Recently a Taber's Truths article discussed what happens when a country becomes extremely non-Christian; it discussed the plight of North Korea over the past half-century (http://taberstruths.com/religion-in-north-korea/).  But what is more discouraging (and alarming) is the fact that sometimes in history a predominantly Christian nation will allow the kind of brutal turmoil and leadership that North Korea has been forced to deal with.  Once such striking example is Nazi Germany, and the lead-in to the World War II era. In the early and mid 1930's, as the Nazis (and Hitler) were taking more and more control and power, Germany was an overwhelmingly Christian nation.  It is estimated that over 90% of its citizens were Christian.  Germany had about 60 millions citizens at the time, with approximately 40 million Protestants and 20 million Roman Catholics.  Yet, month by month and year by year a cunning leader (Hitler) and his political party led their country to such harrowing atro… [more]

Many Christians have heard of Martin Luther's declaration titled "The 95 Theses", but unfortunately most of those persons have never actually read through the entire 16th century document.  Protestants of nearly-all denominations hail it as the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation, but upon reading Luther's statements and learning about the aftermath of it, the assumptions may be challenged.  For one, Luther was still a strong Catholic at the time of his writing of the 95 Theses, and officially remained part of the Roman Catholic Church for 3-4 years after his challenge of the Pope and of Rome. The papers that Luther nailed onto the church door in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517 focus primarily on the selling of papal indulgences.  An indulgence was when a monetary gift was given to a parish in exchange for the sinner to not have to serve the priest's mandated "punishment" after the repentant sinner received his absolution of sin from the priest.  And of course an indulgence gran… [more]

One of the great parts of editing, writing, and compiling a Christian nonfiction book is the collaboration with enthusiastic believers.  Especially those with the mindset of a teacher- like any good pastor.  Two examples of such are Pastor Doug Kuiper and Pastor Allen Brummel, of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (www.prca.org).  The following are excerpts taken from the book, "Top Ten Most Influential Christians- since the Apostles"- those written by the noted pastors.  All four of these historical persons have had a major effect on Christianity, and are worthy of study: Arius Written by Rev. Douglas J Kuiper Arius was born in the middle of the third century AD (possibly 256) in northern Africa. He lived much of his life in Alexandria, Egypt. He became a deacon in the church at Alexandria in 311, and a presbyter in 313. Arius is known as the father of Arianism, a teaching that denies Jesus Christ is truly God. While in Alexandria, Arius taught that God was e… [more]

Ignatius of Antioch, called Saint Ignatius by Catholics and some other groups, lived in the 1st and second century, dying via slaughter by wild beasts in a Roman amphitheater.  He was subjected to death by the Roman emperor, for his crime of living a distinctive and influential Christian life.  Ignatius was the 3rd bishop of Antioch, which was founded by the Apostle Peter following the death and resurrection of Christ.   Ignatius is known as an “apostolic father”, as he is said to have heard and learned directly from an Apostle.  In his case, it was the Apostle John.  He is said to have died in 107 A.D., which is not long after the death of the last Apostles Simon and John, and only about 20 years after the death of the Apostle Andrew. On his journey to death Ignatius wrote a number of letters to various groups and churches that were important to him.  In these letters we can appreciate the wisdom and faith of this early Christian leader.  We also can understand more fully… [more]

The Gospel of John is potentially the most important and most heralded Book of the entire Bible.  It includes the verse of John 3:16, which is arguably the most recited and prayed verse in the entire Scriptures.  Though similar, it is clearly different from the other 3 Gospels- with a different theme and almost a different focus.  This Gospel was written after the other Gospels, in approximately 90 A.D.  Most of Jesus' disciples had been martyred by then.  So how exactly did this famous Gospel come to be?  What was the reason for it being written?  Under whose influence? Some clues to how John's Gospel was written can be found in an ancient document, dating to approximately 170 A.D., called the "Muratorian Fragment".  This document was, as noted in its given title, not a complete literary work or book, but just a section that was found of an incomplete larger work.  Therefore, historians and theologians must do their best to surmise what the author was stating.  This is not… [more]

(NOTE: This column is the first in a series about various denominations.  Portions of this article were researched via the following website-  http://www.oldcatholic.org/index.htm) The Old Catholic Church split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most notably that of "Papal Infallibility" (which the OCC opposes).  These churches are not in communion with the Vatican and the Pope, but their union of certain European Old Catholic Churches is in full communion with the Anglican Communion.  The formation of the Old Catholic communion of Germans, Austrians and Swiss began in 1870, following the First Vatican Council.  Today in the U.S. some OC churches ordain women and/or openly homosexual persons. Most OC churches in the U.S.A. publicly declare their agreement with the historical "Fourteen Theses of the Old Catholic Union Conference at Bonn", which took place on September 14-16, 1874.  A portion of those doctrinal bullet points is as follows: We agree tha… [more]

  There have been 30 "antipopes" within the long history of the Roman Catholic Church.   Amadeus of Savoy (or "Felix the 5th") was the 30th, and last, "antipope" from 1440-1449.   The first antipope was Hippolytus in the 3rd century. What exactly is an antipope?  It is someone who, for one reason or another, claims to be the legitimate leader of the Catholic Church- but is not.  They usually later on becomes nothing more than a historical footnote.  This is very different than the term "Antichrist", which is a figure from the future End Times who leads many in the world away from God and the Church.  There are some Evangelicals today and in recent history who believe that the Pope is, or will be, the Antichrist.  That is another discussion, but it is possible that some are confused with the terms antipope and Antichrist.   Others believe the earthly leader of the Catholic Church is predestined to be the Antichrist via prophetical verses in the Books of Daniel and … [more]

“Unless I am convinced by the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures or evident reason (for I believe neither in the Pope nor councils alone, since it has been established that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures adduced by me, and my conscience has been taken captive by the Word of God, and I am neither able nor willing to recant, since it is neither safe nor right to act against conscience. God help me. Amen.” Luther’s Response in Worms (1521)   According to a recent multidenominational and national survey, Protestant Reformer Martin Luther is the most "influential" Christian of all time (since the Apostolic era).  The survey asked numerous Protestant and Catholic pastors, teachers, theologians, and other Church leaders. The survey was open-ended, and included a large list of potential names to consider, as well as write-in lines.  The survey conductors did not ask for who was the "best" or the "most holy", but asked … [more]

It is time once again for the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. It has traditionally been a time where we set aside our daily labors and give thanks to God for His abundant providence upon us. However in recent years, with the secularization of our society, questions have arisen as to whether Thanksgiving is a Christian holiday. Now, I think it would be remiss to say that Thanksgiving or the ability to give thanks is exclusive to Christianity. However the concept of giving thanks assumes a belief in God, for if you are not giving thanks to God, then whom are you giving thanks to? To give thanks to ourselves would be an extreme exercise in hubris. We Americans have been taught since kindergarten that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated at Plymouth Ma. by the pilgrims. We have cute little plays with kids dressed up as native Americans and pilgrims in black and white outfits, and turkeys with all their feathers. However if you look at the historical record, other than the fact that th… [more]

Composer and refuter of a key doctrine that in essence determines the eternity of our souls, Jacob (or Jacobus) Arminius is not necessarily a popular name.  But the theologian whom he defied, John Calvin, is well-known across nearly all Christian circles. When Protestantism began with Luther and Calvin, in the early- mid 16th Century, there was of course considerable denial of much of the longstanding dogma present in the Roman Catholic Church.  The RCC had generally taught that a person, after receiving eternal salvation, could potentially lose it.  To John Calvin this was infeasible and not in line with his reading of Holy Scriptures.  He established and defined some critical Reformed doctrine, including that of the "Perseverance of Saints"- once saved, always saved. Later in the 16th Century a Dutchman named Jacobus Arminius (born Jacob Harmenszoon) was studying under the son-in-law of Calvin.  Over time Arminius had trouble defending Calvin's position of "once saved, always… [more]

Imagine if today, in the United States, there were only 100 actual (functional) Christian churches.  To give some basic perspective, that would equal just two church buildings per State!  (The truth is that there are about 300,000 churches in the USA, according to "Grounds For Giving".)  What kind of society would we have?  What would our morality look like?  Would we rely more, or less, upon the Federal and State governments? The Russian, or Bolshevik, Revolution of 1917 and its outcome would alter the landscape of the country of Russia for the better part of a century.  The communist and socialist party overthrew the last Tsar (or Czar) of Russia, killing him and his family, and in the few years that followed the new leaders did all they could to undermine the very popular and far-reaching Russian Orthodox Church and its leader, Patriarch Tikhon.  In 1918 the new government declared that the Church had no legal rights, including the right to own property.  In the years and d… [more]

Amidst all the current discussion about religious liberty, it is wise to look back at from where this country has come. (Note- the title of this column aims at taking a quick look at our startling history.  It is not a current news headline.) For all of the worries and talk about how we may be losing our religious liberty and rights, when one studies the facts of early colonial America, we realize that religious freedom is subjective- to some extent. Death Sentence for Baptists and Quakers Case in point is from the era of the first governor of one of the first official colonies in America.  John Endecott (1601-1665) was the first governor of the Massachuetts Bay Colony- which eventually would become the Commonwealth (or State) of Massachusetts.  In 1629, the first year that the Colony was chartered, Endecott was governor.   He would share duties with the more famous John Winthrop as governor throughout the first 12 years of the Colony.   John was a hard-headed Puritan, a… [more]

The term "evangelical" is thrown about all the time, via the media and other outlets.  What is an evangelical, exactly?  And, who might be the first famous or well-known evangelical? The word evangelical was first used around 1531 or 1532, which of course was the approximate dawn of the Protestant Reformation.  According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, there are 5 definitions of the word "evangelical".  Two of them have nothing to do with what we, in this country in 2012, would believe: 1.  of, relating to, or being in agreement with the Christian gospel especially as it is presented in the four Gospels 2.  marked by militant or crusading zeal Then there are other definitions which are more in line with what many think: 3.  emphasizing salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion, the authority of Scripture, and the importance of preaching as contrasted with ritual 4.  of, adhering to, or marked by fundamentalism 5.  (sy… [more]

One of the key reasons why we MUST study and know history is the fact that it does in fact tend to repeat itself.  Sometimes the repeating may take place over many centuries, but nonetheless many dynamics of nations and societies, and religions, do not change.  This has led me to question whether the world may be currently at the precipice of a new "holy crusade".  I am not advocating that, or trying to be a war-monger, but the questions must be asked and people need to consider what the possibilities might be in the years and decades to come. First, what is a "holy crusade"?  Many of us have not read about this topic since junior high school, and back then probably half of us were not paying any attention.   A crusade is a holy war.   From the website http://historymedren.about.com/od/crusades/p/crusadesbasics.htm, "For a conflict to be officially considered a Crusade, it had to be sanctioned by the pope and conducted against groups seen as enemies of Christendom."  So it is… [more]

Athanasius of Alexandria    **  A.D. 296-298 (Alexandria,Egypt) – May 2, 373 (Alexandria,Egypt) “Jesus whom I know as my Redeemer cannot be less than God.” (Athanasius, at the Council of Nicaea) All branches of the church honor Athanasius as one of its great teachers. He defended the deity and eternity of Christ when much of the church doubted these truths. He was an early writer on the Spirit’s deity. His full list of New Testament books is the earliest that has been preserved. Athanasius, who grew up in Alexandria of Christian parents, lived during a turbulent era of eighteen Roman emperors during transition from a pagan to a Christian empire. As patriarch of the church of Egypt and Libya, for forty-five years he held the second highest office in Christendom after the Roman pope. Yet he suffered five exiles because he stood for orthodox Christianity against Arianism, which denied the true deity of Christ. He faced the wrath of several emperors but never compromised his… [more]

Everyone in this country knows something about, and respects, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.  (Well, almost everyone respects him).   King Jr. is one of only 4 men (along with Lincoln, Washington, and Columbus) who have a national holiday in their honor.  What many people do not know is the life of his father, and the influence that Senior had on Junior.  Without the life and Christian emphasis of Martin Senior, it is unlikely that Jr's life of leading towards racial equality would have occured.  That said, this country could look very different today. Another example of the apple not falling far from the tree This is yet another "history" column that morphs into a "Christian Living" article.  Such is often the case when studying history, and is one of the main reasons why we study.  It is very apparent that fathers in this country have increasingly let their children, especially sons, down over the past 40 or so years.  Many are absent.  Many that are present are not a posit… [more]

"The most renowned Primate in the Church of England since the English Reformation." "Anglican's most creative and comprehensive contribution to the theological enterprise of the West." One of his biographers lists him (along with Hooker, Butler, and Maurice) as one of the Four Great Doctors of the (post-Reformation) Anglican Communion. William Temple, 98th Archbishop of Canterbury, was born in 1881, the second son of Frederick Temple (who also had served as Archbishop of Canterbury; this may be the only occasion where this occured within the Church of England's long history).  He died in late 1944, while heading the Church.  Unfortunately he was not able to live to see Victory in Europe, or the end of the Great War. Here in the States I don't believe we can imagine the circumstances that Archbishop Temple was thrown into.  For starters, we are very split in our Christian beliefs systems here.  There is no true "head" of any great majority denomination in America.  Does the Pre… [more]

Some readers may have heard of Rev. Matthew Henry, and in fact some may have used and read some of Mr. Henry’s biblical commentaries.  In fact, Matthew Henry (d. 1714) is one of the most respected biblical scholars of the past three hundred years; his work is exhaustive- yet inspired and relevant. Most people do not know the trials and sufferings of Mr. Henry, and as such this short article aims at touching upon that. Through his suffering, Henry’s life and Christian accomplishments are all the more meaningful Mr. Henry was born 1662 in England, and his infancy was marred with sickness and frailty.  His brother had died of similar circumstances, as an infant.  In those days, as would become evident to Matthew himself later on, many newborns and young children did not make it.  In some ways, that was a part of life for so many parents in those days before penicillin and other basic treatments. Over the course of his adult life, Mr. Henry would experience six different prema… [more]

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is hosting one of the largest Dead Sea scroll exhibits ever held in the United States. For all of you Church History buffs, this should be quite the boon. Along with the Dead Sea scrolls there will be a gospel of John from the Gutenberg Bible, a 1611 edition of the King James Bible, and 12 other exhibits that have never been seen before. I found this story on the Dallas News website. Here are some excerpts on what they have to say. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Hosts Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit. Staff writer Hailey Winston reports: One of the largest exhibitions of Dead Sea Scroll fragments ever presented in the U.S. opened today at a Fort Worth seminary. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 4616 Stanley Ave., is hosting the 21 scroll fragments and other antiquities in an exhibit titled Dead Sea Scrolls & the Bible: Ancient Artifacts, Timeless Treasures. Other items on display include theJeselsohn Stone tablet, the St. … [more]

(The following is not meant to disparage Mormons, but to speak about the history of the Mormons and of the nation at that time, and to ask the question of whether a similar occurence is likely to happen in the near future.) Mormonism is a hot topic these days, seemingly from the fact hat our next President may be a Mormon.  This has caused Christians and others to relook at the Mormon faith.  There are approximately 6 million Mormons in this country.  What is it exactly, and where did it really come from?  Is it "just like" another Christian denomination?  Who is this Joseph Smith, and how did he create a Faith out of nothing?  And, maybe as important to dwell on, could a similar incident happen today? The background of Joseph Smith and the nation in the early 1800's Of course this country was very different in the the 1820's and 1830's.  This was the timeframe when Smith allegedly had his visions and found the golden tablets and began his translation into what is now known … [more]