The Apostles’ Creed has 12 article – essentially 12 lines in it. There’s a lovely story: the 12 apostles are sitting around after Jesus has gone back to heaven after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and they are about to go and share and spread the good news. But of course there’s no gospels, no new
So you say: “I believe everything in the Bible”. Which one? Which Bible? Does that include everything in 2 Esdras? What about Judith? Ummmm… Tobit? What about that book so popular in the early church: Ecclesiasticus (even called by a churchy name)? “Ummm…”, says Average Christian, “just a minute, let me look them up…” “Hey,
The Jewish Annotated New Testament Edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Z. Brettler This is awesome! Regulars here may remember when I tried to, week by week, give background to the Sunday, three-year-lectionary, readings. This volume goes a long way to providing that kind of information. It helps me, and other Christians, to get a
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Eucharist (Greek εὐχαριστία – thanksgiving) is never used in the New Testament as a name for the Christian service with bread and wine. The earliest record of this service does use the associated verb: For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when
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Divine Liturgy (Greek: θεία λειτουργία, Georgian: საღმრთო ლიტურგია, Bulgarian: Божествена литургия, Russian: Божественная литургия, Armenian: պատարակ, Serbian: Света Литургија, Romanian: Sfânta Liturghie) is the common term for the for the Christian service with bread and wine in the Byzantine tradition. It is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of
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How often do you read the scriptures? When you read the scriptures, do you pick a verse here and there, out of context? Or as you read are you conscious of what you are reading fitting within a whole scroll (“book”)? When you listen to someone preaching (or preaching yourself) is the preacher ducking and
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The breaking of the bread appears to be essentially a Lukan title for the service that followers of Jesus have with bread and wine. It occurs in slightly different forms, as far as I can see, four times in the New Testament Luke 24:35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how
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The words “Holy Communion” never occur in the New Testament! Like the title “Lord’s Supper“, “communion” (κοινωνία), is not regularly connected to the Christian service with bread and wine in the New Testament. The connection appears only once. Communion, κοινωνία, is normally translated “fellowship”. NRSV, in 1 Cor 10:16-17, translates it as “sharing”: 16 The
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