The ages where God gave his hand of power and his word for our direction are over; and we are among “those upon whom the end of the ages are come” just as surely as those Corinthians Paul wrote to had been. Two covenants requiring complicity have been forged on the hot anvil of God’s will and under heaven’s mighty hand, and only two. When that second one was completed the bellows were shut down and the fires were quenched for all time.

At the end of the last essay I had asked how you might account for the fact as to why the Bible has incurred more distain than any other book of any kind. So why is it so hated?

The answer is simple. The Bible is the only book that draws an appalling picture of mankind.

To begin this second effort, let’s refresh ourselves to some thoughts from the Word of God.

The apostle Paul stated of the things the Hebrews and Israel went through and which are recounted in the Old Testament, “Now, all these things happened to them for examples, and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11)

This is where we will begin our examination of patterns in Christianity.

The Bible is the oldest complete library or compilation known to mankind. Any document or books near to its age are quite clearly inferior in both content and composition.

If you should doubt the truth in that last statement, I suggest that you seek some ancient documents out for reading and study; then draw your own conclusions. Some of the documents we have commented upon at this site might be used: the non-canonical gospels and letters, the Gilgamesh Story, the Creation Epics, or perhaps the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Three cheers for antidisestablishmentarianism

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s idiotic call for Sharia has provoked a storm of protest, in the newspapers, on television and radio, by our office water cooler and on the blogs…

Second set of essays in the series - Is the Bible Credible?

“Do not be deceived; God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh, will of the flesh reap corruption: but, he who sows to the spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” (Galatians 6:7 and 8)

“And I brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2)

It is not my job, it is not my design, it is not my intent, and it is not my purpose or our purpose here to stun or stupefy. There are here, as was true with the early disciples, and as the apostle stated, no cunningly devised fables being concocted; there are no tricks, there is no craftiness employed and there is no deep magic or numbing mystery to what appears in the Word of God or in the things discussed on this site.

The period covered by New Testament history was characterized by frequent and complicated changes in the political affairs of Judea and those countries round about. None of these are accurately described in the New Testament and yet it contains many allusions to them in an incidental way. Josephus gives a detailed account of them all. This fact affords a most excellent opportunity to test the accuracy of the sacred writers. Agreement can be accounted for on no ground except perfect information on both sides. The New Testament reader who has no other source of information is left in great confusion.

ACLU Calls Sex in Restroom Stalls Private

St. Paul, Minnesota - In an effort to help Sen. Larry Craig, the American Civil Liberties Union is arguing that people who have sex in public bathrooms have an expectation of privacy.

Craig, of Idaho, is asking the Minnesota Court of Appeals to let him withdraw his guilty plea to disorderly conduct stemming from a bathroom sex sting at the Minneapolis airport.

By N. B. Hardeman

I next call your attention to the first roman writer of note. Caius Cornelius Tacitus, whose ancestors are unknown, was born about the middle of the first century and died in the year 117. Thus he lived contemporary with the apostles and early Christians. He was chosen praetor of Rome in the year 88, and was made consul in 97. He wrote, Description of Germany, The Life of Agricola (his father-in-law), History of Rome, and Annals of Rome. He is one of the most reliable of Roman writers and his superiority of style is such that two of his books are used as texts in our best colleges. Tacitus had no respect for Christians and speaks of them in the bitterest of terms. His evidence, therefore, is the evidence of a foe, and becomes all the stronger because of such. Summing up his testimony, we offer the following: