The Origin of New Year's Day
EVERY YEAR, the world pauses on January 1st to celebrate what is commonly called New Year’s Day. Fireworks explode across the night sky, crowds count down to midnight, glasses are raised in celebration, and many speak of “new beginnings.” On the surface, it appears harmless—after all, what could be wrong with acknowledging the start of another year? Yet when we examine the origin, symbolism, and timing of New Year’s Day through history and Scripture, a far more complex and so
1 day ago4 min read
From Jewish Jesus to Caesar's Christ?
[Early Christianity, The Empire, and the Modern Christ] HISTORY does not begin with stained glass or oil paint. It begins in soil, sweat and blood, in real life and spoken words, in laws enforced by the state, and in hope forged under pain and oppression. Jesus of Nazareth did not emerge from a European imagination. He was born into a colonized Jewish world—one shaped by covenant, Scripture, fear, expectation, and resistance. Bethlehem was a Judean village under surveillance.
3 days ago3 min read
Paul in Romans 14: 'Esteeming One Day Above Another'?
[Is Romans14:5–6 a Free Pass to Abandon God’s Sabbath and Holy Days?] Romans 14:5–6 is often quoted as a sweeping permission slip—proof, some say, that God’s Sabbath and biblical holy days are optional, subjective, even obsolete. But a careful reading of Paul’s words, within their historical, literary, and theological context, reveals something very different. Far from dismantling God’s holy time, Romans 14 actually defends unity amid non-commanded practices. It does not eras
3 days ago3 min read
A Return to Baalism: 'The Generation that Forgot God'
THE Book of Judges records a sobering indictment of God's people: “There arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10). This was not a pagan nation ignorant of God, but the children of those who had seen miracles—deliverance from Egypt, manna from heaven, victories in the land. Yet familiarity with sacred history did not translate into living faith. Forgetting God did not happen overnight; it happened t
4 days ago3 min read
