A first century house in Israel
Category: Bible Study
Did Jesus say anything about Abortion?
Did Jesus say anything about Abortion? I get asked this question a lot, as I am sure other pro-life Catholics do too. It’s as if the basic assumption in the question is “if Jesus said nothing against it, then it must be OK.” Let’s step back a moment and look at that assumption. Did Jesus...
English Translations of the Biblical Passage John 1:1
As a follow up of my last post, I decided to look up one Biblical passage to see how different English translation Bibles would present the same sentence. I assumed before I began that there would be different translations, but I had no idea which would differ or how. For “Bible Christians” who believe in...
English Translations of the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13
The Lord’s prayer is found in more than one Gospel. This version is found in Matthew Chapter 6:9-13. The versions are taken from Bible Gateway. Although there are more English translations, this list is the same as the one found in Luke 10, referenced in my previous post, except for the New Jerusalem Bible, which...
The Variety of English Translations of the Lord’s Prayer found in Luke 11
Pope Francis has announced that the English translation of the Lord’s prayer, used by Catholics, will be revised based upon a review of the original Greek. I went to Bible Gateway, a very useful on-line site that provides many translations of the Bible. I was surprised to see how many different English translations that are...
Catholic Devotion to Jesus’ Mother Mary
Devotion to Jesus’ mother is as old as Christianity. When Jesus began his active ministry and traveled all over the Galilee, Judea and beyond, Mary often traveled with him. She was no stranger to his friends. The Catholic Church takes the biblical passages about her very seriously and over the centuries has bestowed upon her...
On Reading the Bible*
We are celebrating Martin Luther, a Catholic priest, who advocated the idea that everyone should read the Bible. It’s a good idea, especially for those who read it as a devotional exercise. The major problem that I see is people who simply read the Bible without knowing the context of the stories. This can lead...
An Overview of Christology: The Study of Christ
Christology, as the word implies, is the study of Christ. Christology explores the questions: “Who was or is Jesus?” and, “What did or does Jesus do?” Unlike the other monotheistic religions, Christianity believes in a Trinitarian God composed of the Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit. Most Christians are radically Christo-centric or Christ centered. The...
The Stolen Miracle Mark 5:24-34
A brief incident, sandwiched in the middle of a story of another of Jesus’ miracles (Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:22-43) is unusual in that it tells of a stolen miracle. Unlike other miracles that Jesus freely gave away for the asking (Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:24-34, Luke 8:42-48), it was stolen because the woman who stole it...
Reflections on the Christmas Story in the Bible
Most Christians are familiar with the Christmas story. Every year on December 25th, Christians celebrate the birth of Christ, and listen to the tale of how Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, how they could find no lodging for the night so had to make do with the stable; how the baby Jesus...