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Augustine of Hippo (church father)

Augustine of Hippo was born in the Roman province of Africa (modern-day Tunisia/Algeria) in the year 354. His mother, Monnica, was a devout Christian, but his father Patrick only became a Christian believer at the end of his life (in 370).  Early in life, Augustine enrolled as a catechumen (preparing for Christian baptism), but did not go through with it. Aged 17, Augustine began a relationship with a slave girl and they had a child together, Adeonatus. While Augustine was later estranged from his son's mother, he and Adeonatus remained in touch with one another.  Moving to cosmopolitan Carthage for his studies, Augustine was caught up in sexual promiscuity, famously praying, "Give me continence and chastity, but not just yet." Straying from his Christian upbringing, he tried various belief systems: the teachings of Cicero, the religion of the Manichees, and later Neo-Platonism.  Augustine pursued a career in rhetoric, and accepted a position as lecturer in Milan in 384. ...
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Ebenezer Baptist Church in Bury (now, Bury Baptist Church)

The beginnings of what became Ebenezer Baptist Church in Bury go back to Andrew Nuttall (1784-1846) from Haslingden who came to live in Bury and started the "cause" as a branch of West Street Church in Rochdale, and later taken on by the "County Home Mission". In 1844, the Home Mission appointed Joseph Harvey as its missioner, and this led to the church being constituted in 1845 with fifteen members including Joseph Harvey (the founding pastor) and Andrew Nuttall.  During Harvey's pastorate, in 1853, the church moved into a permanent building on Knowsley Street (on the site of the present Art Picture House opposite the travel interchange). There may have been another Baptist church building on Spring Street completed in 1852.  Sometime around 1853, Joseph Harvey would baptise as a believer Franklin Howorth (d.1882), former minister of Bank Street Unitarian Chapel in Bury. Howorth amicably resigned the ministry at Bank Street and in 1854 started the "Free Ch...
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Advent texts

It's that time of year again. I am planning preaching texts for the Advent season.  This year, my idea for the first three Sundays in Advent is to have preaching on each of the three main parts of the Old Testament, namely the Law, the Prophets and the Writings.  Here are some texts from the five books of Moses (Torah) that are relevant to Advent/Christmas Genesis 49 - Jacob blessing his sons, and singling out his fourth son, Judah, as the one from whom the "sceptre will not depart" Numbers 24 - Balaam prophetically "sees" the Star that will defeat Moab.  Deuteronomy 18 - Moses predicts "another prophet like me Arguably, most of the favourite Advent/Christmas texts/passages are taken from the Latter Prophets, such as Isaiah and Micah. One example not always included in the list of advent texts would be Isaiah 11 .  In terms of the "Writings", in the Hebrew division of the Old Testament this includes 11 books/scrolls (corresponds to 13 books in Chr...
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History of the Persian church (beginnings to Arab hegemony)

On the day of Pentecost, among the many nations present were "Parthians and Medes and Elamites and dwellers in Mesopotamia." Eusebius traced missionary work in what was Parthia to the Apostle Thomas. Another arguably less reliably tradition is that of Addai of Edessa.  There is hard evidence of Christians in what was by then the Sasanian Empire around 233, namely the Domus Ecclesiae (house-converted-into-a-church) at Dura Europos . In second half of the third century, there was a bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon by the name of " Papa/Pappa ". During this Sasanid period (dating from 224), the Church spread throughout the Persian Empire. The churches used the Syriac language.  A representative of the church in the Sasanian Empire was present at the 325 Council of Nicea, and was called " John of Persia ". There was a 40-year persecution lasting 339 to 379 under Shapur II (309–79). One contemporary Christian whose writings record these events was the theologian ...
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Jewish synagogue services on the Sabbath/Shabbat, including Scriptural readings

I have only ever visited synagogues outside of service times. I have never been able to attend a "live" synagogue service. So all I know about the synagogue service comes from excursions, and speaking to Jews who have told me second hand. The Jewish sabbath begins on sundown on Friday and runs until sundown on Saturday. The main weekly service, Shacharit Shabbat, is held on Saturday morning, for example at 9.30am. The synagogue services begins with opening prayers: the morning blessings, and various verses from the psalms and other books of the Tanakh (Old Testament). The latter is known as "P’sukei D’Zimra". Then comes the reciting of the "Shema" - "Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God, the Lord alone."  This is followed by blessings, and the Amidah prayer ("18 blessings").  The central moment during the service is the reading of the Torah portion for the day. The cycle of Torah readings runs from September to September, and fo...
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What was the school of Antioch?

It was at Antioch that those scattered in the persecution after the murder of Stephen "spoke to Greeks also" and many believed. It was an Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.   By the 300s, Antioch was established as a major centre for the Christian faith. When, at the Council of Nicea in 325, particular cities and bishops were identified as having a "place of honour" with wider jurisdiction over other bishoprics (canon 6 of the Council of Nicea), the top four were Rome, Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem (later, Constantinople was identified as second).  In the early centuries, the classes for new converts (catechetical schools) morphed into centres for Christian thought, sometimes compared to modern-day universities. There were catechetical schools at Alexandria, and at Antioch.  The school of Antioch has become associated with a plain interpretation of Scripture and also with the teachings of Nestorius, condemned at the 431 council of Ephesus....
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ESV translation and word order

The church where I currently serve as pastor uses the ESV translation of the Bible. This translation has many merits, but over the time I have been at the church again and again I have noticed how "clunky" it is.  The ESV translation of the Bible is not a new translation of the Bible, but rather a revision of an existing translation, namely the RSV. The existing word order of the RSV appears to have been retained, meaning that when you read it, the translation sounds rather stilted.  Here is an example (Mark 5:35): Original RSV: "While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said..." Current ESV: "While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said..." (in this case the ESV has used the RSV version unchanged) ESV rearranged based on word order in 2025 English: "While he was still speaking, some people came from the ruler's house who said..." In 2025 English, it is unnatural to order the ...
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