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#2 Life of Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225 in Aquino, Italy and died aged 49 in France in 1274. Thomas Aquinas’ father was Count Landulf of Aquino, near Naples. Landulf and his brother Ronald seized the castle of Roccasecca and became the overlords of that area. Thomas’ mother was Theodora; she may have been sister to theContinue reading “#2 Life of Thomas Aquinas”

#1 Thomas Aquinas on the Trinity and Creation

Article written by Clare Merry in February 2022 1. Introduction Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) summarized human knowledge and philosophy up to 1270. His tour de force was Summa Theologica – Summary of the theology of Western Christianity. The Blackfriars edition of 1964 presents Summa in 61 volumes. Other editions have a lesser number of volumes, butContinue reading “#1 Thomas Aquinas on the Trinity and Creation”

#12 Chronology and Conclusion

This is the chronology: Jesus lived a quiet life in Nazareth working as a carpenter with Joseph. Jesus was in his 30s when he started his three year ministry. He moves to Capernaum on the shores of Lake Galilee. Jesus went to Jerusalem each year for Passover, first with his family and later with hisContinue reading “#12 Chronology and Conclusion”

#11 Slaughter of the Innocents

Herod sent the Magi to Bethlehem and instructed them: “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” (Matt. 2:8) This was trickery. His intentions are revealed in the verse Matthew 2:16: “When Herod realised that heContinue reading “#11 Slaughter of the Innocents”

#10 Escape to Egypt when Nile not in Flood

The delay in reaching Bethlehem could have been caused by the wise men being held up by Herod in Jerusalem, but was the delay beneficial in some way and therefore serving the purposes of God? The Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Jerusalem and report to Herod (Matt 2:12).. The MagiContinue reading “#10 Escape to Egypt when Nile not in Flood”

#9 Comets Point Down and Recede Away

The ability of comets to stop and point down to a town or city is explained in my article Was the Star of Bethlehem a Comet? (Article and blog posts posted on my website http://www.merryandtrue.com). Comets with tails have the tail streaming vertically upwards with the body of the comet pointing down to the earth justContinue reading “#9 Comets Point Down and Recede Away”

#8 Long Delay in Jerusalem for Wise Men

The wise men appear to have packed up and gone to Jerusalem in haste, but there is a long delay until they reach Bethlehem. Philo of Alexandria, a 1st century AD Jewish scholar stated that the scholar of astronomy perceives “timely signs of coming events” since “the stars were made for signs” (De Opificio Mundi,Continue reading “#8 Long Delay in Jerusalem for Wise Men”

#7 The Lamb of God

The Jews expected the Messiah to be born in Nisan, the first month of the year in the Jewish calendar. He was indeed born at this time. This month marks the season of the Exodus from Egypt and the Passover celebration of it. Lamb of God is the title given to Jesus by John theContinue reading “#7 The Lamb of God”

#6 Flocks in Fields at Night

The shepherds mentioned in Luke chapter 2 are watching their flocks at night when angels appear to them on the hills to say that a Saviour has been born. The angels encourage the shepherds to go and find the new born baby; as a sign they will find him lying in a manger. At thisContinue reading “#6 Flocks in Fields at Night”