What happens when I die?

The three main contenders for “What happens when I die?” is the Evangelical Intermediary State, the Seventh Day Adventist’s Soul Sleep, and the Popish heresy of Purgatory. Image titled Dante’s Purgatorio by Gustave Doré. Click image to enlarge. Nanny Ogg once declared, “The wages of sin is death, but so is the salary of virtue.” [...]

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The Dating of the New Testament/The Chronology of Acts

I spent about 4 hours more than I anticipated reconciling the cronological dating of the books of the Bible to the chronological timeline of Acts. I used quite a few sources, but unfortunately didn’t note them done and completed this work a few months ago (at least one source was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Christianity). I just realised that [...]

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How did they handle persecution? The Historical Record

Gustave Dore, 1832-1886. I find Gustave Dore’s sketches haunting. It’s as if he has a knack of capturing the darkness of the soul. Here he depicts the Massacre of the Vaudois of Merindol, 1 January 1545. The Waldensians were the early forerunners of the Reformation. Click image to link to the post. The persecutions and [...]

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How did they handle persecution? The Biblical Record

Saint Philip Baptizing the Eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia, Théodore Chassériau (1819 – 1856). Click image to link to the post. How ought the brethren to have handled the sudden, violent death of Stephen in Acts 7? “Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him” (Acts 8:2). Naturally the initial response was [...]

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Why were Christians persecuted? Of Concurrence

The large monument in the middle of the Old Town Square in Prague is the statue of the reformer Jan Hus (John Huss), one of the most important personalities in Czech history. A hundred years before the Protestant Reformation was started by Martin Luther, Jan Hus was burnt as a heretic for reformist ideas, 1915, [...]

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Why were Christians persecuted? Of Providence

The Murder of St. Peter the Martyr, 1509, Giovanni Bellini. Click image to link to the post. The last post in this series was Why were Christians persecuted? Of Sovereignty. Click here to read it. Just before Jesus ascended to heaven He said to His disciples “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has [...]

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