If you were to ask a Christian, or rather a gospel-reading Christian, who the ‘Son of Man’ is, invariably, you will get the answer that he is Jesus. As this article will show, what is surprising is that the very early Christians did not believe that Jesus was the Son of Man. In fact, oneContinue reading “Son of Man”
Author Archives: costantino22
Kingdom of God/Heaven
In his book Did Jesus Exist? New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman explains how the phrase kingdom of God is used in the New Testament: it might be a little surprising to some readers; he writes, “When people today hear the term kingdom of God, they typically think of heaven, as the place where souls goContinue reading “Kingdom of God/Heaven”
Mary’s Virginity
A Christian doctrine that has been heavily attacked is whether Jesus was born of a virgin: in other words, that he had no human father but was divinely conceived. According to two of the canonical (official) gospels, Matthew & Luke, God donated a sperm, directly, to his mother Mary—through the Holy Spirit, “the giver ofContinue reading “Mary’s Virginity”
Gospel
No doubt, we often hear the word ‘gospel,’ but, personally, I must admit that, for decades, I didn’t really understand what it meant. As I’ll also show in this article, even before the writing of the Gospels, Paul’s authentic letters used the same word but with a different meaning, thus creating even more confusion toContinue reading “Gospel”
The Eucharist (Holy Communion)
One of the most mindboggling Christian doctrines is that of the Eucharist (also known as Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper). This article challenges the blind-faith teaching of Christ’s real presence under the Eucharistic species: it irons out the wrinkles in the various New Testament texts concerning this sacrament, and finally gives the true symbolicContinue reading “The Eucharist (Holy Communion)”
Religion-Science Trilogy
This is a free offer for all my valued followers and readers—no strings attached. I shall e-mail a soft (pdf) copy of one (your choice) of my three published books to anyone who wants. All I need is your e-mail address to be able to send it to you: you can reach me at attardcarmel@rogers.com.Continue reading “Religion-Science Trilogy”
The Trinity
Probably the strangest Christian doctrine is that of the Trinity: that there is only one God, but there are three ‘persons’ in this one God. According to this doctrine, each of these three persons is entirely God by himself; and yet, it insists, there is only one God (see above diagram). This is a classicContinue reading “The Trinity”
The Soul
Introduction Our planet, Earth, (and possibly the universe) may be divided into the living (organisms) and the non-living (inanimate objects). Living organisms are normally characterized by their ability to reproduce and grow. The Latin word for ‘soul’ is anima from which we obtain the English word ‘animal,’ meaning, roughly, any living organism that can moveContinue reading “The Soul”
Evolution or Design?
Introduction Self-declared atheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, concludes his book The Ancestor’s Tale with “My objection to supernatural beliefs is precisely that they miserably fail to do justice to the sublime grandeur of the real world. They represent a narrowing-down from reality, an impoverishment of what the real world has to offer.” (p. 614)Continue reading “Evolution or Design?”
Hell
If one were to identify the doctrine that deters would-be Christians most, it would be that of hell: usually described as a pit of fire in which souls (dead people) who did not quite measure up are eternally and incessantly tormented in a fire that never consumes them. I don’t think anybody has any doubtContinue reading “Hell”
Faith, Science & Reason 