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Why are people traditionally buried facing east?
During a burial today, I noticed the coffin was buried facing east.
Where does this Christian tradition come from?
Gabriel Fair
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Is the age of the earth in the Bible?
Early scientists thought that the age of the earth is proven by the genealogical tables in the book of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. Other than this observation, is there any reference to the direct age of the earth noted anywhere in the Bible?
Tyler
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When is the end of the Christmas season for Latin Rite Catholics?
When does Christmas really end for Catholics? I know it starts different for most Eastern Orthodox, but for Latin Rite Catholics, like myself, I don't know when it actually is supposed to end. At the very least I know it's over by Ash Wednesday,…
Peter Turner
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How do apologists defend against Bart Ehrman's arguments that Church scribes corrected and changed the Bible to fit their theology?
Bart Ehrman seems to be the atomic bomb of the Christian community, having released books like Misquoting Jesus and Jesus Interrupted, which call into question the reliability and inerrancy of the Scriptures, particularly the New Testament. Are his…
Aaron Johnson
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Did John Calvin discourage harmonies in congregational singing?
In many traditional Reformed churches, the songs found in hymnbooks and psalters (collections of Psalms set to music) are written with four parts: a melody/soprano line on the top, and alto, tenor, and bass harmony lines below. For example:
I…
Nathaniel is protesting
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Are Catholics required to accept every article of Aquinas's «Summa Theologica»?
Are all the articles of St. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica to be accepted as the truth by every Catholic? Are there any criticisms of the Summa Theologica within the Catholic Church?
Jin-Dominique
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Can the Word of God and God's wisdom be beneficial to an unbeliever?
More specifically I'm wondering in the way that we go to the Bible and to God about concerns or issues that we are facing for instruction and wisdom, can we think biblically about another's concerns or issues that they are struggling with in order…
Nick Rolando
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Did any early church fathers, other than Augustine, condemn or write about numerology?
I came across this quote by St.Augustine:
“The good Christian should beware of mathematicians. The danger already exists that mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and confine man in the bonds of Hell.” -…
M47145
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Who first described Pentecost as a reversal of Babel?
In Spiritual Maturity, J. Oswald Sanders describes Pentecost as a reversal of Babel. An online search shows this to be a link made by others, and in a related thesis on the topic, Paul J. Pastor goes as far as to claim:
Pentecost as a reversal of…
bruised reed
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Adam and Eve Clothed in Light Before the Fall - Origin of this belief?
I've stumbled multiple times across the claim that Adam and Eve were clothed in light before the fall, and afterward they saw their nakedess not merely as a new form of enlightenment ("Suddenly I feel like I should put on some clothes!") but rather…
user9485
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How is 1 Timothy 2:5 interpreted relative to the Mediatrix concept?
The concept of Mediatrix has Virgin Mary in a role of a mediator in the salvation process—at least that's what Wikipedia says:
Mediatrix in Roman Catholic Mariology refers to the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a mediator in the salvation…
StackExchange saddens dancek
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What is the difference between a covenant and a contract?
Specifically as used by the Reformed theological tradition, what is meant by the term "covenant"? How is this different than other forms of agreements under assorted names in English like contract, agreement, pact, pledge, etc. How should the term…
Caleb
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Who was the first to reject the historicity of Adam?
Since the nineteenth century the early chapters of Genesis have been very controversial. For some issues, like the age of the earth, it is well established that there have been many different positions through history. Is it the same for the general…
curiousdannii
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Why must God reach the fullness of Glory (reformed theology)?
Reformed theology stresses that God created the universe for one purpose: to glorify him fully. And to reach the fullness of Glory, God must demonstrate all that would glorify him. This means that to demonstrate things like wrath and grace, there…
user3961
13
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3 answers
How many distinct Biblical canons are there?
I've noticed recently on this site there is a push to enforce the rule that, in one's questions, one ought to state "which Bible" one is interested in learning about—whether that is the "Catholic Bible", "Protestant Bible", "Mormon Bible",…
Chelonian
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