Most Popular
1500 questions
12
votes
3 answers
Does the Bible support the concept of male spiritual headship?
What I mean by this is a little beyond "Wives submit to your husbands." In Joshua 7:22-25 Joshua stones and burns the entire family of Achen, including his children, after he sins by keeping back some of the loot from Jericho when God commanded it…
Nate Bunney
- 1,872
- 1
- 14
- 24
12
votes
1 answer
Origin of the Reformed "Marks of the True Church"
In Reformed Theology, "the marks of a true church" are often delineated, to the effect of:
Church discipline
Teaching/preaching
Administration of the sacraments
(These are the marks often denoted in systematic theology, but let it be noted that…
Kazark
- 1,905
- 13
- 37
12
votes
3 answers
Are there "rational" criteria for which books appear in the Bible?
When I looked into "canon criticism" or "canonology" a while back, I came across numerous (alleged) criteria for whether a book is/was included in canon, such as "Old Testament books had to be written in Hebrew." However, for each criteria, it…
Jas 3.1
- 13,065
- 12
- 57
- 106
12
votes
2 answers
Which cup of wine did Jesus tell his disciples to drink during the Last Supper?
During the Last Supper, when Jesus told his disciples to drink the wine because it was his blood. Which cup of wine was this? Was it the third cup, or was it the cup of Elijah (or one of the other cups) in the Passover Seder meal?
(Luke 22:20 and…
Joel
- 977
- 3
- 10
- 16
12
votes
1 answer
Does Joseph Smith fail the test of a prophet?
The test of a prophet.
Deuteronomy 18 NKJV
21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the
LORD has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the
LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the…
capitalaudience.com
- 13,511
- 11
- 60
- 110
12
votes
3 answers
Did the church fathers or OT talk about the visible and invisible church?
In the Reformation, the doctrine of the distinction between the visible and invisible church was important in the Reformers' claim not to have started a rogue church. I am wondering...
Given that it was common for the Reformers to use the…
Kazark
- 1,905
- 13
- 37
12
votes
4 answers
Why do churches often have altars?
In Judaism, the template had an altar for sacrificing. But we believe our sacrifice is done.
So, what is the point of a church altar?
Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
- 17,735
- 25
- 84
- 152
12
votes
5 answers
How did Easter come to be associated with Eggs, Bunnies and Flowers?
On the note of soon to pass Good Friday, Good Friday is the time of the year where we remember the death of Jesus, and Easter is where we remember the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Correct me if I am wrong.
However, people seem to associate Easter…
Phonics The Hedgehog
- 4,302
- 6
- 37
- 60
12
votes
3 answers
What's the origin of this approach of trying to obtain meaning from the individual letters of Hebrew words?
In a recent question about the names of God, two answers from different people wrote that the letters of the Tetragrammaton by themselves give the meaning of:
The Hebrew letters mean “Behold the hand, Behold the nail”. YHWH is our salvation.
Yud.…
curiousdannii
- 20,140
- 14
- 58
- 126
12
votes
2 answers
Are subheaders of Bible chapters part of the original text?
I'm attempting to store the Bible text of several translations into a single database. What I'm noticing is that some translations have some sort of subheaders within the chapters that don't seem to belong to the chapter verses themselves.
I always…
Benjamin
- 221
- 2
- 4
12
votes
4 answers
What should be a Christian's attitude when his prayers are not answered?
Not all prayers are answered by God. When one is facing some heavy burden God does not move away, what should our attitude be? The Bible often talks about waiting for God patient. How do we apply these Bible verses?
GabrielC
- 223
- 1
- 6
12
votes
3 answers
When did Martin Luther lose his Apostolic succession according to Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churchеs?
As far as I understand Martin Luther according to the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches possessed the Apostolic succession while he was in the Roman Catholic Church (he was a priest, after all). However, now both Luther and all his…
brilliant
- 9,903
- 13
- 61
- 127
12
votes
4 answers
Was universalism the majority belief of the early church?
I recently came upon an article that made this statement:
According to historical records, Universal Reconciliation was the majority belief of the church during the first five centuries of the Church and the majority of the early Church Fathers. …
Crisett
- 183
- 1
- 8
12
votes
2 answers
What theological differences distinguish the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and the house church movement in China?
State-sanctioned Protestant Christianity in China — the Three-Self Patriotic Movement — is a bit of a mystery to me. I'm wondering to what extent the Communist Party censors the Christianity taught therein. This is a difficult question for this site…
Susan
- 4,322
- 2
- 25
- 48
12
votes
2 answers
Why are the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary such a big deal that all Catholics must believe in them?
As described in this answer to a question about infallible papal statements, there are two teachings that were clearly given ex cathedra: the Immaculate Conception (that Mary, mother of Jesus, was born sinless) and the Assumption of Mary (that Mary…
Thunderforge
- 6,367
- 5
- 39
- 94