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A collection of 26 issues

Patriarch Timothy I on Muhammad

The following excerpt is taken from The apology of Timothy the Patriarch before the Caliph Mahdi, translated by Alphonse Mingana, published by Manchester University Press, England, 1928, pp. 196-198. Timothy I (AD 780-823) was the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East who made an apology for the Christian

St. Jerome on Illustrious Men

I quote a part of St. Jerome’s De Viris Illustribus (Illustrious Men), in which he writes in respect to some of the most influential Christians that ever lived, starting with specific Apostles of our Lord. The details he gives about their lives, works and even deaths are truly remarkable

Who Killed Goliath?

The following is taken from the late Dr. Gleason L. Archer’s Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, published by Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI 1982, pp. 177-178. Who killed Goliath–David or Elhanan? 1 Samuel 17:50 states that David cut off Goliath’s head with the giant’s own

The Reformation and Purgatory

Quotations provided by William Albrecht. All emphasis is mine. DESIDERIUS ERASMUS It’s not surprising that Erasmus affirmed Purgatory since he was Catholic after all: “Even three hundred years after the birth of Christ, it was permitted to debate whether there was any fire in purgatory; some interpreted fire to

Muhammad Gets Mounted by Men!

According to a sahih (sound, authentic) narration, a group of tall, scrawny men mounted and rode Muhammad all night long, which caused him tremendous pain and exhaustion: إن عبدالله قال إستبعثني رسول الله ﷺ قال فانطلقنا حتى أتيت مكان كذا وكذا فخطَّ لي خطة فقال لي كن بين ظهرَي

Mark 16, Bruce Metzger & Misinformation

The following is taken from James E. Snapp Jr.’s post: Mark 16, Bruce Metzger, and Misinformation. Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Very many commentators, when considering Mark 16:9-20, have not investigated the subject directly. Instead, they have relied upon the late Dr. Bruce Metzger’s handbooks A Textual Commentary

Eusebius, Jesus’ Prophecies, Josephus & the Canon

In this post I will be taking excerpts from Eusebius’ Church History, Book III. In these extracts Eusebius mentions the ministry of the Apostles, their dispersion throughout the world, and some of the books attributed to them and others which were disputed by the early Church, such as 2 Peter.

The Relatives of the Lord

In this post I will be citing extracts from Eusebius’ monumental work , written in the first quarter of the fourth century AD. I will be focusing primarily on what he says in respect to the relatives of our Lord, where the historian relies heavily on the five-volume work of a

Why the Church is Called Catholic

The oldest extant written mention of the term Catholic, as applied to the Church, is found in one of the letters of the holy martyr St. Ignatius, who was a disciple of the Apostles and the Bishop of Rome: Chapter 8. Let nothing be done without the bishop See that

Syriac Sinaiticus’ Gospel Variants

The Syriac Sinaiticus codex is a 4th century AD manuscript, which contains the oldest translations of the Gospels into the Syriac language: The Syriac Sinaiticus, a late 4th century codex also known also as the Sinaitic Palimpsest or the Codex Syriacus, contains a translation of the four canonical gospels of