Jesus Picks His Disciples
It seems likely that Jesus picked 12 followers during his lifetime. The gospels don't explain why Jesus picked these particular guys, and they don't agree about how early in the movement's history they [more…]
Retracing Christianity as a Historical Faith
The Christian faith isn't an obscure belief system with Jesus as a mythological figure. Rather, Christianity is based entirely on real space-time history; in the words of Francis Schaeffer, its central [more…]
Examining Opus Dei: Secret Societies and The Da Vinci Code
The controversial Catholic sect called Opus Dei is the only secret society mentioned in The Da Vinci Code that may well have some of the smear coming. This is not to say that Silas, the mad and murderous [more…]
Mary Magdalene: History's Holy Harlot
Christian tradition and art depict Mary Magdalene as a prostitute who repented of her evil ways and followed Jesus. That's why Christian outreach services for unwed mothers and prostitutes are often named [more…]
Reacting to the Reformation: The Council of Trent
Alessandro Farnese became Pope Paul III in 1534 and immediately came face-to-face with the Protestant Reformation. At first sight, Paul looked pretty much like his predecessors: born into a rich Roman [more…]
Jesus's Birthplace and Hometown
Both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which is in Judea, near Jerusalem (where David was from and therefore where David's heir was expected to be born; see Micah 5:1). Both of these [more…]
Important Biblical Events Timeline
The Bible is vast and encompasses everything from Creation to the end of time. This brief timeline represents key events that happened in the Bible: [more…]
Who Is St. Patrick and Why Do We Celebrate St. Patrick's Day?
Every March 17th, thousands of people don their greenest garb, march in Irish pride parades, eat green clover-shaped cookies, and quaff frosty mugs of green beer in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. But [more…]
People of the Templar Order
Every organization has a chain of command, and the Knights Templar were no different. This alphabetical list shows the different people who made up the Templar Order and the duties they performed for the [more…]
Templar Architecture
The Templars were ambitious builders who modeled much of their architecture after Byzantine examples. The following list shows elements of Templar architecture and explains their uses: [more…]
Important Dates in Templar History
The following timeline highlights historical events and people that shaped the Templar Order, established the Templars' place in history, and eventually led to its dissolution: [more…]
