Jesus and Seneca were likely born the same year. The Gospel of John begins by highlighting the Stoic idea of the Logos. And Paul quotes from a Stoic poet when engaging Greek philosophers on the Areopagus in Acts 17. Clearly New Testament Christians lived in a society tuned in to Stoic philosophy.[1] If there is any doubt that early Christians learned from and contended with ancient Stoicism, we need only consider that 350 years after Paul, Augustine was still quoting and critiquing Stoicism in his colossal work The City of God. Yet, soon after Augustine’s day Stoicism as a popular philosophy o ..read more

Bethlehem College and Seminary Salutes Founding Leader   The Board of Trustees of Bethlehem College and Seminary has unanimously approved President Brian J. Tabb’s recommendation that the school confer the degree of Doctor of Divinity (D.D.) honoris causa on Tom Steller. The conferral is to take place during annual commencement ceremonies scheduled for Friday, May 17, 2024. Steller is a long-serving Minneapolis pastor, professor, and global missionary. Tabb announced the Trustee’s decision today saying, “The book of Hebrews says, ‘Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of ..read more

The Apostles’ Creed I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord; who was conceived of the Holy Spirit; was born of the virgin Mary; he suffered under Pontius Pilate, he was crucified; died and was buried, he descended into hell; on the third day he rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven; he sat at the right hand of God the Almighty Father; and from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; I believe in the Holy Universal Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the ..read more

Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) —Genesis 14:18 Is it significant that Melchizedek brought out bread and wine? Might that be connected to the death of Jesus the Messiah? Before I answer those questions, let’s first get our bearings about Melchizedek. Getting Our Bearings about Melchizedek Melchizedek appears in the Bible only three times—with about one thousand years between each occurrence: Genesis 14:18–20. Around 2,000 BC, Melchizedek appears to Abraham. Psalm 110:4. About 1,000 years later, David writes about the Messiah as a pri ..read more

To sleep, to snore, to yearn for morn; To rise, to yawn, to break my fast; The food I dreamt no more forlorn; Yet soon it’s noon and morn is past. To jump, to play, to nap a while; And then to wake, for lunch is set. “All done.” Let’s play, let’s run a mile. Yet soon, past noon, the evening’s met. I’ve had some snacks along the way. My dad’s come back, hugged me, again. But now let’s dine for gone is day. My parents pray; we say amen! The food we eat my mom has made. One day I will appreciate. The moon now high, in bed I’m laid, A blessing folks articulate. Such is life for this small soul ..read more

Twenty-first century American evangelicals can be excused for not knowing the name of Henry Martyn (1781-1812)—a paedo-baptist Anglican who was employed as a chaplain for the East India Company and whose ministry in India and Persia encompassed just six years before his death due to sickness at age thirty-one. But his formation and ministry provide us an example worth imitating at Bethlehem College and Seminary. His calvinistic, evangelical formation and his Cambridge classical education combined to give him an extraordinary ability to manage translations of the New Testament and to witness cr ..read more

Sometimes I wonder– Is there beauty in the city? Slush, muck, trash, filth, Shouts, needles, squished, gray. It doesn’t take a genius to see That the city takes a toll on its People. But sometimes I wonder– About the old pine out front: It bends under snow like a Highway exit, and when I think Of it still standing–when the cries Of birds are common as sirens, Gunshots as woodpeckers–I Think of my grandmother with Bent, twisted hands still sewing For her kids, face wrinkled with Sorrow and joy and worry. She died Four years ago full of regret. But She never had a doubt about Spending herself fo ..read more

The great Dutch theologian, Herman Bavinck, must have had Augustine in mind when he wrote, “The heart of man was created for God and it cannot find rest until it rests in his Father’s heart. And all men are really seeking after God, but they do not seek him in the right way nor at the right place. They have no interest in a knowledge of his ways, and yet they cannot do without him.”[1] Augustine was a man on a quest for truth, but he didn’t consider Christianity to be a viable source of it. When he seemed to find truth in philosophy and pursued temporal successes, he always had new questions t ..read more

“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1–2) For what are you willing to voluntarily and unjustly suffer? The answer to that question tells us much about what we value or where our allegiance lies. In the passage above, Peter expresses a similar resolution, but he also shows how such suffering leads to holiness. Notice Peter’s logic in the passage. He begins by g ..read more

It is an awesome privilege to accept the trustees’ call to serve as the third president of Bethlehem College and Seminary. I am ready and eager to lead us forward with God’s help. Here are seven reasons why I love this school and am incredibly excited about its future.   1. Glorious Mission I never grow weary of rehearsing our school’s mission: Under the authority of God’s inerrant word, Bethlehem College and Seminary exists to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ by equipping men and women to treasure Christ above all thi ..read more