Ἀρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ υἱοῦ θεοῦ.Καθὼς γέγραπται ἐν τῷ Ἠσαΐᾳ τῷ προφήτῃ, Ἰδοὺ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου· φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, Ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου, εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ, ἐγένετο Ἰωάννης βαπτίζων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ κηρύσσων βάπτισμα μετανοίας εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν. The beginning…
Category: Scripture
A Thought on the Massacre of the Innocents in History
Τότε Ἡρῴδης ἰδὼν ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπὸ τῶν μάγων ἐθυμώθη λίαν, καὶ ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλεν πάντας τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς ἐν Βηθλέεμ καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς ἀπὸ διετοῦς καὶ κατωτέρω, κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ὃν ἠκρίβωσεν παρὰ τῶν μάγων. τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ Ἰερεμίου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος, Φωνὴ ἐν Ῥαμὰ ἠκούσθη, κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὀδυρμὸς πολύς· Ῥαχὴλ…
On the Genre of Genesis 1
At least among popular level discussion, the question of genre for the first chapter of Genesis is quite a charged one. Surely, depending on the reader’s background, he already has in his mind a forceful answer to this question: “it’s obviously history!” “it’s obviously poetry!” …or something else. Stepping back for a moment, doesn’t that…
On the Authorship of Hebrews
The idea that Paul wrote Hebrews is an unpopular one today, but throughout most of Christian history it was simply a given. Early on, the Church Father Origen famously and memorably put it this way: τίς δὲ ὁ γράψας τὴν ἐπιστολήν, τὸ μὲν ἀληθὲς θεὸς οἶδεν. But as for who wrote this letter, truly God…
Hymns for Advent: “What Child is This?”
As of writing, this week, the first in December, marks the beginning of the Advent season. To Christians the world over, this is a time of expectation and meditation. Most obviously, this expectation builds unto the Christmas holiday at the end of Advent, and leading on into Epiphany. But more than just the expectation for…
Whether Infant Baptism is Implied by Acts 2.39
This morning, my brother sent me this text: “You’ve said before that you think Acts 2:39 implies infant baptism. How do you deal with the objection that it’s just speaking to the universality of the ‘repent and be baptized…and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’ promise to all generations (your children too)…