33
votes
How do Trinitarians explain the almost exclusive use of singular pronouns to refer to God in the Bible?
If I might put this in simple language, the Trinitarian position is that there is one God, and he exists in three persons.
It is entirely correct, grammatically and philosophically, to refer to God in ...
- 29.7k
23
votes
Accepted
Why is Mark not the first gospel?
There was no mandate that the gospels should appear in the order they were written once they were gathered into a collection. This is true of the rest of the New Testament as well. The order is
...
- 63.1k
18
votes
Why is Mark not the first gospel?
It's because the early church fathers thought that Matthew was written first. This is known as the Augustinian Hypothesis, and its namesake, Augustine, writes:
Now, those four evangelists whose ...
- 41.6k
17
votes
Accepted
What crime was committed by the "thieves" crucified with Jesus?
Survey of Roman law
A now deleted (near) duplicate of this question asked if a claim that the Roman law forbid the crucifixion of thieves, so I'll start with that question, which is highly relevant to ...
- 7,736
14
votes
How do Trinitarians explain the almost exclusive use of singular pronouns to refer to God in the Bible?
The Christian who experiences the presence of the Holy Spirit within himself, that is to say within his own spirit, experiences the fact of unity of spirit - that unity of person which joins himself ...
- 19k
12
votes
Accepted
Did Jesus own a home as an adult or was He a nomad?
There are two places in scripture where people are surprised to discover that Jesus is in a house, probably his or his family's. The first place is where Mary and Joseph are living when the wise men ...
- 888
12
votes
What was the Early Church’s view on socialism?
To what extent was the early church "socialist"?
Acts 4:32-37 (NASB95)
And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one [of them] claimed that anything ...
- 5,879
10
votes
Which NT books were written after the destruction of the temple?
As others have noted, dates of the writing of New Testament books are disputed.
Let me use F. F. Bruce's "The New Testament Documents" as my major source here. This page -- http://www.freebeginning....
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10
votes
Accepted
Where does the Bible say that nature will speak the word if men don't?
I believe you are thinking of Luke 19:40:
‘I tell you [Pharisees],’ he [Jesus] replied, ‘if they [His disciples] keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’
Other passages that refer to the witness of ...
10
votes
Accepted
Was defining the New Testament originally condemned as heresy?
It is impossible to know for sure without asking the person that said it, but I believe it is most likely, given her description of the individual in question, the historical time frame and the ...
- 2,074
10
votes
Was casting out of demons done in the Old Testament by any Prophets or was it started in the New Testament?
There are no explicit references to exorcism in the OT. However, in a possible foreshadowing of Christ, David caused an evil spirit to depart from Saul multiple times by playing the harp (1 Sam 16, 18,...
- 324
9
votes
Does Paul ever actually quote Jesus anywhere?
Words of Jesus' Ministry
In Acts 20:35, Luke quotes Paul as quoting Jesus, but the original quote is not attested in any of the four gospels. (Though that doesn't mean Jesus didn't say it.)
By all ...
- 14.8k
9
votes
Accepted
Were any of the early church leaders Gentile converts to Christianity?
This question already has a lot of answers, but I feel like the most basic answer is missing!
The answer is yes, and we need look no further than the Bible.
Titus himself was a gentile convert. We ...
- 1,476
9
votes
Accepted
Is there a term for a theological principle that if a New Testament text is unclear about something, that point is not important for salvation?
It's a corollary of the Protestant doctrine of the clarity or perspicuity of scripture, that the essentials of faith are explained in the scriptures so clearly that anyone can understand them. As the ...
- 18k
8
votes
Besides Paul, were there any other enemies of the early church who converted to Christianity?
In Peter's sermon at Pentecost he accuses the members of his audience of delivering up Jesus to be crucified:
"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested
to you by God ...
- 4,856
8
votes
Accepted
Why is the Bible seemingly silent on the love which the God the Son has for God the Father?
I believe that the answer to this is something related to the narrative's approach.
We can infer from what we know about the godhead, that the Son loves the Father, but the focus in the gospels ...
- 1,453
8
votes
What specific thing in the Bible separates the Old Testament from the New Testament?
There's a little bit of history to the titles Old Testament and New Testament that needs to be explained.
We begin with the Greek word διαθήκη (diatheke) which has two major distinct sub-senses and ...
- 18k
7
votes
What explanations have scholars proposed for the rejection of the Didache from the Canon?
Lee McDonald says in The Biblical Canon that the most common criteria in identifying what was and wasn't canonical for the early church was apostolicity, orthodoxy, antiquity, and use, and ...
- 14.8k
7
votes
Did St. Paul ever claim prophethood?
Paul did not explicitly claim to be a Prophet although there were occasions where he acted as one (cf. Acts 13 & Acts 27), however he did claim to be personally called as an Apostle by the risen ...
- 12.4k
7
votes
What was the Early Church’s view on socialism?
Modern-day Socialists would be unlikely to view the first century Christians as Socialists, despite a few similarities. This dictionary definition of socialism states that Socialists believe in a
&...
- 16.3k
6
votes
Accepted
What is the context of the "unequally yoked" passage?
Paul is teaching about all close relationships between believers and non-believers, and while this could include marriage, it would also apply to other areas of life, for example a business ...
- 5,607
6
votes
Accepted
How might one categorize all of the books of the New Testament by theme?
The Books of the Bible, a reading Bible version of the NIV, has reordered the NT in this way:
Luke-Acts and the Pauline epistles
Luke-Acts
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Corinthians
2 ...
- 18k
6
votes
Is there a scriptural basis for treating the non-Gospel books of the New Testament as scripture?
Is there a scriptural basis for treating the non-Gospel books of the New Testament as scripture?
Short answer: yes.
Jesus commissioned 12 of his disciples as 'apostles' and gave them authority to ...
- 12.4k
6
votes
Accepted
What explanations have scholars proposed for the rejection of the Didache from the Canon?
Since the Didache was discovered in the late 19th century, scholars have provided a number of rationales, ranging from the typical standards of canonicity (late age, mysterious authorship, poor ...
- 41.6k
6
votes
What Biblical evidence is there that the Apostles feared for their lives after Jesus was crucified?
Some commentators think so. John 20:19 is the best indication:
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus ...
- 41.6k
6
votes
What Biblical evidence is there that the Apostles feared for their lives after Jesus was crucified?
Yes. First off, we know that Jesus told them to prepare to defend themselves and see to their own safety. Shortly thereafter, he was imprisoned, taken to trial in what would today be called a "...
- 30.5k
6
votes
Do any Church Fathers directly connect "speaking in tongues" with anything other than existing human languages?
Francis Gumerlock provides a survey of the views of church fathers in "Tongues in the Church Fathers." He concludes that "the early church had no such concept of the gift of tongues as unintelligible ...
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