9 Blessed are the peacemakers,   for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9 On the 29th of July, 1899, an International Peace Conference was held at the Hague (the seat of government of the Netherlands) to discuss and agree upon the institution of international treaties, procedures for the friendly settlement and reconciliation of international disputes, and the rules of warfare between nations if it were to take place in the future. The First Hague Peace Conference of 1899 [the Second was in 1907] was convened on the initiative of the Czar of Russia, Nicholas II, “w ..read more

28And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28-29 If you’ve been following my posts over the last year, you’ll know that I like to start by defining the key terms found in the passage. All of the Ancient Greek translations are from Strong’s Greek lexicon at Bible Hub. Love (agapaó) His [God’s] word about love was ver ..read more

I’ve spent over a decade at three universities/colleges studying Archaeology, History, Classics & Ancient History, Cultural Heritage, Christian Ministry and Theology. This question has reared its head on numerous occasions, particularly during my study of Archaeology.   As you’ve seen me do in many of my blog posts, I’m going to start by briefly defining the central terms. Theory: an idea that is suggested or presented as possibly true but that is not known or proven to be true”… “a hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or investigation. Theory: Mirriam-Webster Dictionary The d ..read more

The 10 commandments (or ten words in Hebrew) of God that were given to Moses on Mount Sinai during the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt are the foundations of human morality, law, and order. These commandments illustrate the character of God. In 1 Peter 2:9, we read that Christians are called to be different from the people of this world (see Luke 16:8). Have you taken the time to consider, acknowledge and obey all of Christ’s commandments for us to follow? Have you lived well enough to assure that when you die, you’ll enter Paradise? …That’s a silly question. Our only valid response is “No”. 10 ..read more

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,   for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9 On the 29th of July, 1899, an International Peace Conference was held at the Hague (the seat of government of the Netherlands) to discuss and agree upon the institution of international treaties, procedures for the friendly settlement and reconciliation of international disputes, and the rules of warfare between nations if it were to take place in the future. The First Hague Peace Conference of 1899 [the Second was in 1907] was convened on the initiative of the Czar of Russia, Nicholas II, “w ..read more

15 Do you not know that your bodies are parts of Christ? Shall I then take away the parts of Christ and make them parts of a prostitute [or harlot]? Far from it! 16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute [or harlot] is one body with her? For He says, “The two shall become one flesh.” 1 Corinthians 6:15-16 I don’t like ranking Biblical books, but this is one of my favourites. As an author and blogger, I love Paul’s passion and his variations of literary style and wordplay to persuade the wayward believers in Corinth. It was Paul’s desire (alb ..read more

34But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. Luke 23:34 Okay, let’s quickly but slowly get some theological semantics out of the way. Suppose you look this verse up in many modern Bible translations or Bible websites. You’re likely to find an asterisk or square brackets noting that some (though it’s really only 1 or so per cent) of the original Greek copies of Luke don’t contain this statement of i ..read more

28And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28-29 If you’ve been following my posts over the last year, you’ll know that I like to start by defining the key terms found in the passage. All of the Ancient Greek translations are from Strong’s Greek lexicon at Bible Hub. Love (agapaó) His [God’s] word about love was ver ..read more

I’ve spent over a decade at three universities/colleges studying Archaeology, History, Classics & Ancient History, Cultural Heritage, Christian Ministry and Theology. This question has reared its head on numerous occasions, particularly during my study of Archaeology.   As you’ve seen me do in many of my blog posts, I’m going to start by briefly defining the central terms. Theory: an idea that is suggested or presented as possibly true but that is not known or proven to be true”… “a hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or investigation. Theory: Mirriam-Webster Dictionary The d ..read more

The 10 commandments (or ten words in Hebrew) of God that were given to Moses on Mount Sinai during the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt, are the foundations of human morality, law, and order. These commandments illustrate the character of God. In 1 Peter 2:9, we read that Christians are called to be different from the people of this world (see Luke 16:8). Have you taken the time to consider, acknowledge and obey all of Christ’s commandments for us to follow? Have you lived well enough to assure that when you die, you’ll enter Paradise? …That’s a silly question. Our only valid response is “No”. 1 ..read more