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“The Law and the Prophets Bear Witness” (Romans 3:19-28)Today being the last Sunday in October, this is the day we observe Reformation Day, celebrating what happened 498 years ago, when, on October 31, 1517, Dr. Martin Luther went to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, and there posted 95 Theses questioning the sale of indulgences. That was the beginning of the great Reformation of the church, and as Lutherans we are here today as the beneficiaries of that movement and that heritage. We thank God that he used Luther as his instrument to bring the clear gospel of Christ to...

In the days of the early church – I’m thinking specifically of the 2nd century – Christian apologists had to defend the faith against false charges, accusations, and misrepresentations. One such apologist, Athenagoras (d. 200 AD?), wrote a booklet to Roman rulers called A Plea for the Christians. This apology by Athenagoras is still quite relevant today because it discusses things we still talk about today. I’ll come back to this booklet later, but for now I want to point out what this 2nd century Christian apologist said about sexual immorality and homosexuality. Athenagoras refuted the claim or accusation that...

Archaeologists from the Jezreel Valley Regional Project say they have unearthed the remains of a 1,900-year-old camp of Legio VI Ferrata (Sixth Ironclad Legion) near the archaeological site of Tel Megiddo.During the past three excavation seasons (2013-2015), the archaeologists have made a number of significant finds at the site. They uncovered defensive trenching earthworks next to the foundations of a great wall about 20 feet (6 m) wide. They also found numerous ceramic roof tiles with the legion’s mark, Roman coins and the fragments of scale armor, and exposed rooms likely belonging to one of the barracks areas. “During the...

The world's largest ancient Roman rubbish dump is revealing intriguing details about the extent and sophistication of trade in the Mediterranean 2,000 years ago. Monte Testaccio is an artificial hill in the centre of Rome that is made up of an estimated 25 million shards of broken amphorae, many from as far afield as Spain and North Africa. The amphorae, containing wine and olive oil, were broken up and dumped on the spoil heap after being unloaded from a nearby port on the River Tiber. They could not be reused because wine and oil residue seeped into the clay, turning...

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.(Romans 10:1-4)Again the apostle Paul pours out of a broken heart his deepest desire and prayer, that Israel be saved.He has already assured us in the name of the...

Let's pretend it is 56 B.C. and you have been fortunate enough to be invited to a party at the home of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, a great social coup. Piso, after all, was Julius Caesar's father-in-law and a consul of Rome... You need to prepare for pig. Archaeologists studying the eating habits of ancient Etruscans and Romans have found that pork was the staple of Italian cuisine before and during the Roman Empire. Both the poor and the rich ate pig as the meat of choice, although the rich, like Piso, got better cuts, ate meat more often and...

“Something in the Water” (Mark 1:4-11; Romans 6:1-11; Genesis 1:1-5)I don’t listen to pop music or country music on the radio, but recently I read that there is a song that’s popular on the airwaves right now that makes some references to baptism. That caught my attention, naturally, so I looked it up and listened to it online. It’s a song called “Something in the Water,” by a singer named Carrie Underwood. I don’t know if you’ve heard it or not. But it does have to do with baptism. Now very likely it’s coming from a theological perspective on baptism...

People living in Roman Britain had healthier gums than their modern-day descendants, a feat of archaeological dentistry shows. A team at King's College London and the Natural History Museum found only 5% of adults had gum disease in the Roman, and certainly pre-toothbrush, era. Modern day smoking and type 2 diabetes are blamed for a figure of nearly one in three today. But ancient Britain was certainly not a golden age of gleaming gnashers. The smiles of our ancestors were littered with infections, abscesses and tooth decay, the study showed... The research group analysed 303 skulls from a burial ground...

“Love Is the Fulfilling of the Law” (Romans 13:1-10)Do you want to know what you should be doing this week? I can tell you with sure confidence what God’s will is for you this week. It’s pretty simple, actually. I can sum it up in one word: Love. That’s right. Love. In terms of how you deal with the people you encounter this week, that’s about the size of it: Love them. How can I be so sure of this? Because God’s Word tells me this is so, that this is God’s will for each one of us. It’s no...

I WILL SERVE No FOREIGN GODSHoly God We Praise Thy Name For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for therein the righteousness of God is revealed…Romans 1:16The book of Romans is unique among the epistles in that it isn’t polemic, that is it isn’t trying to refute any error. Romans is therefore a clear rendering of the Gospel of salvation . Paul calls it the “Gospel of God” , and takes us from the bankruptcy of Jew and Gentile to the glorification of man and creation, all realised by the gospel. Paul begins with the declaration that...

Published: April 2014Roman Boat Romans in France An ancient wreck tells the tale of Romans in France. By Robert Kunzig Photograph by Rémi Bénali The Romans had a serious trash problem, though by our standards it was good-looking trash. Their problem was amphorae. They needed millions of the curvy clay jars to ship wine, olive oil, and fish sauce around the empire, and often they didn’t recycle their empties. Sometimes they didn’t even bother to pop the cork—it was quicker to saber the neck or the pointy base, drain the thing, then chuck it. In Rome there’s a five-acre,...

I believe that the greatest ethical issue today is that of abortion. In recent years many have come to see terrorist as more concerning than abortion. I am baffled by that, because more people were killed on September 10 in the womb of U.S. women than were killed on 9/11 in New York City. More babies were slaughtered on September 12 than adults were killed on 9/11. If we had a camera on the womb so that CNN could show us graphic videos of what actually happens in the slaughter of unborn children, abortion would be quickly abolished, but the...

Skulls discovered within the boundaries of ancient London a quarter of a century ago are now believed to be those of gladiators, brutally killed for the amusement of Roman audiences. The haul of 39 skulls, discovered beneath the site of the Guildhall in the City of London, were discovered in 1988 and were believed to have originated from human remains washed out of burial sites by the Walbrook, one of the area’s lost rivers. But now after 25 years in storage, the remains have been re-examined by an historian from the Museum of London, who believes they are the first...

Scripture is a prophetic interpretation of reality. That is, it tells us what is really going on from the perspective of the Lord of History. As an inspired text it traces out not only the current of the times, but also the trajectory, the end to which things tend. It is of course important for us to read Scripture with the Church and exercise the care the Church would have us show and, at the end of the day, to submit our understanding to the rule of faith and the context of Sacred Tradition.With those parameters in mind, I would...

For centuries scholars have been hunting for the lost works of ancient Greek and Latin literature. In the Renaissance, books were found in monastic libraries. In the late 19th Century papyrus scrolls were found in the sands of Egypt. But only in Herculaneum in southern Italy has an entire library from the ancient Mediterranean been discovered in situ. On the eve of the catastrophe in 79 AD, Herculaneum was a chic resort town on the Bay of Naples, where many of Rome's top families went to rest and recuperate during the hot Italian summers. It was also a place where...

“Hope of the Gentiles” (Romans 15:4-13)In the reading from Romans that we just heard, there are two words that jump out at me. One of those words is found in the first verse of our text, which reads: “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” And this same word that I’m thinking of occurs again--twice--in the last verse of our text, as follows: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power...

“Light in the Darkness” (Romans 13:8-14) Advent is a season of light. In fact, you could say that Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany--the whole three-month sequence centered around Christmas--each of these seasons could be called a season of light. Think of it: You’ve got the Advent wreath, with its candles for the four Sundays in Advent. You’ve got the Christmas tree, of course, with its tradition of being adorned with lights. And at Epiphany we think of the star that led the Wise Men to the Christ Child, and so we put an Epiphany star on top of the Christmas tree....

Following Jesus means being transformed—changing—progressively becoming more like Him. Dealing with the sin of lust is a good example of how this works. Anyone who has struggled and failed when it comes to lust and then later enters into victory over it knows what this is like. A fascinating and important byproduct of this transforming process is that it “proves” God’s will. Who—you may ask—are you proving this to?

Tunnelers expanding London's Underground (Tube) stations have stumbled on a cache of more than two dozen Roman-era skulls. The skulls likely date from the first century A.D. and may possibly—just possibly—be victims of the famed Queen Boudicca's troops, decapitated during her uprising against Roman rule in 61 A.D.

Archeologists in Italy have set about making red wine exactly as the ancient Romans did, to see what it tastes like. Based at the University of Catania in Sicily and supported by Italy's national research centre, a team has planted a vineyard near Catania using techniques copied from ancient texts and expects its first vintage within four years. "We are more used to archeological digs but wanted to make society more aware of our work, otherwise we risk being seen as extraterrestrials," said archaeologist Daniele Malfitana. At the group's vineyard, which should produce 70 litres at the first harvest, modern...