Who was Sirach? What did he have to say? Read more here. Overall, we know very little about the people who wrote the Old Testament. The details about people in the biblical narratives are background for stories that are not really about individual humans, but about God’s relationship with… Read More

Baptism plays an important role in the church today. Find out the history of baptism and see what the Bible has to say on this issue. The English word “baptism” comes from the Greek verb that means “to dip in water.” In the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) there were laws… Read More

What does the church look like? Theologians have been asking that question for thousands of years. Check out what the New Testament has to say about the church. In the Bible, the Greek word translated as “church” means an assembly or gathering of people who believe in the good… Read More

Acts 15 depicts the church in crisis. How should they integrate uncircumcised believers into the church? The Council in Jerusalem met to address this issue. Check out more information about this council here. After Jesus’ departure, one of the most pressing questions his followers faced was whether only Jews… Read More

At times God must punish his people for disobedience. Sometimes God executes this punishment through disasters and plagues. The most famous plagues occur in Exodus, but there are also accounts of plagues in the time of Abraham and David. In the Bible, God sometimes sends disasters (plagues) to punish… Read More

The Jewish people originally came from the land of Israel, but as time passed they spread throughout the earth. This movement is called the Diaspora. Learn more about it here. Diaspora is a Greek term that means “widely scattered.” It is a term used to describe the widespread settlement… Read More

When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated Judah, he captured the people and sent them to Babylonia. This movement of people out of their native land is called the exile. Read more about the exile here. “Exile” is the term used for the captivity of a number of Judah’s people… Read More

What do the exodus and Jesus’ death have in common? The Passover. Find out more about the significance of this Jewish holiday and how it was celebrated. These two special spring festivals were brought together in the Jewish calendar long before the time of Jesus. Passover was celebrated to… Read More

The Law of Moses forbade prostitution, but the image of a prostitute is used several places in the Bible (Exodus 16, Hosea, Revelation 17). Two different kinds of prostitute are found in biblical stories. First are those who offered to have sex with men to earn money or to… Read More

Rome was one of the great powers of the ancient world and it was a powerful factor in the spread of Christianity. Find out more about the history of this mighty empire. In 700 B.C., Rome was a small city in Italy that controlled only the area close around… Read More