In the final chapter of In the Shadow of the Temple, the author discusses a major transition point in the Church’s history. For the first three centuries of its story, Christianity grew closely alongside Judaism, but with the so-called Constantinian Revolution, the break became that much more evident.
What happened?
Just prior to Constantine gaining power as [...]
Continue reading about Is the Church better when it’s favored or persecuted- Shadow of the Temple
We don’t use the term Eucharist much anymore do we? Do you know what the term means?
Christians use many terms for the Lord’s Supper- communion, Lord’s Supper, mass, last meal, etc. Eucharist is one we’ve probably heard but it sounds so churchy and foreign. Where does it come from?
It’s actually a term that connects Jesus’ [...]
Continue reading about Prayer and Teaching in the Lord’s Supper- Shadow of the Temple
People love to argue about worship. Sad, but true. Now I don’t mind a little constructive dialogue about worship style and a pushing towards excellence in worship, but I think most would agree that it is sad to see people so split in this realm of Christian life that is supposed to bring us together.
Well, [...]
Continue reading about How Far Back Does our Worship Go?- Shadow of the Temple
You know how this guy feels right?
I remember doing canon balls in pools and there was an incredible feeling associated with it. Yeah, the descent and splash was fun, but there was something else. There was that feeling you had as you sank deep into the water and then started going back up. You pushed [...]
Continue reading about Bursting Out of the Water- Baptism and Jewish Rites- Shadow of the Temple
You can’t make this stuff up.
That I think is a simpler way of summarizing a statement from the book. In case you’re curious what I’m summarizing, here’s a representative statement. “It is as if he [Tertullian] were striving to express the basic intuition that the offensiveness of the christological dogma is precisely what makes it [...]
Continue reading about You Can’t Make this Stuff Up- Christology- Shadows of the Temple
It’s interesting that one of the biggest objections to the Christian faith for the Jews early on is in many ways so similar to the most basic objection to the faith in general.
The Jews asked- “If Jesus was the Messiah, why hasn’t the Messianic age come?” In essence, they’re saying, the kingdom restored means everything [...]
Continue reading about Same Objection, Different Words- Shadow of the Temple
This is an excellent chapter on the formation of the Bible and I wish I could dive into so many of the stories and intricacies included, but that’s not really the place for a blog to go. I want to do two things in this post. One, explain roughly how our Bible came to be [...]
Continue reading about Shadow of the Temple- How’d We Get the Bible?
When you get into discussions about faith with people and you find a difference in view, how do things go for you?
Whether you’re talking to another Christian about a different view of Scripture or a doctrinal issue or with a non Christian, do you ever feel like things take a negative turn that you regret? [...]
If you had to draw the line for what a person needed to believe to be a Christian, where would you draw it?
That’s a question that has always been asked in the church. When is a person in the faith and when has a person walked out of it. That applies to what a person [...]
Continue reading about Shadow of the Temple- Who’s In and Who’s Out?
Have you ever walked into a place and instantly realized that you didn’t belong?
Sometimes things actually feel hostile. Well, the next chapter of Skarsaune’s book deals with Christian outreach into pagan audiences. For the earliest part of the Church’s history, most of the outreach focused around Jewish peoples and converts to Judaism. What they found [...]
Continue reading about Shadow of the Temple- Entering a Hostile Crowd- Speaking Through Martyrdom
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