Dr Paul Allen

We have disproved the notion that Christians stole December 25th from the pagans. We have discovered that decades before the creation of the Sol Invictus festival, Christians were fixing on December 25th for the Nativity.  First, based on the Hebrew tradition of tying birth dates to death deaths.  Second, by connecting the birth of Jesus to the winter solstice. Third there are no records that show either the early Church changing its liturgical calendars to adapt to the pagan festivals or debating or condemning the adaption of pagan festivals for Christ’s nativity. We conceded the so-called “Calculations Theory” does not show that Jesus Christ was actually born on December 25th. However, as we are about to discover, you can make a compelling case that December 25th is Jesus’ real birthday after all. Setting the table for us is Kurt M. Simmons. He writes in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society: Chronological evidence strongly favors ...

Dove representation in the Baptism of Christ by Pietro Perugino, circa 1498 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) LUKE 1:39–45 “When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb . And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ” (v. 41). Typically, when we speak of something being immediate we are speaking of something that happens in time. In other words, the term immediate refers to something that happens instantly or suddenly. If we say that Sarah asked her husband to come into the kitchen and he immediately goes there, we mean that Sarah’s husband did not hesitate even for a moment to fulfill her request. However, we are not referring to time when we say that regeneration is immediate. Instead, we mean that the new birth is something that happens without means. God the Holy Spirit alone works upon the soul, He does not use any other agent to change the heart. Now, it is true that God ’s Spirit brings a person to salvation through the preaching of the Gospel , for s...

Elizabeth and Mary (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Luke 1:39–45 “When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary , the baby leaped in her womb . And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ” (v. 41). Lets examine the immediacy of regeneration . Typically, when we speak of something being immediate we are speaking of something that happens in time. In other words, the term immediate refers to something that happens instantly or the kitchen and he immediately goes there, we mean that Sarah’s husband did not hesitate even for a moment to fulfill her request. Luke 1:39–45 “When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (v. 41). Let us examine the immediacy of regeneration. Typically, when we speak of something being immediate we are speaking of something that happens in time. In other words, the term immediate refers to something that happens instantly or suddenly. If we say that Sarah asked her husban...

English: John the Baptist baptizing Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) With the exception of Christ Himself, there is probably more material on John the Baptist in the Gospels than any other individual. What are the roots of such a man? What are some of the things that pushed into his life and caused him to go out into the world and proclaim the coming of Christ? I believe that the greatness of a soul , the greatness of a man begins with a godly family. John’s parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth , were heaven’s agents to touch an entire generation. They lived during the time of Herod—a cruel, sadistic king. There was oppression, injustice, death, and murder, yet Zechariah and Elizabeth were both in tune to the voice of God . They were the son and daughter of other priests down through the generations. They were righteous before God and lived lives marked by absolute religious integrity. In Luke 1:8 an angel visits Zechariah and tells him that his son will be great before the Lord;...

English: Zechariah, the Biblical prophet, watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah , but his mother spoke up and said “No! He is to be called John.” [Luke 1:59–60] Everyone was so excited that the aged Zechariah and Elizabeth had finally had a child that they fully expected to honor this son by calling him after his father. Gabriel, however, had told Zechariah that his son’s name was to be John, and Elizabeth knew it as well. Zechariah still could not speak, so Elizabeth spoke for him. Relatives and friends objected that the name John was not in their lineage, and they went to Zechariah to find out what he thought they ought to call the baby. We read that “he asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, ‘His name is John’” (1:63). Just as an act of doubt had caused Zechariah to be struck dumb nine months earlier, so...

English: child Jesus with the virgin Mary, with the Holy Spirit (represented as a dove) and God the Father, with child john the Baptist and saint Elizabeth on the right (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit . [Luke 1:41] When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, one of the things he told her was that “Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age” (1:36). This encouraged Mary to visit Elizabeth, to get some woman-to-woman support for the times ahead for them both. Thus, “at that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea , where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth” (vv. 39–40). John the Baptist , who was six months old in the womb at this point (v. 26), leaped for joy when Mary entered the room. Simultaneously Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. What did the Holy Spirit do to Elizabeth? He caused her to open h...

Dove representation in the Baptism of Christ by Pietro Perugino, circa 1498 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Luke 1:39-45 "When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb . And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit " ( v. 41 ). Let's examine the immediacy of regeneration. Typically, when we speak of something being immediate we are speaking of something that happens in time. The term immediate refers to something that happens instantly or suddenly. However, we are not referring to time when we say that regeneration is immediate. Instead, we mean that the new birth is something that happens without means. God the Holy Spirit alone works upon the soul, He does not use any other agent to change the heart. Now, it is true that God 's Spirit brings a person to salvation through the preaching of the Gospel, for someone must know about his sin and the grace offered in Christ if he is going to repent and believe ( Rom. 10:14-17 ). Yet the quickeni...