clarevmerry

#1 Was the Star of Bethlehem a Comet?

At Christmas this year I decided to entertain the local Association of Christian Writers group at their Christmassy mince pie do with a piece on the Three Wise Men. Hence, I did some research on the origins of the three wise men coming from Persia and found they were priests and astronomers. I started toContinue reading “#1 Was the Star of Bethlehem a Comet?”

#27 Writings of Saints and Theologians of the Church

There are many writings by known writers in the church. Many of these writers were bishops. Eusebius bishop of Caesarea (260-339 AD) collected up what was known of the lives of early martyrs and recorded their stories. He also wrote the history of the church in a text entitled Ecclesiastical History. Eusebius influenced church theology with hisContinue reading “#27 Writings of Saints and Theologians of the Church”

#26 Assessment of Pseudepigrapha Writings

Having just gone to a Bible study group which just read the historical books of the Old Testament as they are written, and now looked at the texts of non-canonical books, I can say that Bible books and non-canonical books are completely different. There are clear and obvious reasons why the non-canonical books were notContinue reading “#26 Assessment of Pseudepigrapha Writings”

#25 Forerunners to Mystery Plays

The Emperor Constantine converted the Roman Empire to Christianity in 312 and consolidated it with the First Council of Nicaea in 325 in which the Nicene Creed was drafted. However, as the temples of gods went out along with their mythologies, a certain degree of Christian shrines came in with their heros and their miracleContinue reading “#25 Forerunners to Mystery Plays”

#24 Marian Sect Writings

A third category of pseudepigrapha writings seems to be writings akin to the mythologies ascribed to gods and goddesses of the previous cults of the pagan world. We must bear in mind that during the first to fourth century AD every city of the Roman Empire had its temple dedicated to a Greek or RomanContinue reading “#24 Marian Sect Writings”

#23 Christian Gnostic Writings

A second category of pseudepigrapha writings were written by Christians during the first to third century AD. These writings have as their subject matter the lives of the apostles after the crucifixion, as well as writings about Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary. These Christian writings as well as some Jewish writings belonged to theContinue reading “#23 Christian Gnostic Writings”

#22 Pseudepigrapha Writings

Pseudepigrapha writings are attributed to authors who were not the authors of these texts. For example, Acts of Thomas was not written by the apostle Thomas. Thomas is a pseudonym, an assumed name. There are pseudepigrapha works of four main types: Essene Jewish Mystic Writings The first type of pseudepigrapha writings are of Jewish origin written betweenContinue reading “#22 Pseudepigrapha Writings”

#21 Conclusion on Assumption Article

Belief in the assumption of Mary is both a Catholic and Orthodox thing, not followed by Protestants. But in its favour there are Old Testament precedents as Enoch and Elijah are shown to have been assumed into heaven. There are also Jewish traditions that Moses and the Ark of the Covenant were assumed into heaven.Continue reading “#21 Conclusion on Assumption Article”

#20 The Queen of Heaven of Revelation Chapter 12

“A great and wonderous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon withContinue reading “#20 The Queen of Heaven of Revelation Chapter 12”

#19 The Immaculate Conception

This dogma is the belief that Mary herself was conceived without original sin by her mother Anne and father Joaquin. It was proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854. In the pseudepigrapha book Gospel of James Mary’s conception occurs miraculously without sexual intercourse. This idea may have contributed to the idea of a sinless conception. The RomanContinue reading “#19 The Immaculate Conception”