The Wrong Holiday

Christmas is rapidly approaching. Most churches are well into the advent season; Poinsettias and garland adorn their sanctuaries. There is one dynamic which can be reliably observed in evangelical churches…

Closing the Canon

Athanasius (296-373 AD) had a remarkable but tumultuous life. His physical appearance was apparently quite striking: he was very short with a dark complexion and black hair. His opponents dubbed…

New Wine & New Wineskins

The 27 books which were eventually included in the New Testament were all produced by the end of the 1st century. The gospel of Mark (which drew heavily upon the…

Is Your Bible the Right Size?

Over the last 500 years, Protestants and Catholics have disagreed over the content of the scriptures. The Catholic Bible contains 7 additional Old Testament books: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon,…

Things That Are Hidden

Most Christians own at least one Bible - hopefully one which is frequently read and well- worn. But many would be surprised to learn that the Bible they possess is…

Translation of the Seventy

The last few weeks we've been tracing the formation of the Old Testament. Let's summarize what we've learned so far. The key criterion for inclusion in the sacred writings was…

The Other Joseph

The book of Genesis describes the dramatic story of Joseph, son of Jacob. Sold into slavery by his own brothers, he eventually rose to power in Egypt. But there is…

The Hebrew Canon

Here are the closing words of the Torah: "Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those miraculous…