HNQ

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. (ESV) Mark 1:12–13 In this verse, the Holy Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by ...

Galatians 5:17 says, "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh." This seems to suggest a deliberate opposition between the two. My question is: Was this opposition between the Spirit and the flesh part of God's original design from the beg...

1 John 2:15 (ESV): "Do not love the world or the things in the world..." Many Christian teachings warn against loving "the world," often interpreted as a system opposed to God. But since the body is part of our earthly existence and shares in physical desires (e.g., lust of the flesh), is the b...

In trying to understand various trinitarians theologians like Karl Rahner/Karl Barth, the concept of "subsisting" often comes up. I'm really not sure what to make of it, initially I imagined it means (because of the "sub" prefix) what is the substance something is made of, or more likely a qualit...

In the book of Genesis, Adam speaks directly with God—receiving commands, instructions, and even judgments. This kind of divine communication is often associated with the role of a prophet throughout the Bible. Yet, Adam is not explicitly called a prophet in Scripture, nor is he commonly regarded...

Many Catholic churches across the world have an image of a pelican with its chicks. The pelican is depicted as cutting its heart open with the beak, with blood dripping down. Understandably, it symbolises Christ. What was the source of this image? Was there any scriptural base, or was it a code, ...

As far as I can tell, Christians are morally obligated to stay faithful to their beliefs at any cost, even under pain of martyrdom. However, what if it's someone else's life at stake? For example, if someone holds an innocent bystander at gunpoint and threatens to kill them unless you worship a f...

Mystery religions: Hydria by the Varrese Painter (c. 340 BCE) depicting Eleusinian scenes Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries (Greek: μυστήρια), were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates (mystai). The main...

Recent personal experiences have made a close relative question his Christian beliefs to a far extent. They still believe in the possibility of an all knowing God, or a concept of an entity that designs nature's outcomes. The question thus goes, are they still Christians, and if they are not, are...

There some Christians who consider, for various reasons, the KJV to be the only legitimate translation of the Bible.I am wondering if there are any movements like that surrounding another translation, whether to English or some other language. To be specific, I'm not asking about the textus recep...

The Bible teaches that we should seek truth and avoid falsehoods. However, when it comes to things like the shape of the earth, most Christians rely on information from governments or scientists, since none of us have personally verified it by traveling to space. If a Christian sincerely believes...

I want to be a scientist, but I don’t know if the Bible says anything against women being scientists. It has said stuff like women should "be quiet" and "submit" (e.g. 1 Timothy 2:11). I know that there are many interpretations of that. I want to know if a woman can, in good conscience, pursue a ...

Revelation 1:4&5 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before the throne; vs5) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness.... Obviously there are three pers...

John 17:15 I pray NOT that thou shouldest take them out of this world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. Vs 20) Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; This prayer followed Jesus' declaration in the previous chapter of thi...

In the Catholic Church there are ways of hearing Confessions that are not "face to face" and are even very anonymous. Canon law 964 in the Latin Church states: §1. The proper place to hear sacramental confessions is a church or oratory. §2. The conference of bishops is to establish norms regardi...

Introduction Christian Trinitarians believe "that there is one eternal being of God – indivisible, infinite. This one being of God is shared by three co-equal, co-eternal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit". The Hebrew bible book of Deuteronomy makes a few statements about the oneness o...

In Philippians 2:6–7 (ESV), Paul writes of Christ: “Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Some interpret this "emptying" (Greek: kenóō) to mean that Chris...

In Genesis 1, we observe that God the Father appears to be the one speaking creation into existence (“God said…”) and the Spirit of God is described as “hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2). However, the Son is not seen engaging in any form of activity in the narrative. This seems puzzling in ...

Old Earth Creationists (OECs) interpret the "days" in Genesis 1 as representing long periods (e.g., millions of years) rather than literal 24-hour days, to align with scientific evidence for an ancient Earth. What scriptural passages and theological arguments do OECs use to support this non-liter...

In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul says: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (ESV) As someone who affirms the full divinity and sinlessness of Jesus, I’m trying to understand how He could be said to "become sin" without that im...

Astrology is often categorized as an occult practice in Christian theology, especially in Protestant and evangelical circles. I’m trying to understand the theological basis for this. Why is astrology — the practice of interpreting celestial bodies for guidance or insight — considered spiritually ...

St. Thomas Aquinas presents a good logical proof on how a being called god exists: He is what I assumed he said [this is in my own words]: Everything in the universe has a cause, without a cause nothing will take place [like Newton's first law]. If we try to question the existence of anything pr...

I looked at the Wikipedia page on the St. Thomas Christians, the oldest school of Indian Christians who follow the teachings of St. Thomas the Apostle, who had travelled to India to preach. However, I couldn’t find what their beliefs were from that page. Are they Trinitarian or Unitarian? Are the...

How did the early church fathers accepting the doctrine of the Trinity regard Christians who didn't accept the doctrine of the Trinity? By early I'm mean 2nd century or before. Constantine changes the picture of government interference. My understanding is they accepted them as Christians but he...

Studying the Bible as Jewish believer and have a hard time seeing Jesus as God. He was my messiah but I always prayed to God the father, so how do I see them as one person! The Shema reads Shema Israel, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI Echad! This is translated as "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the...

I might be making much ado about nothing and/or being nit-picky. However, was it an accepted custom amongst the Ancient Israelites to name their children Ishmael? I'm asking because in 2 Kings 25:25-27 and the Book of Jeremiah, it mentions a person named Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of E...

Introduction The Genesis narrative of the serpent tempting Adam and Eve and their subsequent expulsion from the Garden of Eve does not seem to indicate overtly that the character known as "Satan" or "the Devil" was involved in any way. The Hebrew bible likewise does not contain any explicit passa...

I was curious about all of your thoughts on the idea of "Believer's Baptism" found in the early church. For those who don't know, "Believer's Baptism" is the view that people who have put their faith in Christ are allowed to be baptized I was curious if anyone on this platform can show me early c...

In the narrative in which Moses parts the Red Sea, the Jews are fleeing the pursuing Egyptians, and are also able to successfully traverse the bottom of the sea. In popular depictions, the bottom of the sea is flat and sandy. However, modern bathymetric data shows that the floor of the Red Sea ...

Deuteronomy 18:21–22 says that if a prophet’s words do not come to pass, then the Lord has not spoken through them. This seems to suggest that fulfilled prophecy is a sign of true prophecy. Some Christians also believe that Satan does not know the future in the way God does (i.e., perfectly and c...

A recent question and an older question have accrued several answers with 'false' prophecies of Joseph Smith. Below is a compilation of them: D&C 84:2-5,31 Prophecy that the temple would be built in Missouri within Smith's Generation 2 Yea, the word of the Lord concerning his church, establishe...

In Genesis, Adam and Eve's disobedience resulted in death entering the world. Does Christian doctrine interpret human aging and physical decline as part of the curse resulting from the fall? Or was aging part of the natural human design even before sin? How have theologians historically interpret...

Some Christians hold the view that Jesus was the final prophet in a unique or ultimate sense. However, passages like 1 Corinthians 12:10 mention that the Holy Spirit gives some believers the gift of prophecy: "to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between s...

As I understand neoplatonism within Christianity (from this answer) all people are envisioned as being on a 'path', with a relationship with Christ at one end and the opposite at the other end. Where one is and what direction one is heading on that 'path' is indicated or determined somewhat by w...

Background Hebrews 7:3 makes the following startling statement about a character called "Melchizedek": Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he [Melchizedek] remains a priest forever Having no beginnin...

Matthew 26:26 (KJV): And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 (KJV): 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guil...

In many ethical and philosophical systems, a morally good action—such as a doctor inventing a cure for tuberculosis and saving countless lives—is considered unquestionably good. However, in Christian theology, particularly within Protestant and Catholic traditions, I’ve read that "good works" are...

Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, "You will know them by their fruits." This verse is often cited to identify genuine believers based on their actions and character. However, a recent incident in Minnesota where a self-professed evangelical Christian—who had even received an appointment—was involved in...

St. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 12:23: And such as we think to be the less honourable (ignobiliora) members (ατιμότερα) of the body, about these we put more abundant honour: and those that are our uncomely (inhonesta) parts (ασχήμονα) have more abundant comeliness (honestam, ευσχημοσύνην). Upon which...

There is a substantial number of people who self-identify as or are otherwise classified as "African-Americans" in the United States who consider themselves Christians. Were the ancestors of those "African-Americans" who were captured, mainly on the west coast of Africa, Christians when they were...

In 1 John 4:1–3, we are instructed to "test the spirits" and are told that "every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God." This passage seems to suggest that verbal confession of Jesus' incarnation is a reliable test for determining whether a spirit is from God....

I have the 2012 edition of the New American Bible published by Catholic Bible Press. It's rather interesting in that there are no quotation marks when God speaks, but there are quotation marks for human speech. For instance Genesis 1:3 says Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light....

This question relates somewhat to the one posted here: Are Indulgences Previously Granted by Popes Still in Effect Unless Specified Otherwise or Later Revoked? The following (which is part of a preparatory prayer for the Stations of the Cross devotion) is extracted from pg. 301 of Mary, Help of C...

Consider, for example, the prayer to one's Guardian Angel with specified indulgences (extracted from p. 269 of the 1909 book, Mary, Help of Christians: I know that presently, the Church does not specify partial indulgences anymore in terms of days; nevertheless, I would like to know: QUESTION: I...

It is reported that the Greek speaking Christians were using the Greek Septuagint as the inspired Old Testament Books during the time in question. The Septuagint includes the Apocrypha or as the Catholics call it, "the Deuterocanonical books that are inspired by God."

Christian doctrine—particularly in Protestant traditions—teaches that salvation is by grace alone through faith (e.g., Ephesians 2:8-9). However, Revelation 20:12 states that the dead are "judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books." How do Christians reconcile salvation by g...

In traditional Christianity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct persons, coequal, coeternal, of the same substance, and all fully divine. My understanding of the Jehovah's Witnesses is that they believe God the Father to be fully divine and eternal, but Jesus Christ is his first ...

Christian language often describes sin as a burden carried in the heart, and salvation as bringing peace or relief. Is there a recognized theological or scriptural basis for linking the guilt of sin with an internal “weight,” and the experience of salvation with a kind of emotional or spiritual l...

Who did it apply to in the time of Moses, then in the time of Christ what did Paul say about Gentiles also being cursed in their rebellion (disobedience)? (e.g. Romans 1:18-23 & 2:14-15 & 3:9). Does this mean that the curse rested not only upon the Jews, who had the written law, but also on all m...

Deuteronomy speaks several times of a curse attached to God’s law given to Moses, especially in the book of Deuteronomy (e.g. 11:26-30 & 27:4-26.) It is also mentioned elsewhere in the O.T. and Paul goes into this curse to help Christians avoid it (e.g. Galatians 3:10-12). In principle, the law ...