David Lamb said:

I would say that there is no reason either to dismiss or to believe extra-biblical details about people or events mentioned in the bible. Particularly with the biblical account of the Incarnation, we find all sorts of "details" added, and accepted as an essential part of the "Christmas story." The donkey, an innkeeper, the wise men visiting Jesus at the same time as the shepherds, and much more. Some of these things actually contradict what we find in the bible, and others, we just do not know.

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Protestants (including me) usually are very, very reluctant to take into account anything extra-Biblical from the Apostolic or post-Apostolic era when it comes to the Bible or the early church history, but this position is inconsistent. Protestants assume Julius Caesar, Napoleon, St. Augustine existed - they usually attribute some degree of credibility to the various accounts about their lives - but somehow when it comes to the Apostolic and early church era all of a sudden all historical record in its entirety is disregarded because it's not the Bible E.g. what we know about Pontius Pilate comes from Josephus and Tacitus .. there is no reason to disregard that.

I would suggest to read e.g. 'History of the Church' by Eusebius (4th century) - the author was present at the famous Council of Nicea; and writes about all kind of fascinating details. We have to treat the history of the Apostolic early church era like any other historical period. Evaluate the sources using the common historian methods - and try to derive history from that with varying degrees of certainty.

The Apostles shared their accounts with others, what happened got passed on, etc. All that may not be canonised certainty but it's still very valuable.

We need historical realism for the early church era in the same way we apply it to any other historical period. It's a typical post-Reformation reflex to dismiss any extra Biblical record, but the Apostles and the early church left a historical trail of oral or written accounts. We need discernment in properly dealing with that. But the trail and the history it reflects on is real. Also we may overlook the early church fathers had access to information/libraries we now don't have anymore (e.g. Jerome mentions he personally had seen the Hebrew original version of the gospel of Matthew)

The very early church fathers who defined the Creeds didn't live in a vacuum - they lived in that trail. It's intriguing to notice that orthodox Protestant churches will vigorously defend the Creeds and Sola Scripture at the same time ... but also rejecting the worldview and many aspects of the faith of the authors of these Creeds. Many modern Protestants would deem the authors of the Creeds to be Catholic heretics, but yet somehow magically believe the resulting Creeds are infallible hallmarks of the proper faith.

We need realism, discernment and modesty - and a weighed valuation of the historical church trail.

To come back to the original subject; the Protoevangelium of James (2nd century AD) contains elements on Mary & Joseph that are referenced and valued by various church fathers. I consider it valuable background information - it's not canon, not infallible, but it may contain elements of that historical trail. Btw I don't believe in Mary's perpetual virginity as it would be very inconsistent with Jewish marriage, but the account may have truthful bits.

Be blessed brother!

My story La La Mermaid has finally been released on Amazon! I even made a video promoting it on YouTube and Instagram!:
Login to view embedded media Here it is on Amazon: La La Mermaid on Amazon!

Lord have mercy!

Michie said:

They should placing a warning on fairy tales then. That stuff was read before college and it intensifies as the student matures.. why single out the Bible? It really makes no sense when you look at the big picture.

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Yup. Not to mention many fairy tales, the original, are violent.

The Liturgist said:

No, that would be one of mine - can you guess why? I’ve mentioned it in a few posts; its something of the signature breakthrough of my project.

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I've got you beat. I was born when the highest technology machine in a house was the television, with no remote control. You had to walk across the room to change the channel.

rjs330 said:

....In banking, much like other businesses we have large conglomerates that have a lot of control. Big banking. We do not have as many locally run and funded banks as we used to. Banks that would know their customers and would help them out. Now, like so much huge banks control a lot of the findings and loans.

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That is capitalism right there. People seeking the means for the most aggressive wealth accumulation.

I'm all for private enterprise. But in the name of "free markets" so called conservatives have opened every possible door for unregulated consolidation AND for unregulated corporate and billionaire campaign funding. I do realize that other parties rarely say no when donors come knocking. But its the Rs and their partisan supreme court who insisted this should be the rules of the game.

Simple objective experiment. Ask these two questions of your Google AI

1. Did Protestant reformers use the historicist method of interpretation for the prophecies in the book of Daniel?
2. Using the historicist model, please interpret the 2300 day prophecy of Daniel 8

As for this thread title, ask Google AI this question

"Did rival popes refer to each other as antichrist before Martin Luther did?"

John Emmett

Apelles of Kos (4th century BC) was a renowned painter of ancient Greece.

Artwork partially created using artificial intelligence.

Lord have mercy!

Praying for your intentions and your healing and peace.

Across the centuries, Church crypts — from Roman catacombs to American cathedrals — testify that death is not the end but the beginning of eternal life.

In the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Cleveland, a chapel adjoins the north transept. There’s a wrought-iron gate with Requiescant in Pace fashioned above the entrance. It’s the cathedral’s burial crypt, containing the tombs of the deceased bishops of Cleveland.

While a “crypt” implies a place under or below a structure, Cleveland’s cathedral burial chamber on the ground floor, named the Resurrection Chapel, reflects that definition as well as the tradition of burial crypts throughout the history of Christianity. It is significant that figures of both St. Peter and St. Paul are prominent on the Resurrection Chapel’s upper half of the north wall, as both martyrs of the early Church were buried in crypts: St. Peter below the altar in the basilica that bears his name, and St. Paul, buried under what is now the papal altar of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

“Every ordinary, that is, a bishop of a diocese, is a member of that diocese and has a right to be buried in the cathedral crypt,” Bishop Roger Gries, retired auxiliary bishop of Cleveland, explained to the Register.

A contemporary example of a burial crypt is below the apse of one of the most famous churches in the world, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, which began construction on the feast of St. Joseph, March 19, 1882, and is set to be completed in 2026. The visionary behind the mammoth basilica, Catalan architect Venerable Antoni Gaudí, is buried in the Sagrada Familia Crypt. The crypt, completed in 1889, is the oldest part of the basilica.

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The Czech Republic, known for its historical heritage, fairytale castles, and medieval architecture, is considered the most atheist country in Europe.

Evangelization in this land — which still bears the scars of a past marked by communism and division — is a constant challenge but not an impossible goal. Czech missionaries say they perceive “miraculous touches of God’s presence” in a society increasingly thirsting for love and truth.

Approximately 80% of the Czech Republic’s more than 10.5 million inhabitants claim to have no religious affiliation. Although about a third of the population say they believe in God — in many cases without being linked to a specific denomination — only 9.4% identify as Catholic.

Nearly a quarter of Czechs declare themselves atheist, according to the 2017 Pew Survey on European Values, making the country one of the most secularized on the continent. Comparing census results since 1991 reveals a clear decline in church membership and an increase in personal belief in God without institutional affiliation.

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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved a new translation of the Bible, which will be used for personal Bibles, the lectionary at Mass, and the text in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Bishop Steven Lopes, chair of the Committee on Divine Worship, announced the translation will be called the “Catholic American Bible.” The translation for personal Bibles and the Liturgy of the Hours will be available on Ash Wednesday in 2027.

The bishops have not announced when the revised lectionaries will be available.

The USCCB also approved a Spanish-language translation of the New Testament, the Biblia de la Iglesia en América, which will be available on Ash Wednesday in 2026.

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The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has declared that the alleged apparitions of Jesus in Dozulé, France, do not have an authentic divine origin and are therefore “not supernatural.”

The prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, confirmed the declaration based on the Norms for Discerning Alleged Supernatural Phenomena in a document released Nov. 12 and addressed to the bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux, Jacques Habert.

In 1972, Madeleine Aumont claimed that Jesus had appeared to her, asking the Church to build a giant “glorious cross” in Dozulé, next to a “shrine of reconciliation.” Furthermore, the alleged visionary claimed that Jesus had announced his “imminent” return.

In the document, the Vatican authority notes that the alleged apparitions in the Normandy town “have elicited spiritual interest” but also “not a few controversies and difficulties of a doctrinal and pastoral nature” that require clarification.

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essentialsaltes said:

[Habba's office dropped charges against Baraka, but has pursued assault charges with Congresswoman McIver from that same incident.]

Members of Congress are legally permitted to enter ICE facilities without prior notice.

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Trump DOJ acts to deweaponize the government

Trump DOJ admits to deleting politicized social media posts in controversial indictment​

President Donald Trump's Justice Department admitted to a federal judge on Tuesday that the agency's social media accounts have taken down several controversial posts that politicized the actions of a member of Congress they indicted, according to CBS News' Scott MacFarlane.

McIver's defense team has cited the posts as evidence of an unlawful prosecution.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa laid out his positions on a number of topics, including the talks about a security arrangement with Israel, in an interview with The Washington Post following his historic visit to the White House on Monday.

Before the first-ever visit by a Syrian president, reports indicated that a new security arrangement might be announced. However, the discussions appear to be ongoing despite no official statement being made.

The interviewer asked al-Sharaa how he planned to “protect Syrian sovereignty,” given the “repeated attacks by the Israeli military” against his country.

After the collapse of the Assad regime, Israel destroyed most of Syria’s heavy military equipment and, several months later, targeted sites and forces affiliated with al-Sharaa’s new regime after they took part in attacks on the Druze community in southern Syria.

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Tensions have escalated in Pakistan after a suicide bomber killed 12 people and injured dozens by blowing himself up in the capital, making it the first strike against civilians in the area in more than a decade.

The attack outside a lower court in Islamabad on Tuesday afternoon, which wounded at least 27 people on top of the dozen murdered, came when the area is typically crowded with visitors, the Associated Press notes.

There are conflicting reports on whether Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter terrorist group that broke away from the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack, as reporters claim to have gotten messages from the group's leader claiming responsibility. However, a commander within the group stated in WhatsApp messages that the group wasn't responsible.

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Isn't social media for politicians is typically run by an aide or something?

Especially young men are realizing how wrong is the hate speech and the tactics by radical groups opposing conservatism and Christian/Judeo values.

I'm glad he owned up to his mistake. The Media seems to make people crazy. Why can't people on both sides mind their own business. I don't understand the craziness of flags.

US Mint in Philadelphia presses final pennies as the 1-cent coin gets canceled​

Some banks, meanwhile, began rationing supplies, a somewhat paradoxical result of the effort to address what many see as a glut of the coins.

The Southern Baptist Convention Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has launched a campaign to give ultrasound equipment to pregnancy care centers in pro-choice states.

Known as “Across State Lines,” the endeavor was officially launched last week, being an extension of the ERLC’s Psalm 139 Project, with a greater emphasis on providing the equipment in states where abortion is legal in most or virtually all circumstances.

ERLC interim President Gary Hollingsworth told The Christian Post that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, “we saw how the Lord was working and stirring a cooperative spirit within Southern Baptist life to support pregnancy centers in abortion-permissible states.”

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