The term scapegoat originates from Biblical times. More specifically, chapter 16 in the book of Leviticus presents the story of Yom Kippur, more commonly and modernly known as the "Day of Atonement." This was a day when man's sins were to be forgiven through strict ritualistic practic...

The Five Gospels: Theories & Conspiracies In the beginning stood four men. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the Synoptics of the Bible. Men with a vision, to conceive a living testimony of their Lord and Savior Jesus. But today many followers of Christ as well as scholars are skeptical abou...

The Fall of Satan from Paradise: Cause? Effect? The Fall of Satan from Paradise Lost, by John Milton, is an epic poem, which illustrates of Satan's rebellion and exile from the great celestial city. In the poem Satan stands up against The Almighty GOD and as a result he is cast out of heaven ...

Artist: Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi) Title: Christ Presented to the People Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi) was trained in Lombardy, but most of his career was spent in Siena, where he was, together with Beccafumi, an influential artist. This work dates from the last decade of his life. The u...

The speeches of Moloch, Belial, Mammon, and Beelzebub represent particular ways of looking at life. Milton derived these views from I John 2:15 and 16 which says, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the w...

Does God Love You? Q. What kind of a question is that? Anyone who can read sees signs, tracts, booklets and bumper stickers saying, "God Loves You." Isn't that true? A. It's true that God offers His love to the whole world, as we read in one of the most quoted verses in the Bible: "For God so loved...

Critical Analysis Worthy of Being Called In Ephesians 4:1-3, we read, "As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit thro...

Gnostic writings of Jesus portray him as a heavenly redeemer made less of flesh than of spirit. The emphasis of Jesus' importance is not on his physical humanness but rather, on his ability to show people the way to the kingdom. Jesus put on flesh in order to give people gnosis and reveal to the...

This chapter contains one of the most well known--and one of my favorite--Bible stories, including the famous question, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Like all Bible narratives, it is very succinct, offering only the facts and not even all of those--such as exactly how Cain killed Abel...

Peter and Paul Peter was an apostle of Jesus Christ and was one of the twelve disciples. He was formally known as Simon but Jesus changed his name after he became a disciple. Paul was a blasphemous christian hater. He was a leader of the atheists until he became an apostle of Christ, but before...

Like most morality plays, The Digby Mary Magdalene, uses allegorical exemplum form to relate moral material to the audience. The usual plot of morality plays is an allegorical challenge for the spiritual good of the mankind figure. Susan Haskins, in her book Mary Magdalene, Myth and Metaphor, state...

IS YOUR BIBLE HOLY OR JUST FULL OF HOLES? A COMPARATIVE BIBLE STUDY Answer the following questions using a NIV Bible ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Matthew 6:13 How does the lords prayer end? Ma...

Knowing God In the scriptures we read of relationships that people like the apostles had with Jesus. The friendships that they had were deep and personal. They were also challenging. Jesus challenged the disciples regualarly as well as encouraged them. He warned them of the evil they were to ...

St Luke's gospel explains the life of Jesus as well as many other miracles. The Pharisees enforced the law of Moses and were very strict with their religious teachings. Many Jews feared them because they had the authority to cast them out if any sins were committed. Jesus was not against the t...

In The Koran, Surah 12, the story of Joseph is told. This story is very familiar to many Christians and Jews. There are many elements of this story as told in The Koran. Five specific elements of this version of the classic story are the narrator, the knowledge of the events, the importance of Jo...

Violence in the Bible In the Bible, there are a range of references related to violence. It is a reoccurring theme in the Old and New Testament. The acts of violence are either at the hand of God as a form of divine retribution against the sins of man or acts of jealousy and revenge by the mort...

Biblical Relationships in Wangerin's The Book of the Dun Cow The relationship between good and evil in Wangerin's novel, The Book of the Dun Cow, is conveyed by farm animals that portray characteristics of religious characters and events from the Holy Bible. Wangerin, being a preach...

THE SERVANT OF CHRIST "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ" (Gal. 1:10). Does The Preacher Please Men Or God? With sarcasm Paul asks in Galatians 1:10: "Am I trying to persuade God to fall in li...

In The Answer, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz effectively illustrates her own unjust exploitation by inferring a parallel between the social restrictions and betrayal that lead to her destruction and the crown of thorns Christ wore during his crucifixion. Both the criticism and odium Sor Juana received ...

A quiet young man is tied up on a fence and beaten into unconsciousness and later dies. At his funeral a small cult pickets outside the church holding signs that say things such as "No Tears For Queers and "Fags Don't Go To Heaven. Multiple times before this brutal murder took place Congress s...

THE OLD AND NEW GOD I have come to believe that we, as a society, see God as something other than what is presented in the Old Testament. In our society today, the belief is that God is all-powerful, all knowing, just and loving, at least according to the New Testament. Comparing various ways ...

Joseph was his father's favorite child and because of that, his brother's hated him. One day they ganged up on him and threw him into a pit. Midianite merchants came and found Joseph and lifted him out of the pit. They sold him for twenty pieces of silver to Ishmeelites who took Joseph into Egypt....

Scarecrow The Christian music industry is renowned for its many deep, thought provoking songs, but there is none whose lyrics capture my mind like the song "Scarecrow", written and composed by the band Skillet. This song is a reflection of the writer's perspective of his life as a s...

Jesus Christ founded the Roman Catholic Church early in the first century A.D. The basic organization of the Church was also put in place during this time, but the organization is something that has evolved, and continues to evolve, throughout the past two thousand years. Yet to say that the Roman...

The second coming of Christ D&C 1:12 12 Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh; D&C 34:6 6 To lift up your voice as with the sound of a trump, both long and loud, and cry repentance unto a crooked and perverse generation, preparing the way of the Lord for his second ...