26
votes
Accepted
Which tribe did Paul belong to?
The term "Jew" is an Anglicization of "Judean" which comes from the Greek Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaios). Technically, it can simply be a regional distinction, that is someone who is from Judea. But it can of ...
- 2,094
15
votes
How do Trinitarians explain that Jesus himself claims He is a man who has heard things from God at John 8:40?
It's a common misapprehension that Trinitarians do not believe the Jesus was a man. However they do believe that. The core of Trinitarian belief is that Jesus is both Man and God.
Also God the Son ...
- 30.6k
12
votes
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Who first described Pentecost as a reversal of Babel?
Two fourth-century fathers clearly make this connection. First, Cyril of Jerusalem:
The multitude of the hearers was confounded;—it was a second confusion, in the room of that first evil one at ...
11
votes
Which tribe did Paul belong to?
By the time of the New Testament "Jew" and "Israelite" had effectively become synonyms. This is because the large majority of people who returned from the Exile were from the former Kingdom of Judah. ...
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11
votes
Accepted
What are the arguments that Acts was written prior to 70 AD?
J. A. T. Robinson, in Redating the New Testament (1976), lays out a thorough case for a pre-70 date for the publication of Acts. His main points are also maintained by other conservative scholars, ...
11
votes
Accepted
What is a Sabbath day's walk?
The exact value of a "Sabbath day's walk" is 2,000 cubits, which works out to about 5/8 of a mile, or one kilometer. Commentator Craig S. Keener explains the logic and biblical basis:
The figures ...
10
votes
Accepted
What is the basis for arguing that Paul should have been selected as the 12th apostle instead of Matthias?
Two prominent advocates of this view are Rudolf Stier (1800–62) and Lloyd John Ogilvie (1930–). They argue both that the apostles erred, and that ultimately the evidence points to Paul being the true ...
10
votes
How do those who hold Jesus = God in the Trinitarian sense account for Paul's reticence to state this clearly and consistently?
To summarize, your question is twofold: In the Pauline Corpus...
Why wasn't Paul bold (or why was he reticent)?
Why wasn't Paul clear about Jesus' Divinity?
Let's look at question 2 first:
Why wasn'...
- 478
8
votes
A promise in Acts 16:31?
It is clear that the verse cited, Acts 16:31, is a promise. The question is, to whom does the promise apply? Taken in context, it is a promise to a particular individual in a specific instance. This ...
- 5,617
8
votes
Were the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts written by the same person?
The fact that both Books were written by the same individual known as Luke is extracted from the first few verses of both Books.
Luke 1:1 through4 KJV Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set ...
- 13.2k
8
votes
How do those who hold Jesus = God in the Trinitarian sense account for Paul's reticence to state this clearly and consistently?
Paul clearly states the Deity of Christ and is not at all reticent to do so.
1. Romans 9:5
Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ...
- 21.1k
7
votes
How is Acts 7:48 reconciled with omnipresence doctrines?
'Dwelling' does not simply mean to 'be present'. It means to reside or inhabit. If you go into a shop, you are not 'dwelling' in the shop, but you are present there. If you say "I do not dwell in the ...
- 30.6k
7
votes
Was the cave of Abraham in Shechem or Hebron?
The account in Genesis seems pretty clear that the cave of Abraham is in Hebron. Modern commentators seem to agree that Stephen was "telescoping" multiple Genesis accounts of patriarchal burials into ...
- 15.1k
7
votes
Why did Jesus use a Greek proverb when He spoke Aramaic to Saul in Acts 26:14?
Acts 25:14, "it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks," is a direct quotation from a play by Euripides (d. 406 BCE), the Bacchae, with Jesus speaking instead of the Greek god Dionysus. Euripides ...
- 14.3k
7
votes
Accepted
Why did Paul Thank God he didn't baptize some individuals?
The First Epistle to the Corinthians opens with an expanded address (1 Corinthians 1:1-7), identifying its writer as the apostle Paul who, with Sosthenes, was writing to the church community in ...
- 14.3k
7
votes
Why does St. Peter use the phraseology "killed by hanging on a tree" while referring to the crucifixion of Jesus?
The phrase "hanging him on a tree (wood)" (κρεμάμενος επί ξύλου, suspendentes in ligno) occurs in Acts 5:30 and 10:39 (cf. Galatians 3:13).
Callan, O.P., Acts of the Apostles p. 41 says on ...
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6
votes
Accepted
Why did the Apostles not go with the rest of the believers outside of Jerusalem?
John Calvin starts by reminding us that Jesus commanded them to begin at Jerusalem (Acts 1:4,8), and says that it makes sense that they would stay there until "being brought into some other place by ...
- 15.1k
6
votes
Is Luke's label for Christianity - "the Way" - used in later Christian writings?
I looked into Lampe (ed.)"A Patristic Greek Lexicon", Oxford University Press, 1961.
It makes four mentions for the use of hodos in this sense:
Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, ...
- 89
6
votes
Why were the apostles still going to the temple for prayer and rituals?
There are a few things to consider. First of all, the Jewish Ceremonial and Civil Laws have no bearing on US today. For example, i live in the U.S. and am a gentile christian.
Therefore the laws of ...
- 1,486
6
votes
Accepted
Was Barnabas' land ownership as a Levite against Mosaic Law?
I am not sure you are interpreting the law about Levites owning land correctly.
Joshua 10 describes the division of the land between the tribes, but does not assign it to individuals. Verse 14 gives ...
- 3,588
6
votes
Were the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts written by the same person?
There are a few reasons why people argue both of those books are written by Luke.
The Introductions
Both the book of Luke and the book of Acts reference a reader named "Theophilus" in their opening ...
- 246
6
votes
Do Paul and the other Apostles command the keeping of Kosher diet in Acts 15:29?
The forbidding of blood comes from before the time of Moses :
But flesh with the life thereof, the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
Genesis 9:4 - KJV
After the Flood, in a new arrangement, flesh is ...
- 21.1k
6
votes
Didn't Jesus return to Earth after the resurrection when he appeared to Paul?
I think you might be overthinking this. Going by NKJV, Acts 9:1-9, Christ did not necessarily "appear" physically. Verses 3-4 only indicate that Paul heard a voice and saw a light, and that light ...
- 161
5
votes
Why did Jesus use a Greek proverb when He spoke Aramaic to Saul in Acts 26:14?
That Saul had some familiarity with Greek literature is shown by a number of passages, for example:
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of
your own poets have said, For ...
- 9,643
5
votes
Accepted
Acts 6:8 - Stephen is described as "full of grace" (πλήρης χάριτος)
In case of Mary, the angel refers to her, as you have said, as one who has been filled with grace, and the church teaches that she received a special grace at her conception which allowed her to be ...
- 458
5
votes
How have mainstream Christian denominations interpreted the Acts command to abstain from blood?
I only have information from Protestant groups that would include Baptists, Brethren, Church of Scotland, Church of England, and Reformed Presbyterian. Those comprise a broad range of mainstream ...
- 21.7k
5
votes
Accepted
How have mainstream Christian denominations interpreted the Acts command to abstain from blood?
It's necessary to consider the context in which the Council of Jerusalem made their declaration, as described in Acts 15.
And to do that one has to go back to events that happened more than 2600 years ...
- 6,870
5
votes
Accepted
Acts 17:30 What does "overlooked" mean?
When we put several passages together to get a fuller picture, we can see in what sense "overlook" is being used. Consider the following two verses, which are similar in scope (from the NET ...
- 7,500
5
votes
What are the arguments that Acts was written prior to 70 AD?
Acts has traditionally been attributed to Luke, a gentile companion of Paul of Tarsus. This same Luke is likewise believed to have written the third gospel in the NT canon, Luke. Whether these ...
- 2,462
5
votes
Did Moses Have A Speech Impediment?
Exodus 4:10 says that when God asked Moses to speak for him, Moses came up with the excuse that he was “slow of speech and tongue.” Some Bible commentators have suggested that Moses might have ...
- 27k
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