What is the meaning of Jehovah Shammah?
Jehovah Shammah is a transliteration of the Hebrew phrase יְהוָה שָׁמָּה, which means “God is there.” The phrase is the same as “Yahweh Shammah” because “Jehovah” and “Yahweh” are both variations of the same Hebrew word. Ancie...
Missio Dei: A Protestant Movement Redefining the Church
Missio Dei is the name of a broad theological movement among several branches of Protestantism. It was popularized by Presbyterian and other Reformed churches, but there are examples from Lutherans and other traditional Protest...
What is a Pastor Emeritus? Should they exist?
“Emeritus” is a title that’s occasionally given to someone after they retire. It’s a way of giving honor to someone by allowing them to keep their title, especially if they continue to work in a smaller capacity. The word comes...
Apollos in the Bible: Convert, Missionary, Bishop
Everyone knows about Jesus’ Twelve Disciples, but there were also a group called “the Seventy” who were also followers of Jesus. They came from a number of different backgrounds, and ended up playing pivotal roles in the format...
“I Believe in God the Father”: Creeds and Controversies
If you’ve been around any older Christian traditions, such as Catholicism, or even some Lutheran or Methodist groups, you’ve probably heard them talk about “the Creed.” The general idea behind a creed is that it’s an official s...
Abdiel: Milton's Angel who Scorned the Devil - By a PhD
The name “Abdiel” appears in the Bible only one time, in 1 Chronicles 5:15: “Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was chief of their father’s house” (NJKV). In this passage, Abdiel appears as someone’s father in a genealogy,...
Sosthenes of The Seventy Disciples - by a Christian PhD
Sosthenes is mentioned a couple times in the New Testament. He appears in the opening verse of first Corinthians as part of St. Paul’s greeting, where he calls Sosthenes “our brother”: “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Ch...
Pentagram vs Star of David: Symbolism Historical and Modern
While modern people tend to associate the pentagram with the devil, satanism, or magic in general, it’s important to realize that the pentagram is a perennial symbol that’s been used in huge range of cultural contexts for all o...