Category Archives: History

Worth your reading time: James Hannam on medieval Christianity and the rise of modern science

Posted on 01/11/2012 by

Medieval Christianity and the Rise of Modern Science, Part 1 Medieval Christianity and the Rise of Modern Science, Part 2

Posted in History, Philosophy, Sciences | Tagged ,

Richard Dawkins’ favourite poster

Posted on 29/10/2012 by

Soviet poster from 1965.

Posted in Atheism, History, Secularism | Tagged , , ,

Quote of the day: Pope Benedict XVI on politics

Posted on 14/10/2012 by

‘Wherever politics tries to be redemptive, it is promising too much.  Where it wishes to do the work of God, it becomes, not divine, but demonic.’ ~ Joseph, Cardinal Ratzinger; now Pope Benedict XVI

Posted in Christian Churches, History, Politics, World Events, Quote of the Day, Secularism, Theology | Tagged

Quote of the day: Christopher Dawson on living faith renewing Christian tradition

Posted on 10/10/2012 by

‘Western man has not been faithful to his Christian tradition.  He has abandoned it not once, but again and again.  For since Christianity depends on a living faith and not merely on social tradition, Christendom must be renewed every fresh … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Quote of the Day, Secularism | Tagged

Ken Ham and his crazy fundie Creationist sect proved wrong yet again

Posted on 07/10/2012 by

Death only present after the Fall, six thousand years ago?  No actually: We’ve been eating meat for 1.5 million years, discovery of ancient child’s skull proves A skull fragment discovered in Tanzania shows that our ancient ancestors have been eating … Continue reading →

Posted in Fundamentalism, History | Tagged , , ,

My favourite saint: St. Maximilian Kolbe

Posted on 02/10/2012 by

St. Maximilian Kolbe

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Photograph of the day: Queen’s Road in Hong Kong on Chinese New Year’s Day, 1902

Posted on 18/09/2012 by

Click on the image to enlarge it. See also: Photograph of the day: A boat sails down a river in the Jiangsu province of China in 1946

Posted in History, Visual Arts | Tagged , , , ,

Pic of the day: The De Hortus Sanitatis (Garden of Health), 1491, one of Europe’s earliest medical texts

Posted on 11/09/2012 by

More here. Also: [Stained glass] Pic of the day: St. Austremonius amongst the beasts of the wild

Posted in History, Sciences, Visual Arts | Tagged , , , , , ,

Pic of the day: A view from Colditz Castle by British prisoner of war Major William Anderson

Posted on 04/09/2012 by

More here.

Posted in History, Visual Arts | Tagged , , ,

Quote of the day: Thucydides on recording history; something to think about when you read the New Testament

Posted on 26/08/2012 by

‘In this history I have made use of set speeches some of which were delivered just before and others during the war.  I have found it difficult to remember the precise words used in the speeches which I listened to … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, History, Quote of the Day | Tagged

Huldrych Zwingli on why Baptists are wrong and “crucify Jesus Christ afresh”

Posted on 12/08/2012 by

‘Children born of believing parents are children of God, like those who were born under the Old Testament, and consequently may receive baptism.  Baptism under the New Testament is what circumcision was under the Old; consequently, baptism ought now to be administered … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Presbyterian, Reformed, Quote of the Day, Theology | Tagged , , , , ,

More evidence against the anti-Pope Pius XII slurs of the New Atheists and others

Posted on 03/08/2012 by

A Nazi cartoon mocking Cardinal Pacelli (soon after to become Pope Pius XII) for supporting Jews.

Posted in Christian Churches, History | Tagged , , , , , , ,

“I don’t see how you can avoid putting Zwingli in hell”, writes evangelical Baptist theologian Roger Olson

Posted on 20/07/2012 by

‘To what extent should we let historical figures off the hook just because of the cultural context and the times in which they lived — especially when they claimed to be Christians and had their Bibles and read them?  Should … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Quote of the Day, Theology | Tagged , , ,

Jesus existed, writes Craig S. Keener

Posted on 09/07/2012 by

Well worth a few minutes of your time: Jesus Existed writes Craig S. Keener Excerpt: Contrary to some circles on the Internet, very few scholars doubt that Jesus existed, preached and led a movement.  Scholars’ confidence has nothing to do with … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, History | Tagged

Devout Roman Catholic and Tour de France winner Gino Bartali quietly used fame to save Jews in Fascist Italy

Posted on 29/06/2012 by

Tour de France winner Gino Bartali quietly used fame to save Jews in Fascist Italy In the worst years of the Second World War, it was not uncommon to see the great Gino Bartali cycling the roads between Florence and … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Churches, History, Sport | Tagged , , , , ,

Levantine DNA in Ethiopia supports biblical story of Queen of Sheba

Posted on 26/06/2012 by

Levantine DNA in Ethiopia May Support Biblical Story Clues to the origins of the Queen of Sheba legend are written in the DNA of some Africans, according to scientists.  Genetic research suggests Ethiopians mixed with Egyptian, Israeli or Syrian populations … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Sciences | Tagged , , , , , , ,

Gary Krupp, the Jewish researcher who’s winning the battle to clear Pope Pius XII’s name

Posted on 24/06/2012 by

Researcher: We’re Winning in Effort to Clear Pius XII’s Name, ‘Every Time We Do More Research, We Find a Diamond’ After six years of untiring research that has uncovered 76,000 pages of original material, plus multiple eyewitness accounts and testimonies … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Secularism | Tagged , , , ,

Update on St. John the Baptist’s bones

Posted on 15/06/2012 by

Scientific tests have now been carried out: Mysterious bones may belong to John the Baptist: New radiocarbon dating of collagen in one of bones puts age at early first century ‘Found’, bones of John the Baptist: Tests on a knucklebone … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Biblical Studies, History | Tagged , ,

Spectacular find: original Greek sermons by Origen of Alexandria discovered in Bavarian State Library

Posted on 14/06/2012 by

Spectacular find: original Greek sermons by Origen of Alexandria discovered A spectacular discovery was recently made in the Bavarian State Library, in the process of cataloguing the Greek manuscripts from the collection of Johann Jakob Fuggers.  While cataloguing a manuscript, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Theology | Tagged , ,

Thomas Burnett on ‘Scientism’

Posted on 11/06/2012 by

‘Scientism . . . is a speculative worldview about the ultimate reality of the universe and its meaning.  Despite the fact that there are millions of species on our planet, scientism focuses an inordinate amount of its attention on human behavior … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Quote of the Day, Sciences | Tagged

Quote of the day: Anacleto Gonzalez Flores, one of the Mexican Cristero martyrs

Posted on 01/06/2012 by

The film: For Greater Glory, starring Andy Garcia, Ruben Blades, Eva Longoria, Peter O’Toole The book: For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada

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Separated at birth: Pope Gregory IX and Sylvester Stallone

Posted on 14/05/2012 by

Here’s the proof: Pope Gregory IX painted by Raphael, and Sylvester Stallone in his ‘Rocky’ role.  I rest my case. Hat-tip to Creative Minority Report for spotting this eerie similarity! Another great separated-at-birth: Separated at birth: Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Humour, Visual Arts | Tagged , , , , ,

Peter Harrison on Christianity and the rise of Western science

Posted on 08/05/2012 by

‘Could modern science have arisen outside the theological matrix of Western Christendom?  It is difficult to say.  What can be said for certain is that it did arise in that environment, and that theological ideas underpinned some of its central … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Sciences, Theology | Tagged , , ,

Are the Gospels based on Pagan myths?

Posted on 19/04/2012 by

Were the Gospels Based on Pagan Myths? No, responds Timothy Paul Jones.  Read his article, linked to above, if you are interested in the subject.  It’s well worth your reading time.  He concludes with some excellent advice: What should you do … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Atheism, History, Theology | Tagged , , , ,

U.S. Army Chaplain Father Emil Kapaun: Korean prison camp martyr

Posted on 17/04/2012 by

U.S. Army Chaplain Father Emil Kapaun stole, suffered and sacrificed his life for his fellow soldiers in a Korean prison camp.  Six decades after his death, he is being considered for the Medal of Honor – and sainthood On the night … Continue reading →

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