In What Year Was Jesus Born?

 Most people would assume that Jesus was born in the year 1 A.D., but that is probably not correct.  Most scholars and historians (including conservative ones) place the year of the birth of Jesus around 5 B.C.  Of course B.C. stands for before Christ, so how could Christ be born before Christ?  

It seems that when the calendar was set up it was miscalculated by about five years.  Herod the Great reigned from 37 B.C.-4 B.C. and Jesus was born during his reign.  Since Herod died in 4 B.C., Jesus had to be born in 4 B.C. or earlier.  So Jesus was probably born around 5 B.C. 

What Are The Keys To Defending The Christian Faith?

 The defense of the faith is known as apologetics.  So what are the keys to doing Christian apologetics?  

(1) Learn the Bible

(2) Learn how to think

If you know the Bible and you know how to think, you can be a good Christian apologist. 

The Way, The Truth, And The Life

 (John 14:6)"Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me." (ESV) 

With the I am statement, Jesus is claiming to be God, referring back to Exodus 3:14.  God the Father, God the Son,  and God the Holy Spirit are co-equal and co-eternal.  Through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, Jesus is the way to the Father.  He is the only way to heaven, all other ways lead to hell.  

Since Jesus is God he is the source of truth.  Truth is rooted in the character and law of God.  Everything Jesus says is true, including the statement in this verse.  Jesus is the life, he gives eternal life to all who believe in him.  

Salvation is found in Christ alone.  Apart from Christ you do not have the way, you do not have the truth, and you do not have life.  By rejecting Jesus you are left with death, falsehood, and no way to heaven. 

Psalm 8:5 (A Bible Translation Comparison)

 (ESV)"Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor."  

(LSB)"Yet You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You crown him with glory and majesty!" 

(CSB)"You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor."  

The main difference in these translations is how they translate the Hebrew word elohim.  The term elohim can mean God, gods, or heavenly beings/angels.  The ESV and LSB are in basic agreement with heavenly beings and angels,  while the CSB translates it as God.  Psalm 8:5 is quoted by the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 2:7.  

(Hebrews 2:7)"You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor," (ESV) 

All the translations have angels in Hebrews 2:7 where Psalm 8:5 is quoted as a messianic prophecy about Jesus.  The author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 8:5 from the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) which has angels.  

(ESV) English Standard Version

(LSB) Legacy Standard Bible

(CSB) Christian Standard Bible

Understanding Islamic Terminology

 Here are some of the key terms of Islam along with some basic definitions.  

Islam-submission to Allah

Muslim-one who submits to Allah

Qur'an-"the recitation", Scripture of Islam

Allah-Arabic name for God

Muhammad-chief prophet of Islam

Hadith-teaching of Muhammad

Surah-chapter of the Qur'an

Sunni-largest group in Islam

Shiite-second largest sect of Islam

Ayatollah-spiritual leader (Shiite) 

Caliph-main leaders of Islam

Imam-leader

Mosque-place of worship

Mecca-birthplace of Muhammad, holiest city

Jihad-holy war

Fatwa-religious decree

Allahu Akbar-God is great

Shirk-unforgivable sin, deny oneness of Allah

Tawhid-refers to oneness of Allah

Sharia-Islamic law

Shahada-confession of Muslims, There is only one God worthy of worship and Muhammad is his prophet

The Origin Of The Soul

 There are two main views held by Christians in regards to the origin of the soul.  They are creationism and traducianism.  Both of these views are held by fine Bible teachers.  

Creationism- This view holds that God creates the human soul directly, out of nothing, and joins it to the body sometime between conception and birth (most would say at conception).  In this view God is the primary cause and he does not use the secondary cause of human procreation in creating the soul.  Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin held this view.  

Traducianism- This view holds that the soul as well as the body is transmitted from parents to children through the procreation process.  God is the primary cause of the creation of the soul but he uses the secondary cause of human procreation to bring it about.  This view was held by Martin Luther and Jonathan Edwards.  

In support of creationism Psalm 127:3 says, "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward." Psalm 139:13 says, "you knitted me together in my mother's womb." And Isaiah 42:5 says, God gives breath and spirit to people.  

I favor traducianism myself.  Genesis 5:3 says Adam fathered a son in his own likeness and image.  This probably includes the soul.  Genesis 2:1-3 says God finished and rested from his creation work.  This would seem to indicate that he would not create the human soul out of nothing.  Finally there is the transmission of sin from Adam to all other humans (Romans 5:12-21).  Traducianism explains this better than creationism.  In creationism God would seem to directly create a human soul that is sinful.  In traducianism the soul and body which are both sinful, are transmitted through human procreation.  God often uses secondary causes to accomplish his purpose. 

Does Genesis 1:26 Refer To The Trinity?

 (Genesis 1:26)"Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.  And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (ESV) 

Some Christians see the words "us" and "our" in the first part of Genesis 1:26 as referring to God as Trinitarian.  Other Christians reject this interpretation, believing it does not refer to the Trinity.  

Some interpreters hold that "us" and "our" refer to the angelic court.  But angels were not involved in the creation of man, God alone is the Creator.  Also man is not made in the image of angels.  Man is made in the image and likeness of God.  Others view the plurality in the verse as referring to majesty or intensity.  

The phrase, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness is probably a hint of the Trinity.  The doctrine of the Trinity, one God in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is fully revealed in the New Testament.