Jesus called two of his first disciples, the fishing brothers James and John, “Boanerges” which supposedly means “Sons of Thunder”. Why is not sure, but it’s thought that they earned it with their impetuosity, zeal, and general loudness. We all know, or have, brothers like that. Perhaps, along with “Rocky”, that is, Peter, they may…
All posts by Jay Nelson
About Jay Nelson
An independent Christian hermit, Jay is a writer, historian, mystic and artist.
Nero, his Frog, and the Pope
The Roman emperor Nero was not well-liked, but he was greatly feared. He was, after all, the original Antichrist, as the numbers associated with the letters of his name in Greek add up to 666. Even after his death, it was widely believed that he would somehow return. So weird legends grew up around his…
Catholicism’s Dark Age Biology
There’s a simple reason why so many Christians oppose abortion and it has nothing to do with biology, as it is founded purely on theology. Old theology at that — the Protestants are following the Catholics without a quibble on this issue. The basis is the question: when does the human soul enter a developing…
A Prophet’s Life
Moses promised the people another “prophet like me” would be sent to speak the words of the Lord God [Deut. 18:15]. After the terrifying experience at Sinai where Yahweh landed in fire and clouds of smoke, complete with thunder, lightning, trumpettings and other special effects, the people were understandably reluctant to have to endure something…
Bread and Wine, Body and Blood
Traditional Catholic teaching states that during the Mass, the bread and wine are mysteriously transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. In Catholicism, this miraculous change is called “transubstantiation.” This means that once the sacred words of Consecration are spoken there is a real, total cosmic transmutation of the blessed elements. Even if…