Gift of Tongues Quiz

How well do you know the history of speaking in tongues? This doctrine has a rich and diverse history over a two thousand year period. The first test covers the last 500 years of this practice and doctrine, while the second goes way back to the earlier centuries of the church. Click here to take …

Read more

The Camisards, tongues and prophecy

The religious expressions of prophecy and especially speaking in tongues by the Camisards in 18th century France.

A Protestant Assembly surprised by Catholic troops by Karl Girardet, 1842.
A Protestant Assembly surprised by Catholic troops by Karl Girardet, 1842.

The Camisards have a special narrative in the annals of Christian history and it is a sad one. Their story would have been forgotten if their speaking in tongues and their habitual use of prophecy was their mark in history. However, these are mere expressions of a greater problem of political and religious persecutions that continually harassed and cost so many lives. It is estimated that 500,000 Camisards fled France or were killed.1 These pogroms are the more important story, but the persecutions opened new Protestant expressions of piety that were unique, especially the realms of speaking in tongues and prophecy.

Read more

Emile’s Encounter with Christ

Third Beach
Third Beach, Vancouver. Creative Commons License by Kyle Pearce

If Jesus walked on a Vancouver beach and saw Emile, what would His reaction be?

Emile is an odd man. No one can define him because his problem is different thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors. All of these have defied a medical, spiritual, or psychological solution.

Read more

St. Paul's Final Hurrah

Enrique Simonet, Painter, Decapitation of St. Paul
Enrique Simonet (1866-1927). The Beheading of Saint Paul

Paul was executed in 51 AD under the rule of Nero according to the third-century Christian author, Ammonius of Alexandria, and two other writers.

A deeper look into this text and a translation.

Ammonius was trying to dispel a misunderstanding of the Herod dynasty about the timelines of Christ and Paul. Both are interesting but the history he ascribes to Paul is especially intriguing. By doing so, he gave the above information.

Few know about Ammonius, and less about his writings. Ammonius lived in Alexandria and was a noted Biblical scholar.1 Unfortunately, only remnants of his writings are available today.

An interesting person along with important historical texts. His persona beckons an English translation so that his contribution is more widely known. So, this is what the rest of this article intends to do.

The following translation has a little crossover of John Chrysostom and some influence by the eleventh century writer, Theophylacti of Bulgaria. It appears from a very informal look that most of this is penned by the hand of Ammonius.

Read more

Charismatics, Headaches and Healings

A woman with an audience behind her hands up praising God

A new framework is required to remedy an overemphasis on staged healing events in churches. A practice that hampers or even destroys the message of the Good News within the public realm.

Read more