What color is God? By a Christian Scholar
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...
Maher-Shala-Hash-Baz, the Son of the Prophet Isaiah
The book of Isaiah features a long name: Maher-Shala-Hash-Baz. It is often considered the longest name in the Bible, though that depends on how you count. It first occurs in Isaiah 8:1: “Moreover the Lord said to me, ‘Take a la...
Malchus: The Roman Soldier in the Garden of Gethsemane
The short answer: In the Bible, Malchus is the servant of the high priest whom St. Peter struck with a sword when the Jews came to arrest Jesus. He is mentioned in only one Gospel account and is not considered a saint in any tr...
The story of Epaphroditus, missionary of St. Paul
Epaphroditus is mentioned in Philippians 2:25 and 4:18 as one of St. Paul’s fellow missionaries. Paul was on a missionary journey around the Mediterranean, and he had several fellow missionaries under his direction. He also had...
A PhD explains Isaiah's phrase: “Forget the former things”
The past is a powerful thing. Through pictures, videos, and other types of “time capsules,” we can create powerful messages that endure into the future and offer a window into the past. Certain sounds, tastes, and especially sm...
What is the prayer to put on the full armor of God?
Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians ends with a powerful chapter filled with memorable exhortations. Central to this passage is his long analogy about putting on “the armor of God,” in which he describes a variety of spiritual...
Jesus went to Hell for 3 days as seen in Scripture
Because telling someone to “go to Hell” is an insult, the idea that Jesus went to Hell is probably a bit unnerving to many people. Yet the idea that Jesus descended into Hell when he died is all over the writings of scripture, ...
What is the sin of envy in the Seven Deadly Sins?
Some people think that envy as a sin is a silly idea. If you take envy to be seeing something you want and becoming motivated to get it, then envy is, in a certain sense, the entire basis for our economic framework in the moder...