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Items Posted In April, 2020

Moabite Stone Altar
Close inspection of writing on ancient ceramic shards demonstrate very ancient writing.

Posted on April 30, 2020 by

Categories: Archaeology, Biblical History, Historical Evidence

The recently discovered Moabite stone altar attests to the historicity of an ancient Jewish conflict between Israel and the Biblical Kingdom of Moab. The Kingdom of Moab Moab was a country near ancient Israel founded by the descendants of Lot, the nephew of Abraham.  The Bible notes this country was frequently in conflict with Israel. This historical conflict started when the country impeded the crossing over into the Promised Land from the desert.  As a consequence, they were excluded from joining the Jewish nation for ten generations. The Book of Ruth in the Old Testament is story of a Moabite… Read More »

Fetal Ultrasounds and Abortion
Fetal ultrasound can determine the size, age, sex, and other characteristics of the pre-born baby.

Posted on April 29, 2020 by

Categories: Abortion, Social Values

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There is a relationship between improving fetal ultrasounds and abortion rates.  Three-dimensional fetal ultrasound is particularly useful in demonstrating the facial and body characteristics of an unborn child.  The earlier two-dimensional technology gave much less facial detail making the image look less human. In short, improving ultrasound makes the “lump of tissue” within the pregnant woman’s uterus appear to be just what it is – an unborn baby.  This helps to make the mother more informed about her pregnancy before choosing abortion. Planned Parenthood, Fetal Ultrasounds and Abortion The Washington Examiner recently had an article concerning the use of ultrasounds… Read More »

Why Christ was Crucified
The resurrection of Christ is the central feature of Christianity.

Posted on April 23, 2020 by

Categories: Biblical History, Historical Evidence, Philosophical, Resurrection

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Precisely why Christ was crucified is a question posed by curious Christians throughout the centuries. There is no real doubt the crucifixion occurred – it is one of the best-documented events in ancient history.  The Scriptures, as well as extra-Biblical history, support the historicity of Christ’s crucifixion.  Ancient Greco-Roman sources such as Josephus, Tacitus, and Lucian of Samosata confirm that Christ was crucified. The reason why Christ was crucified is not as obvious to modern Christians who have only marginal knowledge of the Old Testament.  As Bart Ehrman, an agnostic, notes, [If] Jesus had simply been a great moral teacher,… Read More »

Sign of Jonah
The giant fish which swallowed Jonah may have been a whale.

Posted on April 18, 2020 by

Categories: Biblical History, Biblical Names, Historical Evidence, Philosophical, Resurrection

The Sign of Jonah Christians are very familiar with the story of Jonah in the Old Testament.  The Reader’s Digest version is that Jonah was a Jewish prophet who was called to go to the capital city of the Assyrian empire – Nineveh.  The Assyrians were particularly troublesome of the northern ten tribes of Israel due to repeated military conflicts.  Eventually, the Assyrians would conquer the ten tribes them away into slavery and captivity.  Jonah was to preach repentance to these people with the understanding they could then repent and avoid God’s judgment. The problem was that Jonah was not… Read More »

Historicity of the Resurrection
The resurrection of Christ is the central feature of Christianity.

Posted on April 15, 2020 by

Categories: Biblical History, Historical Evidence, Philosophical, Resurrection

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The historicity of the resurrection has been debated for many years.  The “minimal facts argument was developed by Gary Habermas for his Ph.D. dissertation to evaluate the possibility that the resurrection was an actual historical event and not just a nice story invented by an ancient culture. While secular scholars might disagree as to whether Christ rose from the dead in bodily form and revealed himself to multitudes of people, they do agree on several facts concerning the event.  These critical scholars can be liberal Christians, agnostic, or even atheist in their religious views as long as they are specialists… Read More »

The Upper Room
Jerusalem

Posted on April 8, 2020 by

Categories: Archaeology, Biblical History, Biblical Names, Historical Evidence

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The Upper Room is one of the most venerated places in Jerusalem.  It is a site featured in the New Testament Gospels as the place where Jesus had his Last Supper with his disciples, and where he later appeared to them after the Resurrection.  It is also the place where the first believers gathered together to await the arrival of the Holy Spirit. The  Biblical Archaeology Society has an excellent article showing possible ancient renderings of the Upper Room in various churches throughout the ancient world.  This article has these renderings in order for the readers to make their own… Read More »