Posted by Anthony on December 11, 2008
It is that time of year again when a holiday becomes the front in a culture battle. I need not give examples- google Dan Barker and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. It is not uncommon to find skeptics and secular humanists insinuating with a sneer that belief in God is exactly like belief in Santa Claus, the only difference being that people grow out of belief in Santa Claus. Atheists who think this way have no problem being contemptuous punks because in their mind, given the similarities between the two examples (in their mind), a person who still believes in God exhibits prima facie evidence of being infantile and irrational: exactly the kind of people we need to cull from the population one way or another.
In light of this situation, it is useful to point out that Santa Claus actually is real.
‘Santa Claus’ is the modern expression of the legends originating with a certain, real, person, named Nicholas, or as he came to be known, Saint Nicholas. Do you see it? Saint/Santa? Good ol’ Saint NICK? NiKLAUS? Here is an unsubstantiated account that is accurate as far as it goes and helps lay the background here.
Not as well known, this same St. Nicholas wasn’t a rotund and jolly fellow. At the Council of Nicea c. 325 AD, Jolly Ol’Saint Nick got into a fist fight with one of the Arians and was ejected from the council.
This is discussed in the more extensive and more substantiated account on Livius. Read the rest of the entry… »
Posted by Anthony on March 16, 2008
Believe in the resurrection of Jesus but don’t know the evidence for that belief? Do you see that as a problem? You should. Confused about how the New Testament canon came to be and nervous that books like Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” might have something to it? Arm yourself with the facts. Afraid that you’re missing out because you know the New Testament was written in Greek but you’re stuck with the English? Maybe learning Greek isn’t so hard.
The Historicity of the Resurrection, the Formation of the NT Canon, and Introduction to Biblical Greek are just three courses being offered through Athanatos Christian Ministries this coming April. Anthony Horvath, the executive director of Athanatos Ministries, and otherwise known as ‘Sntjohnny’ has experience teaching all three topics to many different age groups. He has assembled a team of competent facilitators to guide Christians into a deeper understanding of the foundational facts of their Christian faith.
The courses are really just modules- 2 to 3 week sessions that require just about five hours per week. They cost $15.00 each. As you can see, there is a very small time and financial commitment involved and so there is very little reason for not taking advantage of these classes.
They are designed with the Christian in mind but can be useful for anyone interested in learning more about the foundations of the Christian faith. Who might be interested?
- The youth director who wants to be able to answer the hard questions put to him.
- The high school senior looking for reliable material to share with classmates.
- The college student confronted with secular challenges to his faith and wondering why on earth he didn’t learn anything useful in Sunday School for dealing with hard nosed professors.
- The parent who knows that if he doesn’t pass along the facts of the faith to his children, no one will.
- The pastor who knows that apologetics is important but doesn’t know where to start.
- The Bible student who wants to go deeper.
In the April session, the following courses are available:
- Study in Alleged Bible Contradictions
- Reliability of the New Testament Documents
- Historicity of the Resurrection
- Elements of Basic Christianity
- Cults and World Religions
- The Problem of Pain and Suffering
- Basic New Testament Greek
- Formation of the New Testament Canon
Each class is designed to be introductory in nature and structured to provide the student with the tools for further inquiry, either self-directed or in later course modules. Classes begin approximately April 15th but will vary based on the individual facilitator’s schedule, class size and feedback, etc. Enroll early and invite your friends and relatives! Pay via credit card or paypal.
To learn more and enroll go directly to the Athanatos Online Academy: www.athanatosministries.org/courses
