God stated in the 2nd commandment of the 10 commandments that His people were not to make any images to worship (Ex 20:4). The fact is, God had already created an image of Himself in Genesis 1:26-27 when He made mankind in His image and likeness. When we love others, we give God a true sacrifice (Heb 10:5-7, Psalms 50:14 & 23, Psalms 51:16-19), greater than any animal sacrifice offered by the Israelites in the Temple.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Theology
Different Topics concerning Theology like Spirituality, Ecclesia (The Church), Eschatalolgy (End of Days), Soteriology (Salvation), and Super Natural Beings
Future Literal Resurrection of the Dead
The topic of a literal resurrection of the dead divided even the Jews in the 1st century. The Pharisees believed in it, and the Sadducees did not. Was it literal or figurative? Did it happen in the 1st century, or is this something for the future?
Continue readingAsk God in Faith
A prayer without faith is just a complaint. If we want something from God, all we have to do is ask (Matthew 7:7-11), but we must do so in faith (Mark 11:22-24).
Continue readingPenal Substitutionary Atonement
There are Christians who don’t believe that Jesus died in our place because of God’s punishment. That means they don’t believe in Penal Substitution Atonement. Penal Substitution Atonement is the belief that all people deserve the death penalty for their sins (breaking God’s law). However, Jesus died as a substitute for our punishment, atoning (or paying) for the penalty of our sins and reconciling us with God. They have some other understanding of why Jesus had to die on the cross because it sounds abusive for God to punish an innocent man for the many. They instead say the blood itself cleanses us of sin, rather than saying Jesus died because he took God’s wrath in our place. We must not distort what scripture teaches; there is no reason to reject PSA biblically. The blood was shed because his death is a substitute for ours. After all, we deserve it for our sins, and in exchange for his death, we can receive eternal life.
Continue readingConsuming Flesh and Blood
Christians often practice a tradition known as communion, which involves eating bread and drinking wine in a symbolic ritual of remembrance of what Jesus did for us. This was based on his last supper, and the communion elements reveal the true meaning of the Passover story. Transubstantiation, the idea that the communion bread turns into Jesus’ literal flesh, and the wine transforms his literal blood, is not supported by biblical evidence. Blood drinking is not only forbidden in the Noahide covenant (Gen 9:3-4) and the Sinaitic covenant (Lev 7:26-27, 17:24, 19:26, Deut 12:16-25, 15:23), but also in the Messianic covenant (Acts 15:19-21). This is a sin for everyone, both Jew and Gentile, for all time from the beginning to the end.
Continue readingJohn the Baptist Reincarnated?
I recall seeing a social media post about an article that claimed the Bible promotes reincarnation. This is one of many attempts at Christian syncretism with Dharmic religions. Another example is from those who claim Jesus instructed people to “open their third eye chakra,” based on his statement about the eye being the entry point of light in the body in Matthew 6:22-23. This is clearly an allegory, with light representing righteousness, and Jesus warning people about the dangers of self-righteousness. Judaism did not teach reincarnation, so the Bible doesn’t endorse it. People who attempt to make it seem so are manipulating the text and redefining things that the Bible itself already defines..
Continue readingJesus vs Universal Salvation
Did Jesus teach that there were multiple ways to receive eternal life? No, Jesus did not teach universal salvation; he makes it very clear that to get God’s gift of salvation from slavery to sin, and punishment for our sins, and receive eternal life as a by-product, we must go through him since he is the king of heaven and earth. He is the only one who provides the power to overcome sin. In John 14:6, Jesus says that he was “the way, the truth, and the light” and that “no one goes to the Father except through him”. In John 10:1-16, Jesus said that he was the “sheep gate,” meaning that all of God’s people (referred to as “sheep”) come to the pasture through him, since he guards them as their shepherd. Acts 4:12 says, “God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Continue readingPerpetual Virgin Mary
Was Mary a sinless perpetual virgin? Well, scripture says that the only person that never sinned was Jesus (Rom 3:23, Heb 4:14-15, & 2 Cor 5:21), and it also implies that Mary had children with Joseph after Jesus (Acts 1:14), and it specifies that they had intercourse after Jesus was born (Matt 1:25). This is a non-biblical church tradition. Believers are only accountable for believing what is written, not what we are told out of tradition.
Continue readingReincarnation vs Judgement
Is Christian theology, or Abrahamic theology for that matter, compatible with reincarnation? Is Christian theology, or Abrahamic theology, for that matter, compatible with reincarnation? What is reincarnation? Is it the same as a resurrection? In a resurrection, a person returns to the earth from the dead in a regenerated version of their original body. Reincarnation involves a return to the land of the living, but in a different body with a distinct identity entirely.
Continue readingRitual Purity in the New Covenant
Some may wonder if Christians are supposed to be eating kosher and following rules about bodily fluids and circumcision. Ritual purity laws differ from moral purity in that they don’t involve behavior; therefore, breaking them is not punishable by execution. These laws were designed to set the Israelites apart, and they were never given to Gentiles. Paul had a lot to say about not enforcing these laws in the New Testament, and even Jesus said some things to that effect. Let’s take a deeper look at why they existed in the first place and whether new covenant Gentiles are exempt from following them. What were they pointing to?
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