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In Genesis chapter 2 the order of creation seems to be different to that in chapter 1 with the animals being created (2:19) after Adam (2:7). Doesn't the Bible contradict itself here? Between the creation of Adam and the creation of Eve, the KJV/AV Bible says (Genesis 2:19) 'out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air'. On the surface, this seems to say that the land beasts and birds were created between Adam and Eve. However, Jewish scholars apparently did not recognize any such conflict with the account...

If you're looking for a way to critique the authority of Scripture, there are seemingly endless options. There are historical critiques (e.g., many of these books are forgeries). There are logical critiques (e.g., the Gospels contradict themselves). There are moral critiques (e.g., God is immoral to order the slaughter of entire cities). And there are hermeneutical critiques (e.g., no one can agree on what the Bible means). In recent years, however, a more foundational challenge has arisen. All of the above critiques are essentially the same; they all argue the words of the Bible are not true. But this...

Mary's Immaculate Conception Is Fitting as Well as Faithful to Scripture Msgr. Charles Pope • December 7, 2015 • Today's Solemn Feast of the Immaculate Conception is often (mistakenly) thought to refer to the conception of the Jesus in the womb of the Blessed Mother. It does not. Perhaps it does not help the confusion that the Gospel chosen for today's feast is in fact the gospel of the Annunciation, wherein Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb by the power of the Holy Spirit! But there is a reason this gospel is chosen, as we shall later see. The dogma...

Zechariah was a priest doing his duty, making the incense sacrifice in the temple, when an angel appeared to him. The story is told in the first chapter of Luke’s gospel. The angel told Zechariah that, despite he and his wife, Elizabeth, being too old to have children, she would have a son.The language and imagery in the story is evocative of the Old Testament. Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were childless when three angels appeared to announce the birth of their son Isaac. Furthermore, the child who is to be born to Zechariah and Elizabeth will be like...

Redemption and Salvation in the Book of Tobit October 30, 2015 By Fr. John Peck A Sermon by Fr. John A. Peck The Book of Tobit is an astonishing book. It is a part of the Septuagint Old Testament, and therefore only in Orthodox and Roman Catholic Bibles. Until 1929, it was included in Protestant Bibles (in the section called “apocrypha” or “hidden things.” I don’t know why they thought it was hidden.) It is a very Christian book. Most of you probably have never read it, so let me summarize.In a nutshell, it’s about a man named Tobit, and...

When the Green family, founders of U.S. retail chain Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., purchased their first biblical artifact in November 2009, they never expected to assemble in only a few years what is now one of the world’s largest private collections of rare biblical texts, objects, and artifacts. Known as the Green Collection, the compilation of around 40,000 objects includes some of the rarest and most significant biblical texts and artifacts ever assembled under one roof. NOW THEY WANT TO SHARE THAT WITH ALL AMERICANS, BUILDING A BIBLE MUSEUM JUST IN THE HEART OF OUR NATION. The museum in Washington,...

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS ABRAHAM:  Patriarch, Matt. 1, 2; 22, 32; Luke 19, 9; John 8, 33; Acts 3, 25; 7, 2; Rom. 4, 1-3; 9, 7; Gal. 3, 6-9; 4, 22; Heb. 7, 1-10; Abraham's faith, Rom. 4, 1-25; Gal. 3, 6; Heb. 11, 8; Jas. 2, 21-23; spiritual children of, Rom. 4, 11 ff; Gal. 3, 7. 29. ABSOLUTION:  power of promised, Matt. 16, 19; 18, 18; John 20, 23. ACCESS TO GOD:  John 14, 6; Rom. 5, 2; Eph. 2, 18; 3, 12; Heb. 10, 19 ff; Jas. 4, 8. ACCOUNTABILITY TO GOD:  Matt. 5, 12; Acts 5,...

A Kentucky coal miner died after refusing treatment for a Sunday-morning snake bit. John David Brock, a member of the Holiness faith, was bitten by a rattlesnake and died four hours later, according to a CBS affiliate. Brock had other health problems, and the official cause of death will be determined from medical records. Snake-handling churches emerged in the early 20th century. It gained popularity in the last few years through the reality show Snake Salvation. The pastor in Snake Salvation, Jamie Coots, died of a snake bite in 2014. The CBS affiliate says Brock is the second person to...

The doctrine of Transubstantiation is the belief that the elements of the Lord’s table (bread and wine) supernaturally transform into the body and blood of Christ during the Mass. This is uniquely held by Roman Catholics but some form of a “Real Presence” view is held by Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, and some Anglicans. The Calvinist/Reformed tradition believes in a real spiritual presence but not one of substance. Most of the remaining Protestant traditions (myself included) don’t believe in any real presence, either spiritual or physical, but believe that the Eucharist is a memorial and a proclamation of Christ’s work on the cross...

Question: "What does the term 'Ichabod' mean in the Bible?" Answer: The term Ichabod is found in two places in the Bible,1 Samuel 4:21 and 14:3. Ichabod was the son of Phinehas and the grandson of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh. The sad story of Eli and his two wayward sons, Phinehas and Hophni, is found in 1 Samuel, chapters 2 and 4. Hophni and Phinehas died in battle with the Philistines who captured the Ark of the Covenant and took it away from Israel. Upon hearing this terrible news, Eli fell backward off his chair and...

One of the most interesting ways to read the Bible is through the lens of typology. Typology is where a person or event in the Old Testament foreshadows a greater person or event in the New Testament. The word “typology” comes to us from St. Paul himself, in Romans 5:14, where he referred to Adam as a “type” of Christ. So let’s get started on this most interesting study.Desert WanderingsRemember the story about the Israelites coming up out of the water of the Red Sea and wandering in the desert for 40 years?  They came upon bitter water in...

It has been pointed out to me that I tend to pick on those more theologically aligned with me than with those who are rather liberal in their theology.  Upon reflection, this is a fair criticism, as I guess I would think folks who take the Bible seriously (which, my liberal mainline brothers may claim with their mouths but often not with their actions) would know better.  In looking to my own Rabbi as an example, he was much harder on the Pharisees (who were of the same theological stripe) than on the Sadducees and Herodians (Hebrews who were in...

M. C. Escher’s Drawing Hands shows two drawn hands drawing each other, each hand getting its power to draw from the other. True to Escher’s style, a paradox is presented to the eye of the beholder, and the paradox is never resolved—the eye must continually move from one object to the other. Each time the eye settles on an apparently solid 3-dimensional object that can make sense of the rest of the picture, the paradox reappears. The search for the original, “authoritative” hand never ends. We believe this is a good illustration of Roman Catholicism’s view of Tradition because Tradition...

Was The Papacy Established By Christ? (Part 1) For those who don't have much familiarity with the dispute between Protestants and Catholics over the doctrine of the papacy, I want to post two introductory articles on the subject today and tomorrow. The first article, this one, will be about the Biblical evidence, and tomorrow's article will be about the early post-Biblical evidence. Roman Catholicism claims the papacy as its foundation. According to the Catholic Church, the doctrine of the papacy was understood and universally accepted as early as the time of Peter: "At open variance with this clear doctrine of...

On the Infallibility of Tradition, Scripture, Magisterium 1. Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, Sacred Magisterium are a reflection of the Most Holy Trinity. Tradition is a reflection of the Father; Scripture is a reflection of the Son; Magisterium is a reflection of the Spirit. Scripture proceeds from Tradition, just as the Son proceeds from the Father. Magisterium proceeds primarily from Tradition and Secondarily from Scripture, just as the Spirit proceeds primarily from the Father and secondarily from the Son. Tradition, Scripture, Magisterium are three distinct aspects of One Divine Gift, just as the Trinity is three distinct Persons of One...

Roman Catholics often assert that Protestantism operates under the principle that Scripture is open to private interpretation because Protestants deny the need for an infallible magisterium to interpret Scripture. Is historic Protestantism really a religion of "me and my Bible?" Do the tenets of historical Protestantism really deny 2 Peter 1:20, which informs that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation? An honest and informed Roman Catholic understands that Protestants do not think that Scripture has no need for an interpreter. 1. An honest and informed Roman Catholic understands and will gladly concede that historic Protestantism affirms that Scripture is the interpreter...

World Net Daily is reporting: A Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute course approved by the Department of Defense is under fire for labeling the Bible, the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence sexist materials. The Daily Caller reported the class given by the DEOMI, an organization with a mission to provide a “world-class human relations education,” was actually removed from the group’s website upon questioning. But the fact they were there at all – and approved by the Defense Department for use – was alarming enough to some who saw irony in the fact U.S. military service members are...

We Cannot Love God if We Do Not Love His Word from R.C. Sproul Mar 27, 2015 Category: Articles Emil Brunner, the twentieth-century Swiss theologian and one of the fathers of neoorthodox theology, wrote a little book titled Truth as Encounter. His thesis was that when we study the things of God, we are not studying truth in the abstract. We want to understand theology not merely so that we can make an A on a theology exam. We want to understand the doctrine of God so that we can understand God, so that we can meet the living God...

How can the religious community live in peace and harmony with the LGBT community? New York Times columnist Frank Bruni has the solution. Just rewrite the Bible. In his April 3rd column, “Bigotry, the Bible and the Lessons of Indiana,” Bruni, himself gay, recognizes that Christian beliefs are not necessarily grounded in hatred. The problem, he claims, is that, “Beliefs ossified over centuries aren’t easily shaken.” Bruni, for his part, wants to shake us free from our fossilized faith. According to Bruni, who evidences little or no understanding of how believers view the Scriptures (namely, as God’s inspired Word), if...

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, John 6:51-58 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. […] Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. […] Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Most, though not all, Protestants wiggle and fidget as they come to the Bread of Life Discourse in the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St....