Dr Paul Allen

Moses with the tablets of the Ten Commandments, painting by Rembrandt (1659) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) One of the most enduring elements of the Bible and the Judaeo-Christian worldview within Western culture is the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. Even if one can’t recite them all, most people have seen the fiery finger of God etch the commandments into two stone tablets as Moses—for many of us, Charlton Heston—watches in awe. It seems to go without saying that the list of the Ten Commandments is something that Judaism and Christianity have always agreed upon. Well, that is not exactly true. Historically speaking, Jews and Christians—and even denominations within Christianity—have disagreed on exactly how the Ten Commandments should be listed and expressed. In fact, how to precisely spell out the commandments was an issue of considerable importance during the Protestant Reformation . The difference concerns how many commands are to be found in the first six verses and last two...

Even in heresy there is “nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV) The false teachings that spring up in and around the church remain much the same. Instead of turning to Christ ’s atoning works, many have sought to save themselves by discovering some secret knowledge. In the early church, it appeared in a group of heresies called Gnosticism (gnosis is a Greek word meaning “knowledge”). Before the founding of the church, some form of Gnosticism apparently existed. When John wrote his first epistle, he struck a blow at this false teaching. Yet it still had a following in the second century. We know little about Irenaeus , the man who opposed Gnosticism in the latter part of the second century. He was probably born in Asia Minor in about 125. Active trading between Asia Minor and Gaul had allowed Christians to bring their faith to Gaul, where they had established a vigorous church in the chief city, Lyons. While he served as an elder in Lyons, Irenaeus lived up to ...

I am not against soccer practices or weekend pastimes. But I do believe that real Christianity is a compelling power so great it gets us beyond such small calculations. The early Christians were caught up into something from beyond this world, something gloriously all-encompassing. Real Christianity is massive. But is that  our  Christianity? Christian conversion is not God sprinkling his pixie-dust blessing on our typical routines. It is a paradigm shift for the whole of our lives, with new categories and new capacities. We see this throughout the New Testament . Ephesians   3:14 –19 is one representative sample. Paul prays three requests for all Christians everywhere: I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith — that you, bein...

There seems to be some type of general consensus among many people that the New Testament documents were written many years after the events took place and hence do not contain reliable information. However, the fact of the matter is that the life of Jesus was written by eyewitnesses or people who recorded firsthand testimony. The writers were all living at the same time these events transpired, and they had personal contact either with the events or with people who witnessed the events.  There is strong internal testimony that the Gospels were written at an early date. The Book of Acts records the missionary activity of the early Church and was written as a sequel by the same person who wrote the Gospel according to Luke . The Book of Acts ends with the apostle Paul being alive in Rome , his death not being recorded.  This would lead us to believe that it was written before he died, since the other major events in his life have been recorded. We have some reason to ...

The ministry of the Spirit and His mighty deeds were the portion of the Early Church in lavish generosity (as the Greek indicates in Galatians 3:5; Philippians 1:19). The abundance of gifts and the wonderful way they fitted the needs of the Body shows that God’s way is always, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6). There is, however, no special order in which the Bible lists the gifts. Romans 12:6–8 begins with prophecy. First Corinthians 12:8–10 begins with the message of wisdom. The other three lists begin with apostles.  Some attempt to classify the gifts according to their natur e, such as gifts of revelation, gifts of power, and gifts of speaking.  Others distinguish between traveling gifts , such as apostles, teachers, and evangelists; and local gifts such as pastors, government, and helps. Or they divide them according to function, such as proclamation, teaching, service, and administration. These are all legi...

The restoration to a sound physical or psychological state or to the greatest degree of health (Heb. šālōm “completeness, welfare”) possible given such limits as age and dismemberment. The process might involve regeneration as well as restoration, which included rectification of a sinful condition for which disease was often considered divine punishment (Ps. 38:3; cf. Isa. 38:10–20). Ultimately, God is the source of healing (e.g., Gen. 20:17; Exod. 15:16). Healing might be effected through prophets who acted as God’s agents (e.g., 2 Kgs. 5:3–14; 2 Kgs. 20:1–7 par. Isa. 38) as well as purification rituals performed by priests (cf. Lev. 15). By the Hellenistic period professional physicians had gained a prominent role, relying on magic and superstition as much as actual medical treatment (cf. Sir. 38:1–15). As part of his ministry of restoring humanity to wholeness, Jesus healed a variety of physical and psychological ailments (e.g., Luke 7:21–22; cf. 4:18). Although in some ins...

Resurrection. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” ( Acts 20:7 ) Given the fact that everything about God ’s Word was specifically inspired by its Author, it is appropriate that this important phrase, “the first day of the week,” occurs exactly eight times in the Bible . The first six of these ( Matthew 28:1 ; Mark 16:2 , 9; Luke 24:1 ; John 20:1 , 19) all stress the fact that it was on this day that the greatest event in history (since the creation) had taken place. The creation of the universe had taken place on the first day of the week, and now its Creator had conquered sin and death itself on that day. In the Bible, of course, the number “seven” represents completeness, so “eight” represents a new beginning—a new creation, a resurrection. The last two references tell us just how the early Christians reme...

Did the early church believe in the deity of Christ ? Ask your average Muslim, Unitarian, Jehovah’s Witness, or just about any non-Christian skeptic who has read (or watched)  The Da Vinci Code ,  and they’ll try to convince you the answer is  no .  From such sources we are told that the deity of Christ was a doctrine invented centuries after Jesus’ death — a result of pagan influences on the church in the fourth century when the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its official religion. Emperor Constantine , in particular, is blamed for being the guy who promoted Jesus to the level of deity, a feat of cosmic proportions that he managed to pull off at the Council of Nicaea in 325. As Dan Brown put it (through the lips of one of his literary characters): “Jesus’ establishment as ‘the Son of God ’ was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea. . . . By officially endorsing Jesus as the Son of God, Constantine turned Jesus into a deity who ...

To answer our question from a historical standpoint, we must first determine what facts concerning the fate of Jesus of Nazareth can be credibly established on the basis of the evidence and second consider what the best explanation of those facts is. At least four facts about the fate of the historical Jesus are widely accepted by NT historians today. Fact 1: After His crucifixion, Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea in a tomb. This fact is highly significant because it means that the location of Jesus’ tomb was known in Jerusalem to Jews and Christians alike. New Testament scholars have established the fact of Jesus’ entombment on the basis of evidence such as the following:    Jesus’ burial is attested in the information (from before A.D. 36) that was handed on by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3–5.    The burial story is independently attested in the source material that was used by Mark in writing his Gospel.     Given the understandable ...