Whether religious or atheist, most people today have a picture and a sense of the character of God. What's the origin of this image and how different is it from the way people envisioned God in Biblical times?

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that "magi" from the East brought gifts to the infant Jesus following a mysterious star. Western Christianity commemorates this event with the feast of Epiphany, on January 6. What do we know about these wise men? Where did they come? Were they kings or Zoroastrian priests? Is there any evidence of a new star? We'll look at all these and other questions to reveal the meaning of this story from a mythological and theological view point. #lecture #cofchrist #zoroastrianism

Join us every Sunday at 1:00 PM EDT for "Illumination" — Toronto congregation's Beyond the Walls class on the topics of scripture, church history, and theology. The theme this Sunday is "Tricking the Patriarchs: Biblical Matriarchs" part 3. This class will explore the ancient texts of the Hebrew Bible and early Christian communities in light of their historical context. Our goal is to understand the text's meaning by learning about the authors, their audiences, their purposes and goals. We will then discern what value (if any) these ancient ideas have for our own day. By avoiding modern, literalist, and presentist readings of scripture, we hope to allow the text to breath and offer us new insights and value in our own spiritual practices. All are welcome. LGBTQ+ affirming. Jewish and Christ tradition, but open to interfaith and skeptical perspectives.