Biblical Articles

The idea of a new year always brings with it an optimistic outlook. Why is that? Many of us make New Year’s resolutions that we intend to keep once for all. We will be a different person. No matter how many times we have failed to reach a goal in the past, we might...

Periodically, new churches in the area begin, and they mail professionally-printed advertisements out to residents in an effort to invite them to their new group. The one many received in this area is printed on glossy card stock. One side has a red background with a...

Various religious groups are known for certain features that seem to be prominent or noticeable. One, for example, is noted for its pomp, traditions, and rituals. Some are noted for going door to door or having a “new” covenant. Still others are marked by their...

On Thursday, January 8, 2015 two articles were published on page A14 of the Orlando Sentinel that dealt with homosexual marriage. The first letter was a protest that the newspaper had been consumed with this topic and had given it much more attention than it deserved....

Article by Bryan Fischer [Editor’s Note: This article appeared and was published by Marvin Weir last week (1-11-18) in The Reno Record (Reno, Texas). He also began with an editor’s note, which immediately follows this one.] Editor’s note: The following article by...

June 24, 1947. Kenneth Arnold, an experienced pilot, spotted nine high-speed objects skipping through the air as a saucer would across a pond. He saw them with Mt. Ranier, Washington as a backdrop. Thus, at least the terminology of flying saucers was born, although...

On November 19, 2014, the magazine, Rolling Stone, published an article with an alarming title: “A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA.” The female victim in the story claimed to have been assaulted by seven men at a fraternity party,...

Article by Roelf L. Ruffner “Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment” (Ex. 23:1-2)....

It is ironic that all too often God gets no credit for the good that He accomplishes. He continues to provide our daily bread, and salvation remains available. If, however, there is a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or other natural disaster, many quickly blame Him;...

As the new year begins, I’m all for optimism—and always have been. When Scott McKenzie recorded John Phillips’ (of the Mamas and the Papas) song about wearing flowers in your hair when going to San Francisco, I was all for it. There was going to be peace and love in...

Brethren frequently wonder how denominationalists justify certain religious practices, and the fact is that, today, few bother because the emphasis for many people has shifted from, “What does the Bible teach?” to “What makes me feel good?”  So it is interesting to...

Circumcision and Baptism   Dr. D. Featly, in trying to defend infant sprinkling in 1647 made ten arguments in a section of his book, which he titled, “Children’s Baptism Justified.”  Three of these have already been examined and been shown to be wanting.  The fourth...

Featly, D.D., thought he had proven his case for infant baptism when he published his reasoning in 1647, but most of what he wrote consists of a collection of assumptions. For example, he argued:   Where the disease is, there ought the remedy to be applied. But the...

Daniel Featly, D.D., published in 1647 the book under review.  The historical background is helpful in understanding the situation out of which this discussion grew, but the most important thing about it concerns the arguments that were made in trying to justify the...

The document under consideration was published in 1647 at a time when the Anabaptists had formed and emerged in Europe as part of what Wikipedia calls “Radical Reformation.”   Actually, they were not any more radical than Martin Luther (1519) or John Calvin (1536);...

“Is Marriage Obsolete?” is a question being asked by many young people in their 20s and 30s.  In fact, Susan Pease Gadoua (a therapist) and Vicki Larson (a journalist) have co-authored a book titled, “The New ‘I Do’: Reshaping Marriage for Skeptics, Realists and...

Let’s begin with a refreshing dose of sanity.  Eric Reinhold wrote a letter to the Orlando Sentinel (published on October 8, 2014) that was well crafted and spoke the truth.  He was responding to what a rabbi had written earlier when he wrote that “believing in God is...

In the November election, 2014, residents of Florida will be called upon to vote on medical marijuana for this state.  The Orlando Sentinel gave on September 26, 2014, a page-long column to those both for and against Amendment 2.  Ben Pollara encouraged readers to...

On August 17, 2014, Spiritual Perspectives published a review of a tract on the subject of Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage, which dealt with the alleged “waiting game,” which is a misnomer relating to a Biblical teaching.  A friend wrote to see what answer could be...

In discussing the aftermath of the Restoration Sum-mit that took place August 7-9, 1984, one more occurrence is of interest.  After I reported on the Joplin Unity meeting published in the Southside Mirror (October 20th and 27th, 1984), I wrote an open letter to Rubel...

The Restoration Summit (as it was usually billed), held in Joplin, Missouri, on August 7th-9th, 1984, involved 50 members of the Independent Christian Church and 50 from the churches of Christ.  It is ironic that almost from the beginning, several leaders backed away...

For months the Joplin Unity Summit was advertised far and wide, and I was able to attend it on August 7th, 8th, and 9th, 1984—30 years ago.  Many, especially newer Christians, have probably never heard of the event, and others may only have incidental knowledge of...

Two weeks ago the Orlando Sentinel must have burst somebody’s bubble with the data they reported.  Even though it is only at the bottom of page B4, the headline of the news blurb reads:  “Sexually Transmitted Diseases Rise in State.”  This August 17, 2014 article...

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them (Rom. 16:17).   This oft-quoted verse was challenged a few days ago in a conversation this writer had with a preacher in the area...

Recently, a tract on the subject of Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage came into my possession with a request for comments to be given.  It was written by Brother Ken Butterworth from Oxford, Alabama, whom I do not recall having met.  Despite some truths that are...

After Phillip Schaff supplies background information about the apostles and a timeline of New Testament events, from the birth of Christ to the exile of John in Patmos (1:219-22), he discusses the miracle of Pentecost, which he terms as following Easter, thus...

Phillip Schaff is the author of the eight volumes of History of the Christian Church.  According to Wikipedia,   Schaff was born in Chur, Switzerland and educated at the gymnasium of Stuttgart. At the universities of Tübingen, Halle and Berlin, he was successively...

In the middle part of the 19th century, the research of Phillip Schaff (1819-1893) on the history of the Christian church was published; volume 1 is dated 1858.  The other seven volumes followed, but quotations here were copyrighted 1910 and reprinted in 1994.  The...