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Latest articles byDr. Zachary Porcu

Greg Bahnsen: Apologist and Presbyterian Minister

Greg Bahnsen: Apologist and Presbyterian Minister

Dr. Zachary Porcu
by Dr. Zachary PorcuCatholic University of America
Greg Bahnsen was a Presbyterian minister. He earned both a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology, and was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in 1975. He is probably best known for being a disciple and close friend of Cor...
Jerry Bridges and The Navigators: A Protestant Order

Jerry Bridges and The Navigators: A Protestant Order

Dr. Zachary Porcu
by Dr. Zachary PorcuCatholic University of America
The Navigators was originally founded in 1933 on a battleship stationed in Long Beach, on the coast of California. A civilian named Dawson Trotman mentored one of the sailors on the ship, teaching him how to pray and to read an...
Rachel's Tomb: The Death of an Israelite Matriarch

Rachel's Tomb: The Death of an Israelite Matriarch

Dr. Zachary Porcu
by Dr. Zachary PorcuCatholic University of America
The Biblical passage that relates Rachel’s death is from Genesis 35: “Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. Now it came...
Necromancy in the Bible: Fallen Spirits, Ancient Religion

Necromancy in the Bible: Fallen Spirits, Ancient Religion

Dr. Zachary Porcu
by Dr. Zachary PorcuCatholic University of America
Because of fantasy novels, zombie movies, and games like Dungeons and Dragons, a “necromancer” has come to mean someone who raises and commands the dead. In popular culture, a necromancer is commonly pictured as an evil warlock...
Who is Asaph in the Bible? A minister and psalmist of David

Who is Asaph in the Bible? A minister and psalmist of David

Dr. Zachary Porcu
by Dr. Zachary PorcuCatholic University of America
The name “Asaph” is Hebrew for “gather”. It is used three times in the Bible, and may refer to any of several figures. But the main one that people are generally interested in is the Asaph who is attributed a number of the psal...
Resen: One of the Cities of Nimrod

Resen: One of the Cities of Nimrod

Dr. Zachary Porcu
by Dr. Zachary PorcuCatholic University of America
Resen is a city mentioned in Genesis 10:12: “Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 And t...
Merari: Son of Levi and Ancestor of Judith

Merari: Son of Levi and Ancestor of Judith

Dr. Zachary Porcu
by Dr. Zachary PorcuCatholic University of America
According to the Abarim Publications website (a dubious theological source but good for etymology), the name Merari (מררי), means “bitter” or “strong” (as in having a strong taste) in Hebrew: “The name Merari, like other Levite...
What color is God? By a Christian Scholar

What color is God? By a Christian Scholar

Dr. Zachary Porcu
by Dr. Zachary PorcuCatholic University of America
Because some of the most well-known depictions of God in Western culture come from the Renaissance painters, it’s easy to get the idea that God is a fair-skinned, Northern or Central European, or what we refer to as “white.” Ho...