How did the Early Christians Worship? - Part 2

In the previous note [LINK] I asked two questions:  When did the earliest Christians worship?  What did they do when they gathered together?

I started with some Biblical evidence, but conceded that my conclusions could simply be the result of bias on my part.  So today we’ll look at three written works from the early Church in an attempt to flesh out the picture…

How did the Early Christians Worship? - Part 1

Today I wanted to ask some questions about Christian worship:  How did the early Christians worship?  Specifically, on what day did they gather?  What did they do when they gathered?  Those are the questions I want to explore today.

The Catholic Church and Homosexuality - Part I

About a year ago, one of the seniors at my Monday night discussion group pointed out that in 4 years she'd never heard a word at the larger OLMC Youth Ministry gatherings (on Thursdays) about the one issue she's asked about more than anything else at school: The Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality.

And she was right. The Thursday night gatherings have covered everything under the sun, but has never ever said a word about the matter. Seeing as how THE thing their peers (and society as a whole) want to talk about, it seemed neglectful to let them twist in the wind while avoiding the controversy ourselves.

So I took up the task of wring a curriculum. And after nearly a year of work, we've finally begin a 3-part series on the matter. The first two presentations are my work. You can hear and see the first one on Youtube [ here ].

The Annunciation and the Dumbest Question Ever Asked

Many regard Christmas as the day the God became man.  But if you think about it, you’ll realize the Word had already been flesh for 9 months prior to His reception in Bethlehem.  The true epoch-making event occurred when a young girl said to an angel, “Let it be done to me according to your word.”

Today I wanted to examine an often overlooked detail in that extraordinary exchange and explore its implications.

Do the Infancy Narratives Contradict?

Back in college, near Christmas break in 2007, Kari and I heard the worst sermon ever given.  The priest approached the pulpit and basically said, "You know, the infancy narratives contradict one another. Try not to take any of this too seriously. Let's all just act in a Christian manner by being nice to people."

Delightful.

But tis the season, and I thought I'd take on the question of whether the infancy narratives contradict one another.  So if Biblical chronology is your thing, I have a treat for you!

What is "The Authority Bomb?"

A couple years ago a friend asked me a question about the structure of the Catholic Church.  It went something like this:

Why do you need to listen to bishops and the pope?  Why can’t you just use the Scriptures to have an unmediated personal relationship with God?

Short Answer: Infant Baptism in the Bible?

Dear Apologist, How do I defend our practice of Baptizing infants from Scripture?