of scholarship on this issue. What are the facts that underlie this remarkable reversal of opinion concerning...

I teach Sunday school at my Church. For our next study we will be doing a class on the Trinity - which I see the world and false Christians attacking more and more in contemporary society. The primary text I will be using is “The Forgotten Trinity” by Dr. James White. It is aimed at the layman and should be an excellent resource. But whenever I teach a subject I like to get immersed in it so I can respond to the inevitable tough questions the class always ends up throwing at me. Accordingly, I am looking for some other...

"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is...

In a Mormon(LDS) blog interview,1 Jenkins defended not only the Mormon owned Vid-Angel distribution and the filming of “The Chosen” in Utah on an LDS set, but he also defended the idea that Mormons follow the “same Christ” and that there is no significant difference between Mormons and Evangelicals. He further admitted that many LDS people are working on the project and influencing his thinking. Jenkins’ defense against criticism was quite telling. Hear it in his own words: “So even if you are listening to this right now as an evangelical and are horrified to hear me say some of...

“[Christ] existed in the form of God” (Philippians 2:6). Christ possesses the very nature of God. In the second part of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Christiana and her children travel toward the Celestial Country. During their pilgrimage, Interpreter introduces them to one of his male servants, whose name is Great-heart. When Christiana asks Great-heart to explain the nature of Christ’s forgiveness, part of his answer is: “He [Christ] has two natures in one Person, easy to distinguish but impossible to divide. There is a righteousness that belongs to both of these natures, and each righteousness is essential to that nature,...

Writing in response to Dr Luke Barnes' article on why he no longer believes in young earth creationism, physicist and engineer, Dr Jim Mason shares his own story, and explains why he believes a “plain reading” of Genesis leads to a young earth viewpoint.

Christians will suffer because of what we believe. We must take the opportunity every single day, in every aspect of our lives, to demonstrate courage.What follows is adapted from a speech given at the Truth Be Told conference in Tennessee on Saturday, October 2. Twenty-eight years ago yesterday, Task Force Ranger was deployed on a mission to capture the lieutenants of a warlord who had been wreaking havoc on the people of Mogadishu, Somalia. Authorized as part of Operation Restore Hope, the mission goal was to gather intelligence that would lead to the capture of warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. This...

Why are murders so interesting to us? Some of the most popular podcasts, videos, and news headlines are about high-profile homicides. We are often consumed with the primary suspect the cops often call "the person of interest." Right now, the headlines are obsessed with Brian Laundrie? Where is he? Did he do it? If so, why? And will he get justice? Unfortunately, over the long run, the person of interest is usually remembered much more than his victims. We remember names like Charles Manson, Jeffery Dahmer and Ted Bundy, but we usually forget those they killed. But what if there...

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are using the teachings of Jesus to help train soldiers. And why not? He is the Jewish Messiah according to many prophecies, and his teachings are rooted in the Hebrew scriptures, reflecting the best in Jewish wisdom and faith. Still, reports have been coming out on Israeli media from IDF soldiers complaining about using the New Testament teachings as part of their military preparation. In one training program for battlefield medics, IDF officers are using the parable of the Good Samaritan as an example of caring for those who have been injured, including Jews, Arabs,...