What the book of Revelation says about a new world order and the end of the world

The book of Revelation, in chapters 13 and 17, does refer to a world order, but it could hardly be called “new”. It is more of a return to an old historical order, but this time with unprecedented, worldwide success.

The Protestant Reformation: Between obstinacy and necessity

Five hundred years ago, Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral. How are the motives that led to the Reformation viewed today?

When faith falters, and couples drift apart

Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer. – Rainer Maria Rilke

Saint Paraskeva: History and mythology

For the crowds gathered around the casket containing the relics of Saint Paraskeva, everything is just dream and faith. Amazingly much faith. There is also something else. There is the hope of a miracle, a miracle that will cure diseases, cover debts, and make life happy.

Divine inspiration | God’s breath upon the prophets

What is “divine inspiration?” How does it happen?

Jesus and the Goddess of Reason | Thomas Paine and the trap of contemporary deism

"I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life." This is how one of the most famous leaders of the American Revolution and an influential political writer of the late 18th century-Thomas Paine (1737-1809)-begins his testimony of faith. A few lines later in the same book, The Age of Reason, after vehemently rejecting the creed of...

Did the Church halt the progress of surgery?

An urban legend claims that the Church vehemently opposed the dissection of corpses through medieval decrees of prohibition or limitation of this practice.

On the banks of a river where no one had ever been

Jim Elliot was 25 years old when he headed to Ecuador as a result of the answer he sought from God regarding his future.

Brethren Assemblies | The history of the Brethren

The history of Brethren Assemblies begins in the 19th century, when groups of British believers began to be dissatisfied with the Anglican Church, which they saw as enslaved to the state and which they considered to be abandoning the fundamental principles of Christianity.

The Bible as a political weapon: When “Thus says the Lord” means “This is what I want”

It is estimated that over 100 million Bibles are printed annually, which means over 11 000 per hour, or about 3 every second. These numbers show the huge impact the Bible has on people’s lives.

Beyond what the eyes can see

There are times when we feel that life is hard and that some challenges are beyond our power. But when we look around us, at people like Ben Underwood, we realise that we are not only unaware of the gifts we have been given, but also of the immense power to enjoy life even when those gifts are denied us.

The saint who hated God

Martin Luther believed that he knew exactly what God expected of him, and in the tireless endeavour to please God, he came to the point of hating Him.

I didn’t know that God cries too

In those times when grief accompanies us and we find ourselves alone in the middle of the night, does God shed tears with us?

The rush for speaking in tongues

“The newest religious sect has started in Los Angeles. Meetings are held in a tumble-down shack on Azusa Street...and the devotees of the weird doctrine... work themselves into a state of mad excitement...They claim to have the ‘gift of tongues’ and to be able to understand the babel”.

Pray as you can

I’m going to be honest with you. I find prayer really hard. If I had to give reasons for all my tears over the past few years, most of them have come during conversations with God.