Nazareth in Jesus’ day: 4 facts
The Bible says Jesus grew up in Nazareth, but until recently the evidence for this was scant and disputed by some. But now there is clear evidence of a small agricultural village or town in the first century.
Category: Belief
Can God become a baby?
Christmas is about a baby. A baby who was somehow also God. But can that idea make sense? How can we understand it?
Christians and conspiracy theories
These are fertile days for conspiracy theories. Who believes them and why? Are christians more prone to believe them?
Don’t blame Jesus for the wrongs of the church!
Christians are supposed to be following Jesus, but do their lives match up to his teachings?
Would you like to live forever?
Would you like to live forever? Silly question? Could eternal life be boring or impossible? Or could it be wonderful? And is it possible?
How accurate is the text of the New Testament?
Is the Bible we read today the same as the one originally written? Has the original text been changed beyond recognition, or do scholars have so many copies that they can reconstruct the text with a great deal of confidence?
Chinese New Year, modern Buddhism and modern Christianity
It is Chinese New Year, and last Saturday we visited the celebrations at Hurstville, the suburb where we both grew up and now home to a large Chinese community. We watched the parade and checked out the stalls, and found plenty to interest us.
The evolution of hell
This scene from the Egyptian Book of the Dead (c 1275 BCE), shows the dead scribe Hunefer’s heart being weighed by the canine-headed Anubis on the scale of Maat. The ibis-headed Thoth, scribe of the gods, records the result. If his heart is lighter than the feather of truth, Hunefer is allowed to pass into […]
The Exodus (book review)
What should we make of the story of the Exodus in the Old Testament? Two million people escape slavery in Egypt after a series of savage plagues, with God leading the way. They escape the pursuing Egyptian army by walking through the waters of the Red Sea, which God miraculously parts, then closes on the […]
Did Jesus suffer from a mental disorder?
In Mark 3, it is recorded that when Jesus’ family heard how he was attracting a great following, they thought he was “out of his mind”. These days a similar charge is sometimes made – that Jesus exhibited behaviour that suggests he suffered from a mental disorder. I’ve come across it several times, most recently […]