What About Feminine Theological Language in the Bible?

A while ago I took a [look] at why Christians refer to God using masculine terminology.  Those reasons were threefold:

1. Jesus is described as the image of God.
2. Jesus exclusively told us to relate to God as Father.
3. The metaphysics of how God creates the universe is more like fatherhood.

But of course that doesn't answer every question.  There are a few points people often raise to the contrary.  Today I want to look at one of them....

...aren't there passages of the Bible which say God is a mother too?

7 More Harmful Catholic Urban Legends

In a previous post I made a list of seven common Catholic urban legends.  These are things which many Catholics believe to be true about their faith, but are actually not the case.  And sometimes these lead people into great harm.

Today I want to continue with seven more. 

Can We Legislate Morality?

Have you ever heard a person say:

"You can’t legislate morality…”

It’s a sort of truism, a motto that is repeated whenever a discussion enters the touchy realm of the “culture wars”.  But is it true?

Well, its true in the sense that you cannot pass a law coercing people's private thoughts on morality.   But that is not what we're typically talking about.

When someone says "legislating morality", what is meant is coercing people to act in accordance to a certain moral code.

Is that off limits?

Can Life Have Meaning Without God?

One long-running discussion between Christians and Atheists has to do with the meaning of our lives.  It is common for Christians to assert that in absence of God, life is ultimately meaningless and absurd.  And, in fact, there are certain Atheists philosophers (such as Bertrand Russell) who would agree.

These claims are usually not well-received by Atheist audiences.  They retort that they can lead happy, meaningful, purpose-filled lives without God.  This is typically coupled with a certain amount of indignance because – let’s face it – no one likes to be told their life is meaningless.

So today I wanted to take a look at this discussion.  Can life have meaning without God?

The Swiss Army Verses: The Rending of the Temple Veil

Today I wanted to begin a two-part series on a couple of New Testament passages which frequently appear in discussions between Catholics and non-Catholics.

These are verses which appear significant, but their implications are not explained in Scripture.  They are seized upon by preachers who say they know the real meaning of the text.  And frequently those interpretations are given in the context of protests against distinctive Catholic beliefs.

I call them .... the "Swiss Army Verses".

A Hidden Reference to the Trinitarian Formula

I recently met a nice fella at the park who was from a Oneness Pentacostal congregation.  After some smalltalk he began telling me I had been baptized improperly.

I had been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - also known as the Trinitarian formula.  He insisted I needed to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ only.

Today I want to explore why he was saying this.  Then we will look at the witness of the Early Church on the matter, and finally look at a little-known piece of Scriptural evidence for the Trinitarian words of baptism.

The Analogy of John 6

One of the doctrines which separates Christians from one another is the nature of the Lord's Supper.  What exactly did Jesus mean when He said:

"This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." - Luke 22: 19-20

Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some others take Jesus quite literally.  We confess that the Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus Christ's body.  That is to say, Jesus Christ literally makes Himself available as food during the celebration of the Mass (aka the Lord's Supper).

In contrast, Evangelicals, Baptists, and most independent congregations hold that Jesus was speaking figuratively at the Last Supper.  They believe the Eucharist is only a token, a symbol, an emblem of Christ's body.

For simplicity I will call these two camps Group L and Group F.  (Literal and Figurative)

Today I want to discuss why this disagreement between Groups L and F is important.  Then I want to share an insight I had which I think definitively rebuts an argument against the literal bodily reality of the Eucharist.