simon peter sutherland
Singer-songwriter, Christian theologian and independent documentary maker. https://simonpetersutherland.com/ http://shimeon.co.uk/
Homepage: http://enjoyingtheology.wordpress.com
The Apostles at Paphos – New Documentary – 2012 – ‘Pass it on’
Posted in England issues on December 8, 2012
The Apostles at Paphos is a Biblical and Historical documentary filmed on location at Paphos, Cyprus. Here I visit the ancient sites associated with St Paul, as written about in Acts 13: 4-12.
Pass it on, lets challenge the popular ideas and fables which deny the Bible as history.
St Paul’s Pillar, Paphos
Posted in Biblical archaeology, Christianity on November 22, 2012
Local legend at Paphos lays claim to a Column known as St Paul’s Pillar upon which it is said that Paul was tied and given the forty lashes minus one by the Jews, in other words he was scourged with 39 lashes, according to the Judaic system.
There is no actual historical evidence for this claim and it is one of those historical legends which could be true, or could be false. However, we do have a reference to Paul being beaten and given the forty lashes minus one for a total of 5 times, according to the composition date of that letter which is believed to have been written sometime around 53-57 AD we could conclude that Paul is referring to this event and since Acts of the Apostles which concludes around the year AD 60 and was most likely written around 60-61 AD, mentions not the events written in 2 Corinthians 11: 24 in AD 53-57, we can conclude that the book of Acts does not contain everything that happened during this period but contains a brief or record of important events that took place. Thus, it is possible that the events Paul writes about 2 Corinthians 11: 24 may include the scourging event at Paphos?
However, which columns or columns that Paul was tied upon, is subject to debate, if it matters, which I think it does from a historical perspective. The problem is that H V. Morton in his 1936 book “In the steps of St Paul” records that he visited Paphos and refers to this area where the Column now stands and concludes the area to be what must have been either a Roman Temple or a market place and refers to the “Two granite columns” and also “a broken Roman pillar surrounded by a whitewashed wall and covered with iron bands to prevent people from chipping off fragments as a cure for malaria. This is called St. Paul’s pillar.” (In the footsteps of St Paul. H V, Morton. Page 140.)
The point being that he adds a photograph in the book of the two larger granite columns and labels them, “St Paul’s Pillars”. I wonder if they too are also connected?
On Derren Brown: Fear and faith – Channel 4
Posted in new atheism, The influence of film on November 22, 2012
Last night for some reason, I viewed some of Derren Brown’s “fear and faith” on channel 4. Not one of the better channels on British television.
After watching a little bit, I found it of no real surprise to see him yet again manipulating undefined people with his mind games and tricks of the brain.
As is common and typical of modern atheists, I watched him play his game which begins in one area, wins over his audience, then moves towards the direction of Christianity, which if he is honest, is what his whole game is about demolishing.
Somehow, I think all his efforts are merely a support act to warm up his audience to get them ready for the headliner.
Don’t forget Mr Brown, I’ve been in showbusiness for a long time. I know the ropes!
He moves onto his predictable thought or question, “Is God the ultimate placebo”?
Its not a question on his part, since he has already concluded his answer.
However, not content with verbally inviting a man to sell his soul to the devil, via an ancient “satanic rite”, the British illusionist, mentalist and hypnotist thus attempted to emulate a “Religious conversion” with his atheist guinea pig.
He met with an atheist woman and gave her a ‘religious conversion’? If that is the right term to use?
Whatever his game was, it was certainly not a ‘religious conversion’. I say this by knowledge, history and experience that the true and accurate Christian evangelist need not use finger tapping motions or emotional games to win over a convert. He need only preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
It is true that many use games and tricks within so-called Christianity, but we know that there are always true and false ones in all, but the one who is faithful and relies upon the assistance of Grace need not use methods of men and workings of the devil to win people over.
He need only preach Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, under Pontius Pilate and who died, was buried and rose again on the third day.
As it is written. And “The scripture CANNOT be broken” John 10: 35
I suppose this game he plays opens up the floodgates for the question of whether or not these people and others, inculding scientists and the media can use these games to manipulate the average human brain so much that they can even persuade a nation to believe that Darwin’s theory is actually a fact?
Let us not forget that ‘Brown and Dawkins’ are familiar with each other.
Nevertheless, “The scripture CANNOT be broken” John 10: 35
Women bishops? Church of England votes no!
Posted in Issues with Christianity in England today on November 21, 2012
Church tower © 2013 Simon Peter Sutherland
The news comes to us yet again, another topical debate once more. The Church of England has voted out the so-called “Women Bishops”
I guess there is room after all to believe that there are some Bible believing Christians still remaining within the Church of England.
But there are times when I doubt it.
After countless debates and attempts to reason with ministers within the Church of England and the Anglican Church, I never fail to see why the church of England or the Anglican Church so often attempts to modify its beliefs to fit with an ever changing and dying world.
Time and time again I have listened to sermons and ministers attempting to make the Biblical text fit with the idea that women can be bishops, leaders, pastors or whatever an organisation desires to call that ministry, within the body of Christ.
Not content with ‘thinking’ that the theory of evolution and Genesis can actually harmonise in some way with the Bible, many attempt to make feminism fit with the Bible also.
The mind boggles when I sit and listen to people attempting to make the Old Testament fit with Darwinism and New Testament fit with feminism.
Does the Bible not state that Eve was “the mother of all living” Genesis 3: 20
Does the Bible not claim that God made them Adam and Eve?
Was it not Eve who was deceived?
Did Jesus not choose 12 men to be His Apostles?
Is it not written “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man” 1 Timothy 2: 12
I fail to see why so many so-called Christians attempt to argue their way out of this and more passages in an attempt to make the church fit with the dying world? Correction, I do understand. The evidence suggests that they are little more than Darwinian fairytale believers and liberal feminists who do not believe the Bible or history but favour the sad hopeless opinions and ideas of men over the Truth of God.
I don’t know why they just don’t admit that?
Well, it seems that there may well be a few that actually do? And if they hold fast to the Truth, God will abide with them and even if the world rejects them, and hates them, what of it.
The Gospel cannot be denied for the word of man.
The experience of visiting Biblical sites
Posted in Biblical archaeology, Christianity, The Bible on October 23, 2012
In 2003 I went to the ancient remains of Philippi in Macedonia with my wife. Travelling over from Thassos to Macedonia by ferry we landed at Neapolis (Acts 16: 11) now modern day Kavala and from there we made our way to ancient Philippi, to the Biblical sites such as the market place, as mentioned in Acts 16: 19 and the so-called prison, as mentioned in Acts 16: 24-31 and then onto the river which was just outside Philippi, where Paul baptized Lydia, as mentioned in Acts 16: 13-15.
The whole exprience astounded me and I could not but be amazed that I was actually standing in the places where the events I had read about for so many years actually took place. Places where our Sovereign Lord ordained these events to occur.
The fascination which had birthed within me when I first saw the great Arena in Ephesus on a documentary when I was a child, but I had a slight fear of flying which my wife overcame and so my ambition grew from desire to reality. The ambition within me grew and moved me so strongly that I followed our first journey to Macedonia with many more visits to sites connected with Acts of the Apostles. My wife and I would follow this journey in an adventure over the Mediterranean around Greece, and travels not only to Macedonia, Kavala and Philippi but to Turkey and Ephesus to the locations for the events of Acts 19, and the ancient city to whom Paul wrote the letter of Ephesians. Ephesus is also one of the seven Churches of Revelation.
We also travelled some time later onto Malta to the sites where the events of Acts 27: 39 may have taken place. We journeyed on foot to the sites where the events of Acts 28: 1-10 most likely took place. From then we journed also to Cyprus, and Kition in Larnaka, and then to Paphos and the events of Acts 13: 4-13.
After this glorious time my wife and I had with the Lord and His word, I became passionately drawn to the ancient reality of the original New Testament and its 1st century setting. I began to see how far Christianity had moved away from the authentic gospel and into tradition and doubted very much that Paul would be happy with modern Christianity?
If you have never visited such ancient Biblical sites, then I would highly recomend it. Being amongst the ancient locations gives the believer and critic such a more dynamic understanding of the Biblical narrative and when you are there and reading the text, its like being within the pages.
Darwins autobiography: Further evidence that Charles Darwin was not an atheist
Posted in new atheism, Science and evolution on October 7, 2012
In his own words!
“Another source of conviction in the existence of God, connected with the reason and not with the feelings, impresses me as having much more weight. This follows from the extreme difficulty or rather impossibility of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe, including man with his capacity of looking far backwards and far into futurity, as the result of blind chance or necessity. When thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve to be called a Theist.”
Charles Darwin
Autobiography. Page 92-93.
Evidence that Charles Darwin was not an atheist!
Posted in new atheism, Science and evolution on October 6, 2012
In his own words, Charles Darwin did not reject belief in a god!
“It seems to me absurd to doubt that a man may be an ardent Theist & an evolutionist. … In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God. I think that generally (& more and more so as I grow older) but not always, that an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind.”
Charles Darwin
Letter to John Fordyce, 7 May 1879
The Tombs of the Kings and early Christians
Posted in Biblical archaeology, Christianity on October 5, 2012
At Paphos, Cyprus there stands what is known as ‘The Tombs of the Kings’.
These tombs have a wide variety of historical facts connected to them, and although all of them are of interest, one point of this history stands out to me, that point being the fact that early Christians met in these tombs in ancient times.
At the Tombs of the Kings, early Christians from around the 1st – 4th centuries AD met for worship in singlar tombs around this location and also for protection from the persecution lashed out upon them by the Romans.
It is likely that the early Christians met in one tomb at a time.
Acts 11:19-20 tells us that after Stephen was martyred some Christians travelled to Cyprus and preached to Jews only. In Greco-Roman times Paphos was the island’s capital and it is likely that these Christians travelled there. However, it was not until Paul, Barnabus and Mark visited Paphos, Cyprus as written in Acts 13: 4-13 that the gospel was given to the Gentiles of which Paul, then Saul converted the Roman official.
Some believe that the Roman authorities were angry at Pauls conversion of the Proconsul Sergius Paulus and thus persecuted Christians at Paphos. Thus, it is for this reason that they went just outside the city walls and met in the ancient caves and tombs.
Evidence for this is found in the discoveries of crosses and Frescoes found in the burial chambers, which is regarded as proof that early Christians used these tombs during tribulations prior to the 4th century AD. Persecution of Christians was abolished by Roman Emperor Constantine who made Christianity the religion of Rome in 313 AD.
This short documentary which I made on the matter offers a more visual presentation of this subject of ‘The Tombs of the Kings and early Christians’.
‘Gospel of Jesus’ wife’ papyrus a fake. Vatican claims…
Posted in Biblical archaeology, Christianity, The Bible on September 28, 2012
The academic debate concerning a ancient papyrus that is said may imply that Jesus had a wife has been furthered somewhat by a statement made by Vatican that the Jesus’ wife papyrus is a ‘clumsy fake’.
Although I am a Protestant theologian and rarely take the claims of Rome seriously, I think they got this one right. After all, the Vatican library does boast 75,000 ancient codices, so I think on this, they are more than qualified to make such a statement. And even if many would ignore their claim or redicule the Vatican as the home of a messy religion, such would only be a distraction from the issue at hand.
This matter is concerning the authenticity of a manuscript, not religious debate or morals for that matter, however, back to the topic, here is a link to an article;
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/28/vatican-denounces-jesus-married-papyrus
Simon Peter Sutherland
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Simon Peter Sutherland 