Dr. Creasy’s Blog

Here’s the question:

“Who the heck is Melchizedek?”—Diane

Here’s the answer:

Melchizedek is a very mysterious figure, indeed. He appears only three times in Scripture, twice in the Old Testament (Genesis 14: 18-20; Psalm 110: 4) and once in the New Testament (Hebrews 5-7).

We meet Melchizedek for the first time in Genesis 14 when Abram (later, Abraham) returns from rescuing his nephew Lot from Chedorlaomer and the kings of the north who kidnapped Lot. As Abram meets with Bera, king of Sodom, here’s what happens . . .

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Events in the Bible are typically dated in reference to some epochal event or person. In biblical times events were dated according to “regnal years.” For example, if I were living at the time of David and my wife gave birth to a son, I would say that my son was born “in the 16th year of King David.” That would date his birth relative to a local event that we all know. We see such references, for example, throughout 1 & 2 Kings.

In New Testament times, the Roman Empire operated on a much larger scale than the reign of a tribal warlord or local king, dating events “from the foundation of the city of Rome,” or ad urbe condita (abbreviated A.U.C.), which correlates to 753 B.C.

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Here’s the question:

“Was St. Paul married?”

Here’s the answer:

Judaism teaches that marriage is the normal, natural state for adults. Unlike in some Christian denominations, refraining from marriage is not considered praiseworthy or holy in Judaism; rather, it is considered aberrant and unnatural. Indeed, the Talmud teaches that an unmarried man is “incomplete,” lacking his bashert, his “soul-mate” (Yebomoth 62b).

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Here’s a question many have asked:

“How did St. Paul get to all the places he visited on his missionary journeys, how much did it cost, and who paid for it?”

Here’s the answer:

In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus commissions his disciples to go and “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit . . .” (28: 19-20).

As the Apostle to the Gentiles, St. Paul took that commission seriously, and he worked tirelessly to deliver the gospel message throughout the Roman Empire. To accomplish that task, St. Paul used the most modern and efficient transportation networks of his day: the Roman road system and the Roman maritime trade routes.

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Here’s a question we received from Jennifer K:

I’m having a really hard time with Luke 14: 25-27. Is Jesus actually telling us to hate our father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters and even one’s own life in order to be his disciple? Please clarify!

Here’s the answer:

When Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters . . .” (Luke 14: 26), the Greek verb is μισέω (mis-eh’-o), expressed grammatically as a third person present active indicative verb, and it means just that: hate.

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Since launching the NEW logosbiblestudy.com, Dr. C. has been answering a lot of your questions during weekly Zoom discussion sessions, twice-weekly online “Office Hours” and via email.

Periodically, we’d like to share some of those questions and answers with you.

Here’s a question we received from Alicia W:

“What is the proper method of baptizing: dipping, pouring or sprinkling. I’ve seen all three being done, but what is the right way?”

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