Miscellaneous

Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

From Christianity

The relation of the early church to the career and intentions of Jesus

At certain points the Gospel tradition finds independent confirmation in the letters of the Apostle Paul. The allusions in non-Christian sources (the Jewish historian Josephus, the Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius, and Talmudic texts) are almost negligible, except as refuting the unsubstantiated notion that Jesus might never have existed.

Christian philosophy as natural theology

There are also attempts to show that the evolution of the universe, from the "big bang" of some 15,000,000,000 years ago to the present state that includes conscious life, required the conjunction of so many individually improbable factors as to be inexplicable except as the result of a deliberate coordinating control. If, for example, the initial heat of the expanding universe, or its total mass, or the strength of the force of gravity, or the mass of neutrinos, or the strength of the strong nuclear force, had been different by a small margin, there would have been no galaxies, no stars, no planets, and hence no life. Surely, it is argued, all this must be the work of God creating the conditions for human existence.

What Are the Odds?

There are approximately 11 million species of life on earth, including humans. Did all of these, including the universe itself, begin by chance?

Scientists have claimed that given the right conditions, some sort of life form would eventually evolve. How ever, the same scientists who propose this theory are quick to point out its weaknesses. The respected astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle asks, "What are the chances that a tornado might blow through a junk yard containing all the parts of a 747, accidentally assemble them into a plane, and leave it ready for takeoff?" Hoyle answers, "The possibilities are so small as to be negligible even if a tornado were to blow through enough junk yards to fill the whole universe!"

In his book The Intelligent Universe, Hoyle says, "As biochemists discover more and more about the awesome complexity of life, it is apparent that its chances of originating by accident are so minute that they can be completely ruled out. Life cannot have arisen by chance."

In the Beginning

In 1965, two physicists discovered that the earth was entirely bathed in a faint glow of radiation. Its waves followed the exact pattern of wavelength expected in a giant explosion. Scientists explained that the waves were the obvious aftermath of a "big bang." Thus, an old theory about the beginnings of the universe gained wider acceptance in the scientific community.

Dr. Robert Jastrow, founder of NASA's Institute for Space Studies, says that the Big Bang theory offers scientific evidence for a biblical view of how the universe began. This respected scientist says that "science has proven that the universe exploded into being in a certain moment." He further explains that this sudden explosion points to a truth found in the very first sentence of the Bible: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

So we see that current scientific evidence for the Big Bang theory points toward a Creator God. And it affirms something King David wrote several thousand years ago: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalms 19:1).

Adapted from Know Why You Believe by Paul Little.

[Comment: Looking at it, the same criticism of how The Lord could always be there (from the beginning), equally applies to the atoms behind the Big Bang. Maybe The Lord existed before the laws of Science were put into place?...Whoa! Mind blowing! Beyond my comprehension anyway(!) - Webmaster]

From Christianity

The relation of the early church to the career and intentions of Jesus

The first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, have a literary relation to one another and are hence called Synoptic. Mark was probably used by Matthew and Luke. John, differing in both pattern and content, appears richer in theological interpretation but in detail may preserve good historical information.

Synoptic Gospels

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke in the New Testament. Since the 1780s, the first three books of the New Testament have been called the Synoptic Gospels because they are so similar in structure, content, and wording that they can easily be set side by side to provide a synoptic comparison of their content. (The Gospel of John has a different arrangement and offers a somewhat different perspective on Christ.) The striking similarities between the first three Gospels prompt questions regarding the actual literary relationship that exists between them. This question, called the Synoptic problem, has been elaborately studied in modern times.

From Christianity

Church and minorities

The tendency to develop an identifiable Christian culture is apparent even where Christian minorities live in a non-Christian environment--i.e., in an environment the life of which has been shaped and is characterised by a non-Christian religion. This is the case with most Christian churches in Asia and Africa.

In some countries Christian minorities have had to struggle for their existence and recognition, and there are cases of persecutions of Christians. On the other hand, in some cases the situation of Christian minorities is ideally suited to demonstrate to outsiders the peculiar style of life of a Christian culture. This is particularly advantageous for the church within a caste state, in which the church itself has developed into a caste, with special extrinsic characteristics in clothing and customs. An example of this phenomenon is the Mar Thoma Church of South India.

A special problem presents itself through the coexistence of racially different Christian cultures in racially mixed states. The influence of the Christian black churches, especially of Baptist denominations, has been thoroughly imprinted upon the culture of North American blacks. The churches themselves were founded through the missionary work of white Baptist churches but became independent of their mother churches or were established as autonomous churches within the framework of the Baptist denomination. A similar situation exists in South Africa, where white congregations and separate black congregations have been established within the white mission churches; independent messianic black churches have appeared outside the older organised congregations. In the 20th century much tension exists in this area.

On the one hand, the Christian Church has from the beginning urged the overcoming of racism. In the early church, racism was unknown; the Jewish synagogues allowed black proselytes. The first Jewish proselyte mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles was a governmental administrator from Ethiopia, who was baptised by the Apostle Philip. The early congregations in Alexandria included many Ethiopians and blacks. Among the evangelising churches, the Portuguese Catholic mission in principle did not recognise differences between races--whoever was baptised became a "human being" and became a member not only of the Christian congregation but also of the Christian society and was allowed to marry another Christian of any race. In contrast to this practice, the Catholic mission of the Spaniards introduced the separation of races under the term casticismo (purity of the Castilian heritage) in the American mission regions and sometimes restricted marriage between Castilian Spanish immigrants and native Christians. Like the Portuguese in Africa and Brazil, the French Catholic mission in Canada and in the regions around the Great Lakes in North America did not prohibit marriage of whites with Indians but tolerated and even encouraged it during the 17th and 18th centuries.

From Christianity

Scripture translations

The translation of the Holy Scriptures has constituted a basic part of mission. During the Middle Ages few could read the Latin Bible. Within 80 years of the invention of printing in the West, however, Reformation leaders such as Luther and Calvin focused on the Word of God. Their cardinal principle remained that each should be able to read the Bible in his own tongue. The result was the development of education and literacy. The printing press greatly aided Protestantism, and widespread literacy again became the hallmark of a civilised society.

In the 20th century most of the world's people speak one of about 75 primary languages. A small minority speak one of 450 secondary languages, and more than 4,400 other languages are in use. Through Christian world mission, printed Scriptures have become available in the mother tongues of almost 99 percent of the world's people. That unprecedented accomplishment marks the greatest achievement in the history of written communications. Bibles are available in more than 300 languages, complete New Testaments in nearly 700 languages, and some portion of the Scriptures is available in 1,000 other languages. The translation effort, most of which has occurred during the past 200 years, has in many cases reduced a language to writing for the first time. The effort involved the production of grammars and dictionaries of these languages as well as scriptural translations, and an additional benefit has been the written preservation of the cultural heritage by native speakers of the language.

Bible societies, including the United Bible Societies (1946), have coordinated and aided the translation work of missionaries in this task for almost 200 years. Wycliffe Bible Translators (1936) concentrated its work among the language groups having the smallest numbers of speakers. From 1968 Roman Catholics and the United Bible Societies have coordinated their efforts and cooperated in translation and production wherever possible.

Christianity, unlike some of the other world religions, is a translating faith. In that area of God's mission the chief work in recent centuries has come from the Protestant community and has been offered as a gift to the church universal. This constitutes one of the great contributions of Christian mission to the world.

(W.R.H.)

From Jesus Christ

Non-Christian sources

Non-Christian sources are meagre and contribute nothing to the history of Jesus that is not already known from the Christian tradition. The mention of Jesus' execution in the Annals of the Roman historian Tacitus (XV, 44), written about AD 110, is, nevertheless, worthy of note. In his account of the persecution of Christians under the emperor Nero, which was occasioned by the burning of Rome (AD 64), the Emperor, in order to rid himself of suspicion, blamed the fire on the so-called Christians, who were already hated among the people. Tacitus writes in explanation: "The name is derived from Christ, whom the procurator Pontius Pilate had executed in the reign of Tiberius." The "temporarily suppressed pernicious superstition" to which Jesus had given rise in Judaea soon afterward had spread as far as Rome. Tacitus does not speak of Jesus but, rather, of Christ (originally the religious title "Messiah," but used very early among Christians outside Palestine as a proper name for Jesus). The passage only affords proof of the ignominious end (crucifixion) of Jesus as the founder of a religious movement and illustrates the common opinion of that movement in Rome. An enquiry of the governor of Asia Minor, Pliny the Younger, in his letter to the emperor Trajan (c. AD 111) about how he should act in regard to the Christians (Epistle 10, 96ff.) comes from the same period. Christians are again described as adherents of a crude superstition, who sang hymns to Christ "as to a god." Nothing is said of his earthly life, and the factual information in the letter undoubtedly stems from Christians.

Another Roman historian, Suetonius, remarked in his life of the emperor Claudius (Vita Claudii 25:4; after AD 100): "He [Claudius] expelled the Jews, who had on the instigation of Chrestus continually been causing disturbances, from Rome." This may refer to turmoils occasioned among the Jews of Rome by the intrusion of Christianity into their midst. But the information must have reached the author in a completely garbled form or was understood by him quite wrongly to mean that this "Chrestus" had at that time appeared in Rome as a Jewish agitator. Claudius' edict of expulsion (AD 49) is also mentioned in Acts 18:2.

Josephus, the Jewish historian at the court of Domitian who has depicted the history of his people and the events of the Jewish-Roman war (66-70), only incidentally remarks about the stoning in AD 62 of "James, the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ . . ." (Antiquities XX, 200). He understandably uses the proper name "Jesus" first (for as a Jew he knows that "Christ" is a translation of "Messiah"), but he adds, though qualified by a derogatory "so-called," the second name that was familiar in Rome. (Some scholars have suggested, however, that this reference was a later Christian insertion.) Scholars also have questioned the authenticity of a second passage in the same work, known as the "Testimony of Flavius" (XVIII, 63ff.), which is generally thought to contain at least some statements, apparently later insertions, that summarise Christian teaching about Jesus.

In the Talmud, a compendium of Jewish law, lore, and commentary, only a few statements of the rabbis (Jewish religious teachers) of the 1st and 2nd centuries come into consideration. Containing mostly polemics or Jewish apologetics, they reveal an acquaintance with the Christian tradition but include several divergent legendary motifs as well. The picture of Jesus offered in these writings may be summarised as follows: born the (according to some interpretations, illegitimate) son of a man called Panther, Jesus (Hebrew: Yeshu) worked magic, ridiculed the wise, seduced and stirred up the people, gathered five disciples about him, and was hanged (crucified) on the eve of the Passover. The Toledot Yeshu ("Life of Jesus"), an embellished collection of such assertions, circulated among Jews during the Middle Ages in several versions.

These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and on inadequate grounds at the end of the 18th, during the 19th, and at the beginning of the 20th centuries.

Reliability of the New Testament Documents

Author/Book	DateWritten	Earliest Copies	Time Gap	# of Copies
Herodotus History	480-425 B.C	A.D. 900	1,350 yrs.	8
Thucydides History	460-400 B.C.	A.D. 900	1,300 yrs.	8
Plato	400 B.C.	A.D. 900	1,300 yrs	7
Demosthenes	300 B.C.	A.D. 1,100	1,400 yrs.	200
Caesar Gallic Wars	100-44 B.C.	A.D. 900	1,000 yrs.	10
Livy History of Rome	59 B.C. - A.D. 17	4th & 10th cent.	400 - 1,000 yrs.	1 partial 19 copies
Tacitus Annals	A.D. 100	A.D. 1,000	1,000 yrs.	20
Pliny Secundus Natural History	A.D. 61-113	A.D. 850	750 yrs.	7

New Testament	A.D. 50-100	A.D. 114 (fragments)	50-60 yrs.	5366
		A.D. 200 (books)	100 yrs.
		A.D. 250 (most of the N.T.)	150 yrs.
		A.D. 325 (complete N.T.)	225 yrs.

for further study

Evidence That Demands A Verdict, by Josh McDowell
General Introduction To The Bible, by Geisler & Nix
Halley's Bible Handbook, by Henry Halley
Standing On The Rock, by James Montgomery Boice
The New Testament Documents, by F.F. Bruce

(excerpted from FOUNDATIONS OF OUR FAITH - The Bible - Harvest Ministries Website)

VISION (Heb. hazon, hizzayon, marah, Gr. horama, optasia). It is impossible to draw a sharp line of demarcation between dreams and visions. They came under various circumstances, in men's waking hours (Dan 10:7; Acts 9:7), by day (10:3) or by night (Gen 46:2). In the OT both "writing" and "nonwriting" prophets were recipients of visions (Isa 1:1; Obad 1; Nah 1:1; and 2 Sam 7:17; 1 Kings 22:17-19; 2 Chron 9:29). With perhaps one exception (Num 24:4), they were given only to holy men in the service of God. In the NT, Luke especially manifests great interest in visions (Luke 1:22; Acts 9:10; 10:3, 10ff.; 18:9). Biblical visions concerned both immediate situations (Gen 15:1-2; Acts 12:7) and more distant ones as seen in the writings of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Micah, Daniel, and John. In the OT false prophets feigned visions and were denounced (Jer 14:14; 23:16; Ezek 13:7).

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

DREAM From the time of Jacob onward God's revelations were more often in dreams (Gen 28:10-17) than in theophany (e.g., Gen 18). He could reveal his will in dreams today, but the written Word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit have made dreams of this sort unnecessary for added revelation. (Contrast Num 12:6 with Jude 8.) Often in ancient times God spoke in dreams to persons outside the chosen family--e.g., Abimelech (Gen 20:3), Laban (31:24), the butler and baker of Pharaoh (40:8-19), Pharaoh himself (41:36), and Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 2:1-45; 4:5-33). In these dreams the meaning was clear enough to need no interpretation, as in those of Abimelech and Laban, or else God caused one of his servants to interpret the meaning, as in the latter cases. One principle of interpretation seems quite evident: When the symbol is in the natural realm, the interpretation is in the human realm; e.g., when Joseph dreamed of the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing to him, his brothers immediately knew the meaning as referring to his father, mother, and brothers (Gen 37:9-11). When the symbol is in the human realm (e.g., Dan 7:8), the interpretation is in the spiritual realm. Dreams may lead men astray, but God's Word tells how to deal with this situation (Deut 13:1-3; cf. 1 John 4:1-6). God spoke directly to Mary through Gabriel (Luke 1:26-35); an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream (Matt 1:20-24).

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

CISTERN (Heb. bor or bor). An artificial tank or reservoir dug in the earth or rock for the collection and storage of rain water, or, sometimes, of spring water brought from a distance by a conduit. A cistern is distinguished from a pool by always being covered. Cisterns were very numerous in Palestine. The long, dry, rainless summers, lasting from May to September, and the small annual precipitation, together with a lack of natural springs, made the people largely dependent on rain water. The temple area in Jerusalem had at least 37 great cisterns, one of them holding between two and three million gallons (8 and 11 million liters). Public rock-cut cisterns were made within the city walls so that the inhabitants could hold out in time of siege.

Besides the large public cisterns, there were many smaller private ones. Ancient sites are honeycombed with them. All cisterns had one or more openings for drawing water to the surface. Empty cisterns were sometimes used as prisons. Joseph was cast into one (Gen 37:22), and Jeremiah was let down into one with a muddy bottom (Jer 38:6). Zechariah 9:11 alludes to the custom of confining prisoners in an empty cistern.

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

GOAD (Heb. dorevan, malmadh, Gr. kentron). An 8-foot (2 1/2 m.) wooden pole, having at one end a spade for removing mud from the plow and at the other a sharp point for prodding oxen. It was a formidable weapon in the hands of Shamgar (Judg 3:31). For oxen to "kick against the goads" (cf. Acts 26:14) pictures useless resistance to a greater power.

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

HELL The real existence of hell is irrefutably taught in Scripture as both a place of the wicked dead and a condition of retribution for the unredeemed (e.g., Ezek 3:18; Dan 12:2). Sheol, which is in one sense the undifferentiated place of all the dead (cf. Job 3:13-22), is in another sense the special doom of the wicked (Ps 49:14). It is necessary to follow the NIV footnotes in such references, for if KJV was inaccurate in translating Sheol as "hell" (e.g., Ps 9:17), NIV is equally inaccurate in formalising it as "the grave."

The nature of hell is indicated by the repeated reference to eternal punishment (Matt 25:46), eternal fire (18:8, Jude 7), everlasting chains (Jude 6), the pit of the Abyss (Rev 9:2, 11), outer darkness (Matt 8:12), the wrath of God (Rom 2:5), second death (Rev 21:8), eternal destruction from the face of God (2 Thess 1:9), and eternal sin (Mark 3:29).

The duration is explicitly indicated in the NT. The word "eternal" (aionios) is derived from the verb aion, signifying an "age" or "duration." Scripture speaks of two aeons, or ages: the present age and the age to come (Matt 12:32; Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30; Eph 1:21). The present age--this world-- is always contrasted with the age to come as temporal, while the future age will be endless. As the everlasting life of the believer is to be endless, just so the retributive aspect of hell refers to the future infinite age. In every reference in which aionios applies to the future punishment of the wicked, it indisputably denotes endless duration (Matt 18:8; 25:41, 46; Mark 3:29; 2 Thess 1:9; Heb 6:2; Jude 7).

Three basic ideas are associated with the concept of hell: absence of righteousness (Mark 3:29), separation from God (John 3:36), and judgement (Matt 8:12; 25:31-46).

HEAVEN (Heb. shamayim, Gr. ouranos). 1. Cosmologically, one of two great divisions of the universe, the earth and the heavens (Gen 1:1; 14:19); or one of three--heaven, earth, and the waters under the earth (Exod 20:4). In the visible heavens are the stars and planets (Gen 1:14-17; Ezek 32:7-8). The term "heaven of heavens" (Deut 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; Ps 148:4) is "highest heavens" in NIV. 2. The abode of God (Gen 28:17; Ps 80:14; Isa 66:1; Matt 5:12; 2 Cor 12:2) and of the good angels (Matt 24:36). It is the place where the redeemed will someday be (5:12; 6:20; Eph 3:15), where the Redeemer has gone and intercedes for the saints, and from where he will someday come for his own (1 Thess 4:16). 3. The inhabitants of heaven (Luke 15:18; Rev 18:20).

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

DRAGON The Hebrew words tannim and tannin, appearing 13 and 14 times respectively in the OT, are translated in different passages and versions as "dragon," "jackal," "sea-monster," "serpent," "whale," and "wolf." They were evidently large creatures and of frightening aspect. In the NT, Satan is referred to as a dragon (Rev 12:3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17; 13:2, 4, 11; 16:13; 20:2).

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

LAMB OF GOD Jesus was called the Lamb of God by John the Baptist (John 1:29, 36), emphasising the redemptive character of the work of Christ. More than a score of times in the Book of Revelation the lamb is used as a symbol of Christ. The Passover lamb (Exod 12:3-6) became in time a picture of redemption from sin (1 Cor 5:7). The substitutionary use of the unblemished lamb in sacrifice led to the idea of the Suffering Servant, who as a lamb died in the place of sinners (Isa 53:4-7).

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

ALLEGORY (Gr. allegoreuein, from allos, other, and agoreuein, to speak in the assembly). Literary device used extensively in Scripture (e.g., Isa 5:1-7). To speak allegorically is to set forth one thing in the image of another, the principal subject being inferred from the figure rather than by direct statement. Clarity of inference differentiates between allegory and parable, because the latter usually requires an interpretation for the teaching that it parallels. In the allegory in Galatians 4:24 Isaac, the child of promise, typifies the Christian who is justified in Christ and is free to love and serve his Father; while Ishmael, the child of contrivance, typifies the legalist who is under the law and is bound to serve it and to seek justification in obedience to it.

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

PARABLE (Gr. parabole, likeness). Derived from the Greek verb paraballo, composed of the preposition para meaning "beside" and the verb ballo, "to cast." A parable is thus a comparison of two objects for the purpose of teaching, usually in the form of a story.

Although the word properly belongs to the NT and is used frequently there, it does occur several times in the OT. There it is the translation of the Hebrew mashal, used in the OT in several senses. It is seen more as a prophetic figurative discourse (Num 23:7, 18 KJV). Ezekiel uses the word much as one would today with the idea of similitude or parable (Ezek 17:2; 24:3). A writer in Psalms treats the word as a poem (Ps 78:2). Finally it is associated with the riddle or "dark saying" (49:4; Ezek 17:2; 20:49). Five times the NT uses the Greek word paroimia for parable. This may be synonymous with parabole or it may refer to a didactic, symbolic, or figurative utterance (John 10:6 KJV). Because of varied definitions of a parable, scholars have counted 79, 71, 59, 39, 37, and 33 parables in the NT.

In comparing the parable with the similar figures of speech, one must bear in mind that often the parable contains elements of these other figures. For instance, there are often elements in the parable that must be treated as allegorical interpretation.

While Christ did not invent the parable, it is significant that he is the only one who used it in the NT. At one time in his ministry it was his only method of speaking to the masses (Matt 13:34). It is interesting to note when Christ began to use this methodology. So abrupt was the change in his form of teaching that his disciples asked him why he did this (13:10). It was an effective method of revealing truth to the spiritual and ready mind and at the same time of concealing it from others (13:11). Christ came as Israel's King, and only after they had rejected him did he employ this form of imparting spiritual truth (13:11).

The following classification of parables is adapted from A. B. Bruce, The Parabolic Teaching of Christ, pp. 8ff.:

I. Didactic Parables

A. Nature and Development of the Kingdom

1. The Sower (Matt 13:3-8; Mark 4:4-8; Luke 8:5-8)

2. The Tares (Matt 13:24-30)

3. The Mustard Seed (Matt 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19)

4. The Leaven (Matt 13:33; Luke 13:20-21)

5. The Hidden Treasure (Matt 13:44)

6. The Pearl of Great Price (Matt 13:45-46)

7. The Drag Net (Matt 13:47-50)

8. The Blade, the Ear, and the Full Corn (Mark 4:26-29)

B. Service and Rewards

1. The Labourers in the Vineyard (Matt 20:1-16)

2. The Talents (Matt 25:14-30)

3. The Pounds (Luke 19:11-27)

4. The Unprofitable Servants (Luke 17:7-10)

C. Prayer

1. The Friend at Midnight (Luke 11:5-8)

2. The Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1-8)

D. Love for Neighbour: The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37)

E. Humility

1. The Lowest Seat at the Feast (Luke 14:7-11)

2. The Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:9-14)

F. Worldly Wealth

1. The Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-9)

2. The Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21)

3. The Great Supper (Luke 14:15-24)

II. Evangelic Parables

A. God's Love for the Lost

1. The Lost Sheep (Matt 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7)

2. The Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10)

3. The Lost Son (Luke 15:11-32)

B. Gratitude of the Redeemed: The Two Debtors (Luke 7:41-43)

III. Prophetic and Judicial Parables

A. Watchfulness for Christ's Return

1. The Ten Virgins (Matt 25:1-13)

2. The Faithful and Unfaithful Servants (Matt 24:45-51; Luke 12:42-48)

3. The Watchful Porter (Mark 13:34-37)

B. Judgment on Israel and Within the Kingdom

1. The Two Sons (Matt 21:28-32)

2. The Wicked Husbandmen (Matt 21:33-44; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-18)

3. The Barren Fig Tree (Luke 13:6-9)

4. The Marriage Feast of the King's Son (Matt 22:1-14)

5. The Unforgiving Servant (Matt 18:23-35)

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

DUST (Heb. avaq, dust; aphar, dust; Gr. koniortos, dust; chous, clay, earth). In the warm and dry climate of the ancient Near East, dust was a reality that prompted such practices as washing the feet on entering a home (John 13:1-17). Symbolically (1) throwing dust on the head was a common sign of mourning or repentance (Job 2:12; Rev 18:19). (2) Shaking off dust from the feet was a sign of having no further responsibility for the area where the dust was picked up, thus leaving that area to God's judgment (Matt 10:14; Luke 9:5; 10:11; Acts 13:51). In referring to human beings as made of dust (1 Cor 15:47-49) Paul was echoing a strong theme of the OT where man is said to be made from dust and to return to dust (Gen 2:7; 3:19; Job 4:19; 17:16).

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

ASTROLOGY, ASTROLOGER In warning his people against Canaanite superstition (Deut 18:10-13), Moses made no reference to astrology or any sort of fortune-telling by means of the stars, for, though this later came into western Palestine, it was essentially a Babylonian or Mesopotamian study. Although the translation "astrologer" appears several times in the English Bible (e.g., Dan 2:2; 5:7 NIV), the only unequivocal reference to the practice and its practitioners is found in Isaiah 47:13 ("those stargazers who make predictions month by month") and in Jeremiah 10:2 (where people are urged not to be "terrified by signs in the sky"). Babylonians and Egyptians pondered the movement of the stars, taking note of variations and conjunctions, so as to predict events on earth. The Hebrew word ashshaph (e.g., in Dan 1:20; 2:2, 10, 27; 4:7; 5:7, 11, 17) has often been translated "astrologer," though not by the NIV. It refers to the general practice of "magic" or the casting of spells and pronouncing of "charms." The NIV does, however, use "astrologer" to represent "Chaldean" in some of these same verses as well as others (e.g., Dan 2:2, 4-5, 10; 5:7, 11), a needless restriction of meaning for a word that covers, for example, philosophy as well as astrology and, in general, refers to educated or knowledgeable people. [Webmaster Comment: Just to clarify, it's saying it's a narrow definition of the word "Chaldean", not an endorsement of astrology.]

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

ASTRONOMY While the word astronomy is not found in the Bible, there are many passages that refer to some aspect of the subject. God made the stars (Gen 1:16), knows their number and names (Ps 147:4), and is glorified by them (Ps 19).

There are hundreds of biblical references to stars, sun, moon, and planets. Evidently the early Bible writers were much better acquainted with the subject of astronomy than are many modern people. When God wished to tell Abraham how numerous his descendants would be, he took him out and showed him the stars (Gen 15:5). Later God compared the number of Abraham's descendants not only with the stars, but also with the sand on the seashore (22:17). Modern discoveries have proved that the total number of stars is approximately equal to the number of grains of sand on the seashore, a number so large it is impossible for the human mind to comprehend.

The Bible refers in a most striking manner to the height of the stars--that is, to their distance from the earth: "Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars!" (Job 22:12). It turns out that the distances to the most distant stars known are more than one hundred thousand times the diameter of our solar system.

The biblical writers were aware that the stars differ greatly from each other (e.g., 1 Cor 15:41). Astronomers have verified that the stars have different colours, size, density, temperature, and total amount of light emitted. Israel was warned not to worship the sun, the moon, and the stars (Deut 4:19). In spite of such warnings, sun worship often prevailed. Asa and Josiah, kings of Judah, found it necessary to take away the sun images that had been kept at the entrance to the temple.

While there is little evidence in the Bible that the Hebrew people had indulged very much in the study of astronomy, it is very clear that they recognised a sublime order in the movements of the heavenly bodies. They observed carefully the daily rising of the sun, its majestic movement across the sky, and its final setting in the west. This is vividly portrayed in the story of the battle with the Amorites as recorded in Joshua 10, when the sun stood still in the middle of the sky. Many theories have been proposed in an attempt to give a scientific explanation to this "long day of Joshua." None is completely satisfactory, and they will not be discussed here. It is sufficient to add that this is one of many miracles recorded in the Bible to show us that God is the ruler and sustainer of the universe.

More remarkable than the long day of Joshua when the sun apparently stood still, is the story of the return of the shadow on the sundial of Ahaz. In this case the Lord gave King Hezekiah a sign saying, "I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz" (Isa 38:8). This is, indeed, a remarkable miracle. If taken literally, this means not only that the earth stopped rotating on its axis, but that it reversed its direction of rotation for a short time. Again the scientists have no answer to explain such an event.

There are a number of allusions in the Bible to eclipses of the sun and of the moon (Isa 13:10; Joel 2:31; Amos 8:9). Calculated eclipses of the sun that occurred in Palestine during OT times are as follows: July 31, 1063 B.C.; August 15, 831; June 15, 763; May 18, 603; May 28, 585. Very likely the prophets Amos and Joel witnessed the eclipse of August 15, 831. Such an eclipse is vividly described by Amos: "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight" (Amos 8:9).

The subject of astrology has been connected with astronomy since early times. The reference in Judges 5:20 no doubt refers to the influence of the stars in the lives of people. The writer states, "From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera." However, the Hebrew people seemed to have had little to do with the subject. In the Book of Daniel there are repeated statements made concerning the astrologers. It is to be noted that Daniel and his three friends, though closely associated with astrologers, are always mentioned as keeping themselves separated and undefiled. Again and again when the magicians and the astrologers were unable to perform a task, it was Daniel who was able to do important things for the king. Thus it is apparent that the Bible condemns the pseudo-science of astrology.

Probably the most fascinating part of biblical astronomy concerns the star of Bethlehem (Matt 2). This miraculous appearance, which is called a star, aroused the curiosity of the wise men to such an extent that they followed it for many miles until finally it pointed out the exact place where they wished to go. Although a variety of theories have been proposed, no attempt by modern science has been able to explain this miracle.

There is much evidence in the Bible that many of the constellations were known to the writers. Kesil (Orion) is mentioned in Job 9:9; Isaiah 13:10; Amos 5:8. Ash or Ayish occurs in Job 9:9; 38:32. Also found in Job 38:32 is the term Mazzarot.

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV

Nonconformist (or Dissenter), a Protestant who did not conform to the disciplines or rites of the Anglican Church. The term covers a number of groups including Catholic recusants. The Puritans wished to purify the Church from within while the Presbyterians were specific in their demands for the replacement of organisation by bishops for a system of elected elders. The separatists under Robert Browne left the Anglican Church entirely. All Nonconformists were subject to penalties; the Pilgrim Fathers emigrated to escape persecution. During the Civil War Nonconformists (especially Congregationalists and Baptists) fought on the Parliamentary side and the Restoration Settlement (1660) enacted harsh measures against all Nonconformist groups. The 1662 Act of Uniformity deprived them of freedom of worship and subsequent persecution led to a further exodus to North America. In 1681 Pennsylvania was founded as a refuge for Quakers. The Toleration Act (1689) brought some improvements in England, but until the 19th century Nonconformists were debarred from holding political office.

Excerpted from The Oxford Interactive Encyclopedia