Exploring the Bible

  The Apostle Paul: Bachelor, Widower, or Divorcé? When we think of the Apostle Paul, we typically picture the ultimate bachelor of the Bible. He is the man who wrote, "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman" (1 Corinthians 7:1) and expressed a wish that everyone could be single like him. For centuries, the church has viewed Paul as the model of celibacy—a man so consumed by his mission that he had no time or desire for family life. But is that the whole story? There is a compelling historical case to be made that Paul, the most influential theologian in history, may have actually been a married man. While the New Testament clearly depicts him as single during his missionary journeys, several clues suggest that this singleness was a result of loss, not lack of experience. To understand Paul’s marital status, we have to look at his life before the Damascus Road. He wasn't just a generic Jewish man; he was a rising star in the religious est...

  The Silent Savior: Uncovering the Identity of Paul’s Sister In the tapestry of the New Testament, the Apostle Paul is often portrayed as a solitary figure. He is the rugged missionary, the prisoner writing by candlelight, the man who "suffered the loss of all things." We know about his spiritual son, Timothy, and his partners like Barnabas and Silas. But when it comes to his biological family, the text is almost completely silent. Almost. Hidden in the dramatic intrigue of the book of Acts is a brief, fascinating appearance of Paul’s immediate family. It is a single scene that reveals he was not as alone as we might think, and that his survival—and by extension, the spread of the Gospel to Rome—hinged on the loyalty of a woman we know nothing about, except that she was his sister. The year is approximately 57 AD. Paul has returned to Jerusalem, and the city is a powder keg. His presence has caused a riot in the Temple, leading to his arrest by Roman forces for his o...

  The Missing Link? Hunting for Dinosaurs in the Text of Scripture Walk into any natural history museum, and you are immediately greeted by the kings of the ancient past: the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Triceratops, the towering Brachiosaurus. Dinosaurs capture our imagination like few other things. They are the monsters under the bed that actually existed. For many believers, however, these fossilized giants present a puzzle. We read the book of Genesis, and we see lions, cattle, and creeping things. We see birds and fish. But where are the dinosaurs? If the Bible claims to be a history of the world, why does it seem to be silent on the most impressive creatures to ever walk the earth? The answer might be simpler than we think: we are looking for the wrong word, but the right description. The first hurdle in finding dinosaurs in the Bible is linguistic. The word "dinosaur" was not coined until 1841 AD , when British anatomist Sir Richard Owen combined the Greek words dein...

The Language of the Lord: Did Jesus Speak Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek? When we watch movies about the life of Jesus, the dialogue is usually in English, but the "feeling" we get is that the original conversations happened in solemn, ancient Hebrew. We picture Jesus speaking the language of Moses, reciting the Psalms in the same tongue in which they were written. While Jesus certainly knew Hebrew, historical evidence and biblical clues suggest that the "soundtrack" of the Gospels was actually quite different. If you could time travel to 30 AD and walk the dusty roads of Galilee with the disciples, the language you would hear filling the air was almost certainly Aramaic . Furthermore, if Jesus sat down to write a contract or negotiate a job, He likely would have switched to Greek . Here is a look at the linguistic landscape of the Messiah’s world. For over a thousand years, Hebrew was the language of Israel. However, the turning point occurred in 586 BC, when th...

  The Darkroom Miracle: How a 19th-Century Photo Changed Everything For centuries, the Shroud of Turin was revered, but it was also a visual disappointment. Pilgrims who traveled to Italy to see the alleged burial cloth of Christ often found themselves squinting at the linen, trying to make out the faint, sepia-colored stains. To the naked eye, the image is blurry, ghostly, and largely indistinguishable. It wasn't until the late 19th century—specifically May 28, 1898—that the Shroud gave up its most shocking secret. And it didn't happen on an altar; it happened in a darkroom. The story centers on Secondo Pia, an Italian lawyer and amateur photographer. In 1898, the House of Savoy decided to exhibit the Shroud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Italian Constitution. As part of the festivities, the King granted permission for the relic to be photographed for the very first time. Pia was given the task, but the conditions were a nightmare. He had to work in the swelt...

  The Carpenter’s House: Meeting the Family of Jesus When we visualize the life of Jesus, the image is often solitary. We see Him standing alone on a mountaintop preaching, or perhaps walking with His twelve disciples. Our mental picture of His family usually stops at the Nativity scene: Mary, Joseph, and the baby, frozen in a silent, holy moment. But the Gospels paint a much more dynamic, crowded, and human picture of Jesus’ home life. Jesus was not a solitary figure who dropped out of the sky; He was a member of a household, a son, a cousin, and a brother. He grew up in a real family with real dynamics—including skepticism, tension, and ultimately, reconciliation. Here is a look at the blood relatives and family members of Jesus identified in the Bible. Mary (Miriam) Mary is, of course, the central biological link. The New Testament is clear that Jesus was born of a virgin, meaning Mary contributed His humanity while the conception was of the Holy Spirit. She is a constan...

 Is the Crown of Thorns in Notre-Dame Real? On April 15, 2019, the world watched in horror as flames engulfed the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. As the spire collapsed and the lead melted, a different drama was playing out inside the burning building. A courageous priest, Father Jean-Marc Fournier, along with a human chain of firefighters, rushed into the inferno. They weren't trying to save gold or paintings. They were trying to save a simple circle of woven rushes, encased in a crystal tube. They were saving the Crown of Thorns. For roughly 1,600 years, believers have venerated this object as the actual instrument of torture pressed onto the head of Jesus Christ. But in an age of skepticism and science, is it possible that this relic is authentic? Or is it just a medieval fabrication? When we look at the history, the answer is surprisingly compelling. If you look at the relic today, it might surprise you. It doesn't look like the prickly wreath we see i...

 Understanding Preterism One of the most common attacks from skeptics against the Bible goes something like this: "Jesus promised he would come back 'soon.' He told his disciples that 'this generation' would not pass away before the end came. Well, it’s been 2,000 years. That generation is long dead. Jesus was wrong." Even some famous Christian thinkers, like C.S. Lewis, admitted that Matthew 24:34 (where Jesus predicts these things) was "the most embarrassing verse in the Bible." But what if Jesus wasn't wrong? What if the problem isn't with Jesus' timeline, but with our interpretation? This brings us to a theological view known as Preterism. The word comes from the Latin praeter , meaning "past." In short, Preterism is the view that many of the prophecies in the New Testament—specifically those about the "end of the age," the "Great Tribulation," and the "coming on the clouds"—were fulfi...