Study Like a Boss
One of the defining characteristics of the God of the Bible is that he is often surprising in that he continues to seek out his sinful people despite their many flaws, and can use any situation or person to demonstrate his glory. One would think that the Bible would be full of stories of perfectly … Read more
As 1950s America engulfed itself in a widespread fear of Communism, government officials became extra vigilant in finding and punishing possible spies and traitors. Suspects were arrested for saying the wrong thing, being seen in the wrong place at the wrong time, and even for thinking the wrong thoughts. As mass nervosa ensued, Americans began … Read more
Isaac, the son of Abraham, was a central figure in the establishment of the Jewish people. Both him and his father had played tremendous roles in the bible. However, Isaac’s life reflected Abraham’s similarly when compared side by side to his father’s. There are many other things he did that his father had also done … Read more
Before the year 1611, many different translations of the bible existed, but none were very consistent. At this time, at the command of King James the First, forty-seven scholars from various theological and educational backgrounds, separated into six individual groups, completed the task of translating the bible from the original Hebrew manuscripts and existing English … Read more
In Genesis, recognition is consistently paired with deception in the sense that the former almost always is a cause of the latter. This creates several type scenes that are most notable past the births of Jacob and Esau. In fact, deception appears to be an inherited trait in Jacob’s lineage: throughout his family’s cycles, individuals … Read more
Different Bible translations word this differently; some use the phrase “eternal sin” or “unforgivable sin.” In some, the sin is to “blaspheme against” or “curse the Holy Spirit.” Whatever the wording, what troubles many readers is the suggestion that there is a type of sin that God will not forgive. Doesn’t this contradict verses like … Read more
The Bible doctrine of regeneration has suffered at the hands of its enemies as well as its friends. Its enemies marketed the doctrine in the 1970’s after a Southern Baptist layman who was running for the office of President of the United States announced that he was a “born again Christian.” Not long after this, … Read more
Throughout Mark’s Gospel, we see Jesus referred to as the ‘Son of God’ and the ‘Son of Man’ on numerous occasions, the former occurring a total of eight times within the text, and the latter, being ‘the most frequent of the Christological images in the Gospel of Mark[1]’, a total of fourteen times. With the … Read more
Exodus 16 and Numbers 11 both recount the story of the manna and quails. Though these two chapters concern the same story, they offer different details and variable facts. The two stories differ especially in their characterization of the Hebrew people, God, and the relationships between them. Exodus focuses on the Israelites’ relationship with God … Read more
The miracle stories narrated by each of the four evangelists arguably form one of the most famed aspects of the story of the life of Jesus Christ, and it is clear that for the writers of the Gospels, as well as for the earliest Christians, the miracles encompassed great significance. However, the ways in which … Read more
Part 1: The Book of Exodus and its Message In his theory of forms, the philosopher Plato proposes that the objects and situations encountered in the mundane world are often indicative of a higher and fuller reality. While Plato did not have the Old Testament in mind when he wrote “The Republic”, his concept of … Read more
What you Sow you Will Reap In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there is one character who changes drastically throughout the play. That character is Macbeth. In the beginning, Macbeth is an honest and loyal thane to King Duncan. However, he lets greed and evil desires drive him to an act of regicide. His guilt and fear … Read more
The Divine Comedy: Inferno’s “Canto XV” begins with the reader joining Dante pilgrim and Virgil as they exit the wood of the suicides on their way to the third ring of the seventh circle of hell: the burning sands. This is where the blasphemers, sodomites, and usurers are held for their eternal punishment. Dante and … Read more
The Gospel of Luke opens with a four-verse reflection on the Evangelist’s intentions regarding his Gospel and what he hopes to achieve in writing it. He expresses his desire to construct a revised edition of the story of the life and ministry of Christ and his followers; the author claims to have ‘carefully investigated everything … Read more
AUTHOR’S NOTE: The following paper received first place at the 2005 Concordia University President’s Showcase, Tier Two, and was presented at the Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research at the University of California, Riverside. Jesus in Context: The Influence of the Galilee Region on the Life and Ministry of Jesus and His Followers Introduction: History, … Read more
The doctrine of creation is not an ambiguous aspect of the Bible. The first four chapters of Genesis contain the primary biblical information on creation; therefore, they provide the basis of the biblical doctrine. This seemingly straightforward portion of the Bible, however, has for several millennia remained the object of considerable speculation by various writers … Read more
Small towns are often considered a safe place to grow up. Many who are born into these small towns never leave, perhaps because they are too frightened to leave all that they have ever known. These towns, however, are not without their problems. Rural small towns, especially in the South, carry a stigma of being … Read more
“Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” Genesis reads (Gen 2.9). In the Genesis story of Adam and Eve and … Read more
The characters of Agave and Eve, while subordinate to their male counterparts, Pentheus and Adam, play extremely important roles within The Bacchae and Genesis, respectively. Their characters are portrayals of typical women who, because of encounters with the divine, are able to break away (albeit temporarily and not without repercussion) from the constraints placed on … Read more
In 1525, William Tyndale began to write his famous version of the scriptures. Printing had already been achieved, so Tyndale had the desire to give the people a Bible of their own, in their own language. By 1526, Tyndales version of the English Bible had been published and printed. There was great turmoil over the … Read more
Of all the things learned and decided in ones life, the subject of religion is always considered the most important. This report very well may upset some of the Bible belt Christians, who cannot seem to allow any thought or idea but there own, but it needs to be said. The basis is simple, in … Read more
The amazing stories of the great flood that are described in, The Epic of Gilgamesh which is translated by N. K. Sandars and The Story of the Flood which is the King James version, both stories similarly. Many of the events of each story are very similar in ways and very different in some of … Read more
The Koran and the Bible (Old Testament) each offer an account of Joseph. In both versions, Joseph is favored by his father over his eleven other brothers, and sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers. Aside from a few differences, there are many similarities in the Koran and in the Bible concerning the account … Read more