Societal traditions are rarely viewed through a historic lens. To do so would reveal, all too often, a violent blending of traditions and rituals. Easter is one such tradition. At its core, Easter is an ancient pagan fertility celebration that took on Christian terminology. This controversial blend centered around the timing of this celebration- specifically what day to memorialize. Lasting nearly 3 centuries this became…
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3 Characteristics That Define a Real Man – Eddie Foster lifehopeandtruth.com
Ryan Welsh
3 years ago in Man/Husband/Father
As societal norms denigrate men and masculinity, this piece gives three examples of what it is to be a real man. Looking to what should be our ultimate example, Christ’s life can and should be a model for all men. The apostle Peter said Christ left us an example, “that you should follow it.” (1 Pet 2:21). First characteristic – Christ did not crack under…
Lying vs. Telling the Truth – Dave Myers lifehopeandtruth.com
Ryan Welsh
3 years ago in Law
Are there ever moral grounds to lie? Do the ends of a lie ever justify the means? The short answer is “No”. Why? Because telling the truth is foundational within our relationships. The apostle Paul says to “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor”. Lying is destructive to us and others, destabilizing relationships whereas telling the truth creates stability. Again, this is…
Thinking Well, Part I – Carmine Russo churchofgodnetwork.org
Ryan Welsh
3 years ago in Human Beings
Most are not taught to freely reason but instead are conditioned. “We are enslaved to the bias, prejudice, anger, envy, and jealousy that have become a large part of our nature.” We, therefore, must work to recognize this habituated mindset. To do this, four “Categories of Awareness” are highlighted: time awareness, task awareness, result awareness and self-awareness. Time awareness refers to our ability to manage…
Cupid’s Disheartening Past – Alice Abler vision.org
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Valentine's Day, Paganism
Cupid, that winged Valentine’s Day mascot with a sordid past. “From a lusty shepherd-king who died annually, causing weeping of women throughout the known world, to the incestuous sun god who is the bringer of life, his tale spans eons and outlive entire civilizations with variations in names and lore. This intertwined history of Cupid and his mother, the traditional mother/son/spouse deities of sexual love…
Passover – Earl L. Henn cgg.org
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Passover
Each of God’s Holy Days lay out a specific piece of His plan for all mankind to come to know Him and the opportunity to be a part of His family – end goal. The Passover is the first in this nexus between God’s commanded Holy Days and this opportunity for true life. There is an expansive nature to each of God’s Holy Days as…
Hope in Times of Depression – Marissa Baker churchofgodnetwork.org
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Human Beings
In times of great stress and anxiety the Bible is an excellent source for hope. This hope is not a superficial, “I hope everything turns out the way I want.” The words of the Bible give us hope in something greater than ourselves. Knowing God is working out a greater purpose in us is strength in itself. We then take this knowledge to face stress…
Unleavened Bread ucg.org
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Days of Unleavened Bread
There is a festival observance that modern Christians might think odd. Just following the Passover, for seven days, is the Feast of Unleavened Bread; days in which, after removing leavening from your home, you limit your consumption of bread to only unleavened bread (bread made without any leavening agent). Does this Old Testament observance have any relevance for modern Christianity? The apostle Paul indicates that…
How To Search For Truth – HWA cogiw.org
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Human Beings
Through this article we are asked a simple question, how do we search for “truth”? So many accept their beliefs or opinions as truth. Why is this? One reason presented is habit. We are born without knowledge. We grow up accepting what we are taught starting with our parents, and this continues all the way through our formal education. Learning to accept what we read…
Changing the Sabbath to Sunday thebiblesaysthat.com
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Sunday Worship
The shifting of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday is quite an interesting tale to hear, especially from those that instituted the change. It’s almost a chicken or the egg scenario. Most Seventh day Sabbath keepers say Sunday worship is wrong because it was instituted by men (within the Catholic Church). The Catholic Church, on the other hand, say we changed the Sabbath, without scriptural…
How to Be Forgiven of Sin… tomorrowsworld.org
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Repentance
This video begins by showing sin is the source of this world’s unhappiness. The burdens (anxiety, regret, guilt, pain, and suffering) that we each carry due to sin, can become overwhelming but there is a solution. To remove this load requires us to come to terms with the cause…our sin. Like a mirror, God’s law reveals to us our sins. We must look into that mirror. Only after this humble…
The Holy Spirit – Martin G. Collins cgg.org
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Holy Spirit
This deep dive, Bible Study approach covers in detail the nature of the Holy Spirit. Eight points make clear that the Holy Spirit is the power of God and not a personage. The Spirit is given to those that are called by God and respond to that calling. Baptism and repentance are essential in receiving the Holy Spirit. It works with our minds that we…
Is God a Trinity? – Peter Nathan, Jeannette B. Anderson vision.org
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity – where did this “extrabiblical dogma” come from? For those that ask “why,” the doctrine of the Trinity is difficult to unravel. As we look back, around a century after the time of Emperor Constantine and the council of Nicaea (325 C.E.), there was still little consensus of God’s nature by “Church leaders” and brief mention of the Holy Spirit….
What Is the Grace of God? – Florante Siopan, John Foster lifehopeandtruth.com
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Grace
Grace is not just something given by God but is a part of His very character. God is a gracious God, referenced throughout scripture. This is fortunate because all mankind has sinned, and the wages of sin is death. Death is the byproduct of sin which brings us to Christ’s sacrifice. In order to be gracious or show favor to us, Jesus, living a sinless…
Who Is the Antichrist? tomorrowsworld.org
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Second Coming
One of the most ominous figures the Bible reveals to us is the end time Antichrist. The spirit of this individual has been in the world and deceiving since the first century in the form of all false prophets. We know them as teachers that profess to represent Christ, using Christ’s name, yet teaching a different Jesus or gospel or teaching lawlessness. All of these…
Christmas? thebiblesaysthat.com
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Christmas
I really liked the short, to the point approach this article took regarding the biblical stance on Christmas. It begins with the pagan origins of Christmas that are documented and well-established. Most mainstream Christians don’t even argue that fact. With the origins well established we move to the second point. Within Jeremiah it’s stated that we are not to worship God the way gentiles worship…
Sex ucg.org
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Marriage
Modern social values no longer tie sex to marriage. The idea that extra-marital sex is wrong is strange to many. Although there are many scriptures on the subject this question and answer piece singles out Hebrews 13:4. Hebrews 13:4 states that sex was designed to strengthen the committed bond of marriage, yet it has the opposite affect outside of it. The results of sex outside…
The God Who Is – Jeremy Lallier sabbaththoughts.com
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in God
Is there a god and if so, who is God? A question for the ages of which few find the answer. The Bible writes of one man that struggled with this question but had the unique opportunity to ask God in person. Moses, being raised in Egypt, grew up well aware of “gods”, so when he asked God directly “who do I say, to the…
The Purpose of the Church thefatherscall.org
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in God Family, The Church
Like the buildup in a great movie this article lays out the course of human existence. Man was created not just for a great purpose but to be an integral part of the process. That great and simple purpose, as typified by the nuclear family, was the creation of an eternal spiritual family. However Satan, the influential force within this world, has positioned himself as…
“You Will Not Surely Die!” – Jim Franks lifehopeandtruth.com
Ryan Welsh
4 years ago in Gospel Message, Plan of Salvation, Human Beings, Second Resurrection, Immortal Soul
At some point we all face and wonder what happens after death. Most accept without question that what they are taught comes from scripture. That is “we are an immortal soul that at death lives on eternally in heaven or in hell.” What most don’t realize is this belief predates the first coming of Jesus, having its origins in paganism. It can arguably be traced…