Sword in the Fire

Thank you to all the readers of The Rest of the Bible!   It's been a little over a year, since the print and ebook publication, and I continue to be encouraged by the response. There is very little in print regarding those "extra" Old Testament books, and this book fit that need. If you have ever wondered about the content of Tobit, the Maccabees, Judith, etc, but never had the time to dig and read, this book will give you an overview of each book as well as discussing how Christian throughout history have used and understand these stories. Thank you as well to those who commented on Amazon. Here are a sample of the reviews. It is about time someone took to giving a good outline and reading companion to these books. So often they are overlooked because sadly most bibles do not include them.  This is not only a readable book for those interested but in my mind opens up a world of 'forgotten' Scripture to the modern eyes. A simple but brilliant idea...

In Adult Sunday School, we are reading St. John’s account of the feeding of the 5000.  This miracle of Jesus never fails to impress.  Five thousand men plus their families have come to Him to hear His teaching and perhaps get a glimmer of the miraculous because, for many in the crowd, there have been rumors of miracles: rumors that people were healed, blind could see, life was transformed into something new.  Who wouldn’t want to be present for something like this? This would be especially appealing after your life has been spent occupied and controlled by a foreign power, yet the promise of God to your family and religious leaders is that God has given you this land, you will be strong, you will be great, your kingdom will never end... read the rest here Theron Mathis

A couple years ago my main water line burst.  The fix was not a pretty sight.  Half my front yard was excavated leaving a landscaping nightmare.  Years later after much work and settling, the yard is beginning to recover. not my yard, but a close second Turning the earth from the bottom up brought up sizable prehistoric rocks into the front yard.  My first priority to restore any green grass was to remove these large rocks.  From behind the house, the wheelbarrow made its appearance and I bribed a couple of my children to help dad move rocks out of the front yard.  Of course, for them it was not about moving rocks but looking for ancient fossils and possible dinosaur discoveries.   Soon the big rocks were gone, but lo and behold there were still rocks.  Hidden among the large stones were others of lesser size, still preventing a lush landscape of enviable green grass from taking root.   So these smaller stones were hauled aw...

In studying the Gospel of John, I stumbled upon a wonderful story of the Apostle John as an old man, and in memory of his repose today in the city of Ephesus the retelling seems appropriate. John unlike many of the apostles seemed to have never married, being tasked with the care of the Virgin Mary.  Upon her repose, he left Jerusalem and traveled into Asia Minor, where he became the overseer of the churches there making his residence in the city of Ephesus.  During this time, he was exiled and tortured, but eventually made his way back to his beloved city as an old man. John's life was inflamed by the love of God, and the story below demonstrates the zeal and passion that love had upon his life. 6. “Listen to a tale, which is not a mere tale, but a narrative concerning John the apostle, which has been handed down and treasured up in memory. For when, after the tyrant’s death, he returned from the isle of Patmos to Ephesus, he went away upon their inv...

I love the Gospel of John.  If for no other reason, it is different.  Unlike the other three gospels, there is no birth story, no temptation, or no transfiguration.  In Orthodoxy, we read John in the lectionary during the Easter season.  The Gospel for Easter Sunday is John’s Prologue in Chapter 1.  This gives a clue as to why the Church thinks John was written.  The newly baptized experiencing their first Liturgy on Easter Sunday begin to read a new Gospel – the Gospel of John.  John himself proclaims his purpose for writing at the end of his book.  He wrote so that the reader would know that Jesus is the Son of God, and by trusting in Him, would have eternal life.  John is designed to bolster faith, perhaps in the face of heresy, for there were many false teachers who questioned the fullness of Jesus’ humanity and divinity.  Or perhaps, John is trying to protect us not from the heresy of the head, but of the heart. ...

I believe in the mega-church.  Over the last 30 years, American Christianity has seen the rise of the mega-church.   According to sociologists, the mega-church is defined by having 2000+ members.  In my backyard, exists the fifth largest church in the US, Southeast Christian Church, with a membership of 30k and average weekly attendance of 20k.  No doubt this type of church can only exist in the numbers it does today, due to our mobile environment.  You can live 10 – 15 miles from the church, and still be an active participant due to quick and easy transportation.  Historically, you went to church where you lived, and usually within walking distance, and a church could only grow to such numbers in a densely populated area.  Because of the size of these churches, certain advantages began to happen.  First is that growth generates more growth.  One trend-observer said: “You hit a certain size and you can become self-...

For years, I found myself geeking out at the intricacies of theology, the minutiae of textual criticism, the obscurities of history.  It’s one of the reasons I spent years in undergraduate and graduate school reading dusty books and ancient scholars.  Post-college, I continued dipping into various theologies as a pastime – some watch Sports Center, I picked up Lossky.  Finding my way to Orthodoxy did give me an ocean of theology so deep I often felt like I was drowning, but eventually I found my way back to shore only to come back another day.  ... continued here