Dr Paul Allen

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “I, the LORD , have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles ” (Isa. 42:6). The thought of the kingdom of heaven spreading throughout the world, of people from all nations bowing in obedience to the God of Israel , and of a world once hidden in darkness being brought into light by the power of God’s Spirit must have been difficult for the Jewish mind to grasp. Remember, they were a people surrounded by enemi...

English: Stained glass window with Trinity symbols (hand of Father, dove of Holy Spirit, cross for Son Deutsch: Bleiglasfenster im Chor der Kirche Notre-Dame de Clignancourt von Paris, Darstellung: ? (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Do you know the meaning of the word Trinity ? In all likelihood, most of those reading this are familiar with this word and its meaning in theology. But what if I were to ask you to distinguish between the " ontological Trinity" and the " economic Trinity"? If I said, "Please describe for me the difference between the ontological Trinity and the economic Trinity," could you do it? The distinction is very important. Ontology is the study of being. When we talk about the ontological Trinity, we are referring to the fact that God is three in one. There are three persons in the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit —who together are one being. The ontological structure of the Trinity is a unity. When we speak of the ec...

English: Temple garments, underwear worn by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS; Mormons). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Baptists , Mormons , and Jehovah’s Witnesses . All three claim to believe in Jesus. Yet, only one of these groups can be rightly classified as a denomination rather than a false religion. With that in mind, the question we are asking today might be stated as follows: What are the marks of cult groups and apostate forms of Christianity that identify them as false religions—such that we can and should label them as heresies, rather than simply classifying them as different denominations? The New Testament articulates three fundamental doctrinal criteria by which false teachers (and false religions) can be identified: 1. A Wrong View of Salvation False religions (whether they claim to be Christian or not) attempt to add good works to the gospel of grace (cf. Rom. 11:6). Rather than trusting in Christ alone for salvation, they seek t...

STATION II: Jesus accepts his cross (Photo credit: contemplative imaging ) In the bestseller Holy Blood, Holy Grail , the authors claim that in A.D. 303  Emperor Diocletian destroyed all Christian writings that could be found. That’s why, they assert, there are no New Testament manuscripts prior to the  fourth century . Later, Emperor Constantine commissioned new versions of these documents, which allowed the “custodians of orthodoxy to revise, edit, and rewrite their material as they saw fit.” It was at this point that “most of the crucial alterations in the New Testament were probably made and Jesus  assumed the unique status he has enjoyed ever since.” In response to this book, Dr. Daniel B. Wallace , a New Testament Greek scholar, says, “Do these authors know anything about history at all? Diocletian did not destroy all the Christian manuscripts. He did destroy several, but mostly in the East and South. As far as having no manuscripts prior...

The Ladder of Divine Ascent is an important icon kept and exhibited at Saint Catherine's Monastery, situated the base of Mount Sinai in Egypt. The gold background is typical of icons such as this, which was manufactured in the 12th century after a manuscript written by the 6th century monk John Climacus who based it on the biblical description of Jacob's ladder. It depicts the ascent to Heaven by monks, some of which fall and are dragged away by black demons. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) ". . .that ye may know that ye have eternal life , and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." ( 1 John 5:13 ) Although this powerful, five-chapter letter from the apostle John is full of vital insights into the Christian life, it is written to "little children" ( 1 John5:21 ) so that they might "know" the majesty and wonder of eternal life. John begins his epistle with a reminder that he "knew" this Jesus from whom the promise of eternal...

English: This is a map of first century Iudaea Province that I created using Illustrator CS2. I traced this image for the general geographic features. I then manually input data from maps found in a couple of sources. Robert W. Funk and the Jesus Seminar. The Acts of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco: 1998. p. xxiv. Michael Grant. Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels. Charles Scribner's Sons: 1977. p. 65-67. John P. Meier. A Marginal Jew. Doubleday: 1991. p. 1:434. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Titus 2:11–14 In the bestseller Holy Blood, Holy Grail , the authors claim that in A.D. 303 Emperor Diocletian destroyed all Christian writings that could be found. That’s why, they assert, there are no New Testament manuscripts prior to the fourth century. Later, Emperor Constantine commissioned new versions of these documents, which allowed the “custodians of orthodoxy to revise, edit, and rewrite their material as they saw fit.” It was at this point that “most of the crucial alter...

English: Peresopnytsia Gospels. 1556-1561. Miniature of Saint Matthew. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God ." ( Acts 20:27 ) Sometimes, it is good to step back and look at the "big picture"--the foundational perspective upon which the whole of Scripture is based. Four foundational passages in the New Testament provide pillars for the whole counsel of God. John 1:1-14 --The "Word" (our Lord Jesus ) was and is God; the "Word" made everything that was made; the "Word" was made flesh and dwelt among men. Romans 11:36 --All things are of Him, through Him, and to Him. Colossians 1:16-20 --By Him all heavenly and earthly powers were made; by Him all things are saved from destruction; by Him all things will be reconciled. 2 Peter 3:1-13 --He destroyed the first world because of evil; He will destroy this present universe by fire; He will create a new heavens and new earth . W...

Christogram (labarum) with Jesus Prayer in Romanian. Jesus Prayer in Romanian Doamne Iisuse Hristoase, Fiul lui Dumnezeu, miluieste-ma pe mine pacatosul. English translation Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner. This image appears on the cover of all editions of Romanian translation of Philokalia Français : Christogramme entouré de la Prière de Jésus en roumain (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And now, brethren, I commend you to God , and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified." ( Acts 20:32 ) Many beautiful descriptors are used in the New Testament to illustrate the powers of the Word of God, both spoken and written. For example, the Lord Jesus is called "the Word of life" in 1 John 1:1 , and Paul, speaking of the Scriptures, reminded the Philippian Christians that they should be "holding forth the word of life" ( Philippians 2:16 ). Jesus calle...

First page of the Gospel of Mark, by Sargis Pitsak, a Medieval Armenian scribe and miniaturist (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God ." ( Revelation 3:14 ) This salutation in the last of the seven church epistles in Revelation contains the last of four occurrences of the distinctive phrase, "the beginning of the creation." The glorified Christ here assumes this as one of His divine names. Note that even God's work of creation, long since completed ( Genesis 2:1-3 ), had a beginning, and that beginning was Christ. " In the beginning was the Word , . . . All things were made by him" ( John 1:1 , 3 ). The first two occurrences of this phrase also come from the lips of Christ. "From the beginning of the creation God made them male and female" ( Mark 10:6 ). This assertion by the Creator , Jesus ...

Head from a statue of Diocletian at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In the bestseller Holy Blood, Holy Grail , the authors claim that in A.D. 303 Emperor Diocletian destroyed all Christian writings that could be found. That's why, they assert, there are no New Testament manuscripts prior to the fourth century . Later, Emperor Constantine commissioned new versions of these documents, which allowed the "custodians of orthodoxy to revise, edit, and rewrite their material as they saw fit." It was at this point that "most of the crucial alterations in the New Testament were probably made and Jesus assumed the unique status he has enjoyed ever since."  Titus 2:11-14 In response to this book, Dr. Daniel B. Wallace , a New Testament Greek scholar, says, "Do these authors know anything about history at all? Diocletian did not destroy all the Christian manuscripts. He did destroy several, but mostly in the East and South. As far...