We continue our series examining St. Matthew’s citations of the Old Testament.  Today we look at his citation of Micah 5:2.  “In the Masoretic Hebrew it reads, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you will come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.”  The LXX reads similarly:  “And you, Bethlehem,…

Today, as we begin to enter the Christmas and Theophany season, we begin a series on the use of the Old Testament in the early chapters of the Gospel of St. Matthew.  We will examine his citations in his narrative of Christ’s birth, childhood and adulthood up to the time He settled in Capernaum, bringing a great light to the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali and to all the world.  St. Matthew…

G. K. Chesterton wrote that he once left fairy tales lying on the floor of the nursery and hadn’t found any books so sensible since (from his Orthodoxy, “The Ethics of Elfland”). I suggest that Christianity is one such fairy tale, and also that it is a myth. But it is a fairy tale come true, and a myth that became a fact. People today tend not to believe in Christianity precisely…

In my previous blog piece, “Why I Am a Christian (Part 1)” I examined the question of why one should believe in the physical Resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  I looked at the essential historical reliability of the Gospels portraits of Jesus and His claims to be God.  I concluded that given the number and audacity of those claims, there were only three live options on the table:  either He was…

Many years ago, when I was tucking my eldest daughter into bed, she asked me a question:   “Dad, why do we believe in the Resurrection?”  I have always taught both my daughters to be strong and to think for themselves, and so I was happy to hear the question, and I answered it as best as I could, giving the historical evidence.  At the end of it all, she said, “Oh, good. …

About two weeks ago I issued an extraordinary personal appeal through this blog asking for the support necessary to meet an unprecedented financial need, as our parish of St. Herman’s Church in Langley, B.C. struggled to meet a huge and unforeseen challenge in completing our building programme and erecting a new temple.  I am happy, relieved, and (truth to tell) more than a little surprised to report that, thanks to the extraordinary…