Exploring the Bible

The James Ossuary, first announced to the world in a Washington D.C. news conference on October 21, 2002, is perhaps the discovery of the century. The artifact was hailed as the first direct archeological evidence related to Jesus. The sensation was quickly dampened when the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the inscription was, according to their analysis, a modern day forgery. Other experts insisted the Ossuary and the inscription were authentic. The battle lines had been drawn. Since it was brought into the public spotlight the James Ossuary has climbed to the top of multiple lists. It is one of the best known of any  archeological discoveries, and certainly of any artifact related to the Bible. The Ossuary is also without doubt one of the most controversial artifacts in modern times. The ossuary, as presented, is inscribed with the words “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus ”. If authentic, this is certainly one of the most important and sensational archeological...

Are Medical Miracles real? - It would seem nearly 8 out of 10 Americans believe they are. In a recent survey 79% of American said they believe in miracles. What may be more surprising to many is the fact that 75% of doctors surveyed said they also believed in miracles. Even more surprising may be the fact 55% of doctors said they have seen miraculous results in their own patients.  How many miracles take place, and can they be confirmed? There are no real statistics kept for the number of miracles which take place. The Catholic church does not keep track of miracles except when they are related to the canonization of a saint. In these cases, a complete investigation is done, and all claims are carefully researched and confirmed before the miracle is deemed to be authentic. Since the Catholic church tracks these miracles, and has a trial for each miracle, I will be using their methods and numbers in this post. The first order of business is to determine what is a miracle? The church...

Where is the Ark of the Covenant? In modern times, largely due to a certain blockbuster movie, the Ark is often referred to as the Lost Ark of the Covenant. It is a very accurate description since the Ark has been 'lost' for approximately 2,500 years. Not only are we uncertain where the Ark is today, we aren't even certain exactly when it went missing, which makes the task of finding it far more difficult. The Ark of The Covenant was constructed during the time of Moses while the people of Israel were won d ering in the desert. The Ark was intended to hold the tablets upon which the Ten Commandments  which were given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. The Ark is also said to contain the golden pot filled with mana as well as Aaron's staff that budded. "having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, Aaron's staff which budded, and the tablets of the covenant." - Hebrews...

 Is it possible for you, or anyone alive today, to be related to Jesus? While being a direct descendent of Jesus is not possible since He had no children, it is possible to be related to His immediate family. Some experts say it is actually highly probable many, if not all of us, are in fact related to Jesus. While Jesus had no children of His own, he did have siblings. The Bible tells us that Jesus was fully God, but He was also fully human, which means He had DNA, like every other human. This DNA would have been shared with His brothers and sisters through their common mother, Mary. This DNA, relationship, would have been passed down to any children of Jesus' siblings. One of the many unknowns of this is how many, if any, children these individuals had. [There is an argument in popular fiction that Jesus did marry and did have children. This fiction is generally dismissed by most scholars. There is no Biblical or external evidence Jesus ever married, and certainly none that he ha...

 Jesus selected twelve men to be His close followers and nearly constant companions.  These men had the privilege of seeing Jesus perform His miracles and listening to His teachings. Some of these individuals are better known than others. In all Jesus had fourteen Apostles. This includes the original twelve selected by Jesus, as well as the Apostle Paul who Jesus selected to send to the gentiles. Also included in the list of Apostles is the man selected by the Apostles to take the place of Judas after his death.  The twelve Apostles are held in very high regard and are mentioned in the Book of Revelation. In the writing by the Apostle John we see that the names of the Apostles will be remembered in the foundation of the new city. "And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the lamb." - Revelation 21:14 During His lifetime Jesus was obviously the focal point and the Apostles played very much a secondar...

 Purgatory, what is it? where is it? who believes in Purgatory? and how long do the souls sent there stay? These are just a few of the most common questions concerning Purgatory. Most people have heard of Purgatory and know it is a place or realm somewhere between earthly life and the afterlife. In this brief post we will look at twelve of the most common questions about Purgatory and try to give some simply and straight forward answers. 1. What is Purgatory - In a nutshell, Purgatory is a place where souls are sent to be purified before entering heaven. In some faiths it is believed that when a person dies who has given their life to Jesus but still have unconfessed sins, they must spend time in Purgatory. This is a time for final purification before entering the eternity of heaven.  2. Is the idea of Purgatory strictly a Catholic thing? - The Catholic church does believe and teach that Purgatory does exist. It is not however the only religion that believes in Purgatory. Inte...

Is the story of Satan in the Bible? Many people say, incorrectly, that the story of Satan, the devil, is not in the Bible. While the story of Satan may not be exactly where you would expect to find it, the story of Satan and his fall from grace is in fact recorded in the Bible. The Origin of Satan The name Satan appears in the Bible (NIV) 47 times. In addition the name/term Devil appears 33 times and the name Beelzebub is in the NIV a total of 9 times. The most complete version of the story of Satan and his fall from heaven can be found in the book of Revelation written by Saint John.  "And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him....