We are coming close to the end of a series I started more than twelve years ago. Here’s how it began:

So, you don’t believe there’s a God. I understand. I didn’t believe in God either, until May of 1971. Most atheists I’ve talked with about the existence of God during the last 40 years have expressed their concern for me in one way or another. Some have asked if I was ill and on heavy medication at the time of my conversion. Others said I must have been a very poor atheist because good atheists don’t believe in God. I was not ill or on medication at the time and people who knew me said I was a “good” atheist. Something happened that led me to look at various arguments for the existence of God, and once I looked I found something I had never seen before.

The Gift

I became a Christian on Monday, May 10th, 1971, at 6:35pm. I remember it so well because of the events that led up to that day and time. It was the first day of the work week. I was on my way home from work and stopped by the office of Terry Lytle. I had been meeting with Terry and Dr. Ed Hindson for months to talk about evidence for the existence of God, the credibility of the Bible, and the reality of the life of Jesus Christ.

May 10th, 1971, was a month after Easter Sunday that year. We had talked about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ during that time. Something that stuck in my mind was what Terry and Ed had read to me from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. I had already determined that the letter was legitimate based on the textual and historical evidence, so I listened with interest.

Some of the people at the church in Corinth said there was no resurrection of the dead. I found that interesting. Why would Christians living just a couple of decades after the supposed resurrection of Jesus not believe in the resurrection? Paul wrote them that if there was no resurrection of the dead, then Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. He went on to write that if Jesus Christ was not risen, then his (Paul’s) preaching was in vain and their faith was also in vain.

I found that a very powerful way to prove Christianity was false, especially when it was written by the man who was the chief persecutor of Christians when he didn’t believe in Jesus’ resurrection. Paul knew that Jesus had died, but he didn’t believe He was alive .. until the living Jesus personally revealed Himself to Paul. It was that revelation of a resurrected Jesus that revolutionized Paul’s life and his life’s work.

What I read in 1 Corinthians 15 was an unexpected gift. I had been looking for a way to prove that Christianity was false, and it was as if Paul had handed me the key to destroying Christianity, which he had famously tried to do many years earlier. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then Christianity was a false belief. Even though I had found solid evidence to believe in the existence of God, the credibility of the Bible and the reality of the life and death of Jesus, if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then the core belief of Christianity was false. Amazing! Why would Paul write that when it handed opponents of Christianity the most powerful way to bring the young belief system to its knees?

Paul, I learned, wrote what he wrote because he knew that Jesus was alive. Paul was concerned that some Christians in Corinth were questioning whether the resurrection of the human body was real, but Paul was not personally concerned whether physical resurrection was real. He was not concerned because he had seen the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth with his own eyes: “Then last of all He was seen by me also” (1 Corinthians 15:8). Seeing something with your own eyes is a powerful piece of evidence that something is true, even if that something is difficult to believe.

I might add that Paul saw the resurrected Jesus on many occasions. Even though some of my atheist friends say Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus was a one-time hallucination, they need to read deeper into what Paul revealed about his experience. Paul spent a period of time in Arabia between his conversion and meeting the apostles in Jerusalem.

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Galatians 1:15-17

We don’t know how long Paul was in Arabia, but his next words in Galatians 1 were that “after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days” (Galatians 1:18). We also know that Paul was caught up to Paradise fourteen years before he wrote 2 Corinthians. Paul didn’t know if he was in the body or out of the body, “God knows,” but Paul did know he saw Paradise “and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” Paul had such an abundance of revelations while he was in Paradise that God placed a thorn in Paul’s flesh “lest I be exalted above measure.” (2 Corinthians 12:1-7)

When we do the math we find that Paul’s revelations in Paradise happened before Barnabas invited Paul to join him in ministering as a teacher at the church in Antioch (Acts 11:25-26). That was before Paul’s first missionary journey and before he began writing to the churches.

Paul was convinced because of what he saw. Paul saw the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth. Paul heard His voice and conversed with Jesus. Paul saw Paradise and heard “inexpressible words.” Paul knew what was true because he saw it with his own eyes .. not just once, but many, many times.

The Challenge

Christianity, as explained to me, was based on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I was already convinced by ancient non-Christian writings that Jesus was a real person who lived in Judea during the early part of the 1st century AD and had been crucified by the Romans. However, what I wasn’t convinced of was that Jesus supernaturally rose from the dead. It wasn’t a big deal to believe that a man lived in Judea and was killed by Romans because thousands of people were killed by Roman soldiers every year in those days. However, what was a big deal was to believe that a man rose from the dead after being brutally killed on a cross and buried in a tomb for three days. That just doesn’t happen in the natural world, which is the only world an atheist can accept as being real.

What I found both intriguing and powerful was that the chief spokesperson for Christianity wrote that if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, his preaching was in vain and so was the belief of every Christian. I thought about that a lot because it seemed like the best way to prove that Christianity was not true. After months of researching the Bible, the man who wrote the most writings in the Bible showed me a way to prove he and every other Christian was wrong. Paul had gone so far in 1 Corinthians 15 to write that if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, he (Paul) was a false witness of God. Paul was actually putting himself out there as a possible liar and gave people like me a way to prove it.

Could I do that? Could I prove that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead? Could I prove that Paul was in fact a liar, a false witness? It shouldn’t be that hard, I thought, because people don’t rise from the dead. Paul had to be lying. What evidence could he possibly present that would lead me to think otherwise?

The Evidence

The evidence Paul presented was fairly simple and straightforward. Here’s how he wrote it —

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-8

Paul began by referring to what he called “the gospel,” which I learned means “good news.” He wrote the Corinthians that he preached it to them and they received it. Paul also wrote that they stood in it and are saved by it, if they hold fast the word he had preached to them, unless they believed in vain.

I remembered reading that Jesus had called what He preached “the gospel” and that it included repenting from sin and turning to Him. Jesus presented Himself as having come from God with “the gospel of the kingdom.” Jesus was His own evidence with His miracles and healings and teachings. What evidence would Paul present?

Paul wrote that he “delivered” to the Corinthians what he had also “received.” Paul was apparently claiming that the evidence he was about to present was not something he had come up with, but had come from others.

1. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures

2. He was buried

3. He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures

4. He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, then by more than five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present even though some had died. He was seen by James, then by all the apostles, then by Paul.

What Paul had written was a simple way of understanding evidence:

1. Jesus died

2. Jesus was buried

3. Jesus rose

4. Jesus was seen

That Jesus had died on the Cross and was buried seemed to have plenty of evidence. What was in question was the resurrection. What could possibly prove that it was true?

Next Time

Paul placed everything on Jesus being seen by hundreds of people after He rose from the dead. Many of the people Paul mentioned were witnesses of the Romans killing Jesus and of Jesus being buried in a borrowed tomb. Were the eyewitnesses Paul mentioned strong enough evidence to something supernatural like the resurrection of a man from the dead? We will look into that in the next part of our special series, From Atheist to Theist.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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The Apostle Paul wrote many letters to churches and individuals during his earthly ministry. Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was a fierce enemy of Jesus Christ and His followers, but the resurrected and ascended Jesus met Paul on the road to Damascus and called him to become a powerful preacher of the Gospel to Gentiles, kings, and Jews – but especially Gentiles (Acts 9).

Paul wrote almost half of the New Testament. A man who ministered closely with Paul for many years, Luke, wrote two of the longest Books in the New Testament – the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. The tremendous influence that Paul had on Christianity was not a mistake or a fluke. It was by design – God’s design.

When Paul knew that his days on earth were numbered and he would not get out of prison to start any more churches, he wrote one final letter. We know it as 2 Timothy. When a man knows his life is coming to an end and he has important things to share, we often find those things in his final words. That’s why I chose 2 Timothy for this series. You can find previous parts of this series in previous blogs or on your favorite podcast platform. I’ll publish an eBook of all 40 rules once I finish writing the series.

Rule #16

Flee youthful lusts

The Greek for this next rule reads: Τὰς δὲ νεωτερικὰς ἐπιθυμίας φεῦγε. Timothy was not a young man when Paul wrote his second letter to him, so why mention fleeing from ‘youthful lusts’ in verse 2:22? I think the immediate context will help:

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” 2 Timothy 2:20-21

Paul had just rehearsed for Timothy two men, ‘Hymenaeus and Philetus, who were the kind of leaders in the church who should be ‘shunned.’ Paul wrote that the men had ‘strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past;’ and had overthrown the faith of some people. Paul then told Timothy that ‘in a great house’ there were two types of ‘vessels.’ Some ‘for honor’ and some ‘for dishonor.’ Paul wrote that ‘if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.’ That’s what Paul wanted for Timothy – to be a ‘vessel for honor’ who was set apart and ‘useful’ to Jesus Christ – ‘prepared for every good work.’ Might I add that every Christian leader should want the same for members of their church.

That context then leads us to the ‘text’ – ‘Flee also youthful lusts.’ The word translated ‘flee’ is pheugó and means ‘escape, run away from, vanish.’ The word ‘youthful lusts’ are neóterikos epithumia which mean ‘passionate desires that a young person would have for what is forbidden.’ Why would Paul say that to Timothy? Because Timothy had to be an example to others of what it means to control one’s passions both inside and outside the church. Paul knew that Timothy would spend the rest of his life struggling with the impulses that come from the ‘sin nature’ that plagues all of God’s children until they go to be with the Lord and are ‘changed.’

Remember what Paul wrote Timothy in his first letter about the qualifications for a church bishop (pastor, leader, elder):

• A bishop then must be blameless

• the husband of one wife

• temperate

• sober-minded

• of good behavior

• hospitable

• able to teach

• not given to wine

• not violent

• not greedy for money

• but gentle

• not quarrelsome

• not covetous

• one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?)

• not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the samecondemnation as the devil

• Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil

Rule #17

Pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace

Paul continued:

“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

The words ‘flee’ and ‘pursue’ are important to notice here. We’re already seen that the word ‘flee’ (pheugó) means ‘to escape, run away from.’ The word ‘pursue’ is διώκω (diókó) and means ‘follow after, press forward, chase aggressively, chase after.’ Paul told Timothy to run away from ‘youthful lusts,’ but aggressively chase after righteousness, faith, love, and peace. That demonstrates how different weak and ineffectual ministry compares with strong and effectual ministry. One type of ministry is negative. The other is positive. One is inappropriate. The other is appropriate. One displeases God. The other pleases God. Which type of ministry do you want?

Here are the types of ‘ministry’ God wants:

• righteousness (dikaiosuné – approved character, justification)

• faith (pistis – persuasion, proof based on evidence)

• love (agapé – love and goodwill, love centered on moral preference)

• peace – (eiréné – rest, quietness, joined together, wholeness)

That’s the difference from a Christian and church leader who are self-centered and Christ-centered. Paul pointed Timothy to the latter. It’s interesting that Paul also made this statement immediately after: “with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” When Christians and their church leaders ‘minister’ correctly, they are joining a host of people who ‘call on the Lord out of a pure heart.’

The word ‘call’ is epikaleó and means ‘appeal to, invoke for aid.’ The word ‘pure’ is katharos and means ‘clean, unmixed, purified.’ When you ‘minister’ according to God’s rules, your heart is clean and pure. Isn’t that a beautiful picture of how we should serve God?

Rule #18

Avoid foolish and ignorant disputes

The word ‘avoid’ is paraiteomai and means ‘reject, decline, shun, refuse.’ Paul told Timothy to ‘avoid’ disputes among Christians that were ‘foolish and ignorant.’ The word ‘foolish’ is móros and means ‘stupid, dull, absurd, mentally inert.’ The English words ‘moron’ and ‘moronic’ come from this Greek word. The word ‘ignorant’ is apaideutos and means ‘unlearned, untaught, uninstructed.’

Unfortunately, many of the disputes (maché – quarrels, fights, conflicts, disputes) we see in churches and denominations now and have seen in the past are both ‘foolish and ignorant.’ What did the Apostle Paul tell Timothy to do about those kinds of disputes in churches? ‘Avoid’ them. However, that’s easier said than done. If you are a member of a church that is embroiled in disputes about stupid things and no one will listen to what God says in His Word, you have a choice to make. I recommend you begin by taking your concerns to church leadership. That may be a way to get a positive resolution to the problem. However, since so many of the ‘moronic’ disputes come from church leaders, you may run into a wall that you cannot overcome. Do you stay or leave? I think it depends on what kind of ministry you want to have as a follower of Christ. Pray earnestly that the Holy Spirit will guide you in making the decision that pleases Him.

Rule #19

A servant of the Lord must not quarrel

Even though you might want to – Paul wrote that ‘a servant of the Lord must not quarrel.’ The word ‘quarrel’ is machomai and means ‘argue, to war, fight, dispute.’ Remember who we are – ‘servants of the Lord.’ The word ‘servant’ is doulos and means ‘bond-servant, slave, fully-devoted servant, someone who belongs to another.’ It’s important in Christian ministry that we remember we are ‘not our own.’

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

The God who ‘owns us’ says that His servants ‘must not quarrel.’ That’s an important and oft overlooked rule in ministry.

Rule #20

A servant of the Lord must be gentle to all

An important part of not ‘quarreling’ is being ‘gentle.’ The Greek word is épios and means ‘affable, kind, mild.’ The word means more than just what’s in your heart. It also goes to what you ‘say.’ Your words should be kind and mild. Also notice that God’s servants must be ‘gentle to all.’ It would be easy to speak kindly to people who agree with you, but that’s not the context of 2 Timothy 2. Those Christians whose ministries are ‘approved’ by God have to deal with Christians who ministries are not approved by God. Those who are not approved start a lot of the problems in churches because they are not interested in obeying God’s Word. They are often deluded into thinking that they are right and anyone who disagrees with them are wrong. That’s why many church ‘fights’ (including church leadership meetings) get heated and ugly. While the ‘natural’ inclination is to fight back, God wants His ‘approved servants’ to be ‘gentle to all.’

The devil loves to see Christians fight with each other. He know that destroys their effectiveness in ministry, which is exactly what he wants. Don’t give it to him. Don’t quarrel and be gentle to all.

I’ll share five more rules for Christian ministry in the next podcast.

In Christ’s Love and Grace,

Mark McGee

GraceLife / Faith and Self Defense / Grace Martial Arts / Substack

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© 1971-2026

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Ménière’s Forums

If you were recently diagnosed with Ménière’s Disease, I recommend you find some good Ménière’s forums and resource pages for help. You’ll meet some wonderful people on those forums who understand what you’re going through and are ready to offer advice and encouragement. You may want to begin by reading through several of the forum groups and find ones that appeal to you. You can often ask questions or comment about what others ask or share in the forums. We all need help and can offer help to others. That’s why we’re a ‘Community.’

Here are several publicly available groups and pages to get you started. There are also many private Ménière’s forums that you can consider. Some of the private groups may ask questions about your Ménière’s diagnosis and experience before allowing you to join. However, I’ve never run into a problem joining a private group, so give that a try as well.

• Ménière’s Community (Facebook - Public group)

• Ménière’s Disease Support Group (Facebook - Public group)

• The Meniere's Disease Struggle (Facebook - Public group)

• Ménière’s Disease Awareness (Facebook - Community group)

• Meniere's Experience Support Group (Facebook - Community group)

• Menieres Disease Christian Warriors! (Facebook - Private group)

• Meniere's Disease Support And Advise Group (Facebook - Private group)

• Meniere's Disease Awareness And Support Group (Facebook - Private group)

• Meniere's Disease (Facebook - Private group)

• Meniere's Talk (Login required)

• Meniere’s Talk Your Living Room (Login required)

• Vesties’ Village (VEDA - Login required)

• Physical Evaluation Board Forum (Login required)

• reddit Meniere’s support group (Login required)

• Tinnitus Talk Meniere’s Disease (Login required)

You will also find some good Ménière’s resources on Substack that are designed to help. I’ll recommend these three for now, but keep checking Substack for new channels that may open up in the future. I’ll let you know when I find others.

Managing Ménière’s

Meniere’s Without The Spin

Brian Werner, Physical Therapist - Dizziness Expert

If you know of an online Community Support group or other resource for Ménière’s sufferers that I did not list above, please add the name and link in the comments section below along with a brief explanation about what readers will learn from it.

Next Time

I’ll share a personal story of the ‘Ménière’s journey’ in the next Ménière’s Years newsletter.

“… rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” Romans 12:12

Here’s to hope!

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How would you ‘grade’ the coverage of political campaigns across the United States so far this year? That includes local and national journalism. How would you grade your own coverage as a journalist? How would you grade your news team if you’re a news manager?

I watch and read a lot of news coverage, national and local, and my grades are pretty low. I graded national coverage at a ‘D-’ and local coverage at a ‘C-.’ I based this on watching, listening, and reading lots of coverage.

Some of the national media are so bad that my grade for them would be an ‘F.’ However, other national media helped bring the grade up to a D-. The same is true with local media. I saw just enough accuracy and fairness to keep them from falling into the ‘D’ range. While you may think I’m being too tough on the media, wait until you read the next newsletter where the public grades the media. Some of those grades are brutal.

Here are my main reasons for giving such low scores:

1. Many journalists don’t seem to know much about how local, state, and national governments are supposed to operate. I see that in their writing, interviewing, and questioning of candidates. They don’t ask the obvious questions that an informed journalist would ask. News managers should hold seminars well before election season to teach all journalists how various levels of government work. [Here’s an article I wrote last year that will give you an overview about covering government news.]

2. Many journalists appear to have done little preparation prior to covering a campaign or doing one-on-one interviews with candidates. Many don’t know what to ask or how to spot false statements. They also don’t know to counter those false statements with factual information. They also don’t know how to deal with candidates who refuse to answer questions. Even the journalists I watched who asked the same question or varied the question a little to try to get candidates to answer finally gave up and moved on to another topic. That is TERRIBLE journalism. Don’t let candidates get away with refusing to answer questions or dancing around your questions. Remember, your job as a journalist is to find, confirm, and report the truth. That includes how you cover political campaigns. [Here’s an article I wrote for the 2022 Mid-Terms that may help.]

3. Many journalists don’t ask obvious follow-up questions. They allow candidates to make ‘truth claims’ without challenging candidates for evidence to support their claims. The few journalists who do ask follow-up questions are often reprimanded by candidates for asking them those questions. Personally, I wouldn’t put up with that from any candidate and didn’t during my career. Many candidates don’t seem to understand what ‘Freedom of the Press’ means and why it’s in the U.S. Constitution. Giving candidates lessons in the First Amendment live on television or radio would be a refreshing lesson for the public to see or hear. But, you say, candidates won’t ‘like’ me if I ask tough questions or make them look bad? Excuse me? Are you a journalist or a coward? Are you a reporter or a public relations assistant to the candidate? Candidates for office are not your ‘friends,’ so get over that silly idea — please. I don’t mean you shouldn’t be a friendly person as a journalist, but I do mean you shouldn’t hold back doing your job because you want candidates to like you and be your friend. Being disliked or falling into disfavor by candidates and elected office holders because of tough questioning used to be a badge of honor among journalists. That meant they were doing their job.

4. Many journalists don’t do stories that follow up on candidate claims. They allow a candidate to say that something is true without checking on the claim themselves. That might mean visiting a location and talking with residents about their experience with a particular individual or problem. Yes, I know it’s hot during the summer, cold during the winter, etc. Again, please, get over yourself. Either you want to be a real journalist or you want to be something else. You can’t do both. Make a choice and live up to the standards of the job you choose.

5. Many journalists are obviously ‘biased’ during interviews with candidates and in covering campaigns. It appears that many journalists go into their coverage having already ‘chosen sides’ politically. They seem more ‘activist’ than ‘journalist.’ The fact that those journalists continue covering campaigns tells me a lot about news management as well. A news manager who understands ‘real journalism’ also understands the necessity of ‘journalistic objectivity and accuracy.’ They will pull any offending journalist from covering political campaigns until that journalist is ready to be fair and accurate, resigns, or is fired for refusing to do their job.

6. Many journalists do not cover candidates ‘equally.’ Remember that there are usually two or more candidates running for every office. If one candidate says something about an issue or gets personal about another candidate, be sure to get the other candidate’s response. Be sure to give them a similar amount of time to address the issue. Remember the word ‘fairness?’ I rarely see that done, but when I do it’s often obvious that one candidate is placed in a ‘more favorable light’ than another candidate running for the same office. It’s not a journalist’s job to try to get one candidate elected instead of another. That’s biased and unprofessional activist preference. That needs to stop - NOW.

7. Many journalists follow the ‘path of least resistance’ when covering a campaign. They read from a candidate’s news release and report the candidate’s talking points as if they’re ‘true.’ They attend a candidate’s rally and play a couple of statements from the candidate — often without any attempt to confirm the truthfulness of the statements. One thing I’m noticing again this year is a lack of ‘originality and creativity’ when it comes to how journalists cover campaigns. It’s as if many journalists know nothing about ‘real journalism.’ I would ask if they had ever studied journalism in school, but unfortunately I know they did go to college or university and often ‘parrot’ their professors’ bias. No wonder the public doesn’t trust media coverage.

8. Many journalists lack basic ‘curiosity’ about their campaign coverage. It’s obvious in the way they approach the story, the way they write the story, and the way they present the story. Journalists’ live shots rarely show any strong interest in their story. It sometimes looks like they just want to get the story done so they can go do something else. Your audience deserves your very best efforts — not the left-overs of a boring day.

One of the reasons I graded local journalism at a C- is because of their affiliation with national networks that tend to be biased in national campaign coverage. The local anchors often toss to network reporters to cover national stories. As I watched or listened to the network reporters, the bias was so obvious. The local anchors did their jobs by reading intros and outros, but I wondered whether they agreed with the bias I had just witnessed. It’s not in every network ‘package,’ but enough to stand out to someone who spent a career in the ‘news business.’ It makes me wonder why local anchors don’t shake their heads in disgust after running these biased national stories. At least the local anchor could say something in the intro or outro about how they don’t necessarily agree with the national reporter’s bias. That probably wouldn’t go down well with station management — which is a whole other story.

Another reason I graded local media as below average is because they did little to develop ‘original reporting’ in their campaign election. Much of what I saw, heard, and read seemed predictable and a bit boring to be honest with you. Time is precious. Don’t waste your public’s time. No wonder so few people depend on local or national news anymore. They have better things to do with their time.

“Attention to local news has declined since 2016, mirroring trends in attention to national news and news in general. In 2025, 21% of Americans say they follow local news very closely, down from 37% in 2016.” Pew Research

Having worked as a street reporter, assignment editor, managing editor, executive producer, anchor, and news director in local broadcast news for decades, (plus being a state correspondent for two metro newspapers and two wire services), I know what local journalists are capable of doing. I hope to see some of that ‘spark’ reignited in the rest of this year’s campaign coverage.

News managers — I’m speaking to you. Train up your staff. Show them what it means to do ‘original’ reporting, ask tough questions, and uncover what candidates don’t want found. Your viewers will notice and thank you for it by continuing to watch, listen, or read.

Next Time

Speaking of viewers — how does the ‘public’ grade the news media for its coverage of political campaigns? I’ll share some sobering results in the next part of our series, Covering the 2026 Campaigns.

Comments and Questions Welcome

I hope these thoughts are helpful to you. Please share your comments and questions and I will respond as quickly as I can. If you like what we’re doing in this newsletter, please let your friends know about it so they can subscribe.

Newsletter Purpose

The purpose of this newsletter is to help people who work in the fields of journalism, media, and communications find ways to do their jobs that are personally fulfilling and helpful to others. I also want to help news consumers know how to find news sources they can trust.

We are currently looking at evidence for the credibility of the New Testament. This evidence is based on what was available in the early months of 1971 when I was investigating truth claims for the existence of God. I believed it would be simple to disprove God and Christianity, but I ran into some problems during the investigation. The problems were the evidence I found.

I started sharing the evidence that can lead an atheist to theism and Christianity several years ago (click here to read the first article in this series). We’ve most recently been looking at evidence for the reliability of the New Testament writings.

So far we’ve looked at –

• The Gospel Accounts

• Paul’s Writings

• James’ Writing

• Peter’s Writings

• John’s Writings (1 John)

• John’s Writings (2 and 3 John)

• John’s Authorship of Revelation (Internal Evidence)

• John’s Authorship of Revelation (External Evidence)

• Jude

• Luke’s Authorship of Acts (Internal Evidence)

• Luke’s Authorship of Acts (External Evidence)

• Archaeological Evidence for Acts (Part 1)

• Archaeological Evidence for Acts (Part 2)

Here is a basic investigative process for determining ancient authorship:

• Internal evidence – what we find in the letter itself .. claim of authorship, historical information, geographical information, biographical information.

• Language and style – comparing writing style of other letters believed to have been written by same author (e.g. vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar, idioms).

• Content – comparing the content with other letters believed to have been written by same author (e.g. theology, historical data).

• External evidence – ancient writers supporting claim of authorship, ancient writers quoting from writings in question.

We move now to the evidence for the authorship and credibility of Hebrews.

Hebrews

Internal Evidence

Hebrews is exactly what it sounds like — writings to the Hebrew people. It’s obvious from Hebrews that the Jewish audience believed that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah, though some were doubting because of persecution and other pressures. The author wrote to the Jewish believers to both confirm and bolster their faith in Christ as the promised Messiah. The author referenced the Old Testament Scriptures to confirm Jesus as the Messiah.

Hebrews includes more than 40 direct quotes from the Old Testament, but also has many allusions to OT Scripture as well. Only Romans has more direct OT quotes. However, Hebrews contains more words from the OT than Romans. The Jewish readers would have also appreciated the many references to Hebrew life and religious worship in the Book of Hebrews as well. They would understand that in a way Gentiles could not.

The Book of Hebrews quotes prominently from the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septuagint), which might point to an audience of Jewish readers living outside of Israel (part of the Diaspora).

Some of the big questions about the Book of Hebrews are:

• Who is the author?

• When did the author write it?

• Where was the author at the time of writing?

• Why did the author write it?

• Who was the original audience?

• How did the author deliver the writings to the audience?

Hebrews does not begin in a typical letter form. We find no introduction, welcome or mention of the author’s name. In fact, there is no identification of the author’s name anywhere in Hebrews. The author did mention “our brother Timothy” at the end of Hebrews (13:23), and the possible writing location (“Those from Italy greet you.” 13:23). The author also asked the Hebrews to “pray for us” and wrote that “I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.” The idea of being “restored” (apokatastathō – restore back to original position) may indicate that the author had spent time with these Hebrew believers previously.

The mention of Timothy’s name, that he had “been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly,” and the possible writing location of Italy may narrow the list of authors a bit. The author knew Timothy personally and wrote about visiting the recipients of the letter “with” Timothy. We know that Timothy was a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. However, that’s not necessarily strong enough to identify Paul as the author with any certainty.

What we can be certain about is that the recipients of the letter knew the identity of the author. The author’s personal appeal for prayer to be restored to them, the mention of Timothy’s being set free and visiting them with Timothy, and the greetings from “Those from Italy,” would point to a relationship between writer and readers.

The author had a strong understanding of 1st century Judaism and how the writings of the Old Testament prophets fit in with the identity of Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah. The author wrote in an authoritative style. What I mean by that is the author wrote with the authority the Hebrew Christians would have viewed as being authoritative (e.g. apostle, prophet). The author warned, exhorted, reproved, and commanded the readers, which supports the idea of the author being a recognized authority in the early Church. The readers would not have accepted a letter like that from a lesser authoritative figure. The author used the Greek translation of the Old Testament Scriptures, and appeared to be well educated and highly literate in the Greek language.

Hebrews 2:3 mentions the salvation spoken by the Lord and “confirmed to us by those who heard Him.” That would seem to exclude the Jewish apostles from authorship of the Book of Hebrews since they were the people who had heard Jesus in person. Some believe that would also exclude the Apostle Paul since he did speak personally with Jesus. However, the sense of “by those who heard Him” seems to be in the context of those disciples who traveled with Jesus prior to His ascension to Heaven. If true, that would leave Pauline authorship as a possibility.

Hebrews chapters 7 – 10 point to the practice of priests offering sacrifices for sin at the time of the writing.

For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Hebrews 10:1-4

That practice ceased once the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 AD. The internal evidence of Hebrews points to someone with apostolic authority writing the letter prior to the Temple’s destruction.

External Evidence

Several of the early Church fathers wrote about the Book of Hebrews and mentioned possible authors. The list includes the Apostle Paul, Luke, Barnabas, Silas, Apollos, Aquila, Priscilla, and Clement of Rome. All of these people would have personally known Timothy and could have written from Italy.

First, let’s look at some of the Apostolic Fathers (late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD). They did not mention the name of the author of Hebrews, but did allude to the writing:

Ignatius of Antioch (Bishop of Antioch, disciple of the Apostle John) had a possible allusion to Hebrews 11:39-40 in his Letter to the Philadelphians.

Polycarp (Bishop of Smyrna, disciple of the Apostle John) referred to verses from Hebrews 6:20, 7:3, and 12:28 in his Letter to the Philippians.

Though Clement of Rome quotes often from Hebrews in his Letter to the Corinthians, that does not mean he was the author of Hebrews. Clement was the bishop of Rome toward the end of the 1st century, which would be after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The fact that Clement quoted from Hebrews during the 1st century AD demonstrates that Hebrews was written earlier than 1 Clements and accepted as authoritative. Clement mentioned Paul as an “Apostle” who suffered at the hands of people “By reason of jealousy and strife” and also referred to Paul’s “epistle.”

Several of the early Church Fathers (2nd – 4th centuries AD) did mention the writer of Hebrews. Some believed Paul was the author and that he did not mention his name because many Jews mistrusted him because of his primary calling to the Gentiles. Some speculated that Paul wrote the letter in Hebrews and that Luke translated it into Greek. Others thought the author was Clement or Barnabas influenced by Paul.

Here’s an example from Tertullian of Carthage (late 2nd century AD Christian apologist):

For there is extant withal an Epistle to the Hebrews under the name of Barnabas–a man sufficiently accredited by God, as being one whom Paul has stationed next to himself in the uninterrupted observance of abstinence. Tertullian, On Modesty, XX

Hebrews was not included in the Muratorian Canon (2nd century AD), possibly because of the anonymity of authorship. However, the entire writing was included in the Codex Sinaiticus (4th century AD). Hebrews was also included in Codex Vaticanus (4th century AD).

Atheist Conclusion

It seemed to me as an atheist that Hebrews had been accepted by early Christians even though the identity of the author was not known with certainty. It was interesting to see the high view the author had about Jesus of Nazareth and how the early Church received that as truth. Not proof, but evidence to consider along with the rest of the New Testament.

Next Time

In the next part of our report we will look at the single most powerful evidence for Christianity that led me from atheism to theism to become a Christian.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Jesus Christ chose Saul of Tarsus (also known as Paul) as a ‘chosen vessel’ (Acts 9) to ‘bear’ (carry) His Name to Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. As we learn in the Book of Acts and Paul’s many letters, Jesus gave Paul ‘visions and revelations’ (2 Corinthians 12:1) that became the foundation of the ‘mystery’ of the Church Paul presented to the world. It is because of those special visions and revelations and the mystery that Jesus Christ gave Paul that I’m focusing on the apostle’s final letter for ‘rules for Christian Ministry.’ You can find the first five ‘rules’ for Christian ministry here and the second ‘five rules’ here. We move now to the third set of ‘five rules.’

Rule #11

Remind them of these things

Every Christian has ministry gifts (charismatōn). That’s clear from Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. We learn in Ephesians 4 that Jesus Christ ‘gave gifts to men’ when ‘He ascended on high.’ Those gifts (domata) are: ‘apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.’ Notice the difference in ‘gifts.’ Some are ‘grace gifts’ (charismatōn) so that every believer has a special ministry in the Body of Christ. Some are ‘gifts, presents’ (domata) that the Lord gave the Church for its orderly function.

We know that Timothy functioned as an apostolic representative (Paul called him a ‘fellow worker’) and also had received charismatos with the ‘laying on of the hands of the eldership’ (1 Timothy 4:14). We don’t know what spiritual gift Timothy received, but Paul did tell Timothy to ‘do the work of an evangelist’ and ‘fulfill your ministry’ later in 2 Timothy. Whatever ‘grace gift’ Timothy received most likely was connected to his ministry with Paul.

One of the things Paul wanted Timothy to do was ‘remind’ people ‘of these things.’ The Greek word for ‘remind’ is hupomimnéskó. It means ‘to put in mind, suggest to one’s memory, remind quietly, to remember because prompted.’ The context of Paul’s ‘reminder’ rule is what preceded 2 Timothy 2:14.

Rule #12

Charge them before the Lord

Paul wrote that ‘reminding’ people should lead to ‘charging’ them ‘before the Lord.’ Invoking the name of the Lord was a powerful way that prophets and apostles emphasized the importance of what they were saying. The word ‘charge’ is diamarturomai and means ‘to attest or protest earnestly, thoroughly bear witness, give solemn, earnest testimony.’

Paul’s focus for Timothy’s ‘charge’ was specific. He did not want Christians to ‘strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers.’ I find that interesting on several levels. One is that this continues to be a problem among Christians and church leaders almost two thousand years after Paul wrote Timothy. Another is that this is a problem that Christians and church leaders have dealt with through all the centuries of Church history.

The Greek word for ‘strive’ is logomacheó and means ‘quarrel, dispute on trifles, dispute about words.’ One my first memories of the hypocrisy of Christians and church leaders occurred when I was twelve years old. I was old enough to attend a church business meeting, so I did. Unfortunately, the meeting turned into a massive quarrel among church members and leaders. Some of the ugliest words I heard spoken that day were among leaders of the church. The things I heard people say to and about each other that day was the beginning of my eventually leaving my parents’ church and becoming an atheist. I doubt anyone in that meeting understood that their ‘striving about words’ that day would lead to the ‘ruin’ of myself and other hearers in the meeting. The word ‘ruin’ in the Greek is katastrophé and means ‘destruction, ruin, demolition, catastrophe, subversion, overthrowing of.’ I was ‘ruined’ for a time by their words, but was saved years later by the love and grace of God.

The Apostle Paul knew that Christians and church leaders would get involved in quarrels and disputes about words and those quarrels could lead to the ‘ruin’ of hearers’ (akouó – audience). So, he told Timothy to ‘charge’ members and leaders of local churches NOT to do that. Unfortunately, Paul’s words have been ignored by Christians for the most part for the past two-thousand years. Enough already. Christians and church leaders need to stop playing ‘god’ and get back to obeying God.

Rule #13

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed

The Greek word translated ‘diligent’ is spoudazó. It means ‘endeavor, labor, make every effort, be earnest, be prompt, be earnest, be eager, be diligent, use speed.’ That sounds pretty important, doesn’t it? It’s as if Paul was saying ‘there’s no time to waste .. get busy.’ What did Paul think was so important? ‘to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed.’

The word ‘approved’ in the Greek is dokimos and means ‘tried, accepted as genuine.’ This is important. Remember that Paul emphasized Timothy’s faith being ‘genuine’ at the beginning of this letter (2 Timothy 1:5). Paul then moved to Timothy’s ministry being ‘genuine.’ There’s a difference that we find explained well in Ephesians 2:8-10.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Faith is a free gift that God gives people. It’s not of works because people would brag about what they had done to be saved. However, we are God’s ‘workmanship,’ created in Jesus Christ ‘for good works,’ We are not saved by works of righteousness which we have done (Titus 3:5), but we are saved with a view toward ‘doing good works.’ That’s ministry. Our salvation is a free gift. Our ministry is serving God through good works. Make sense? God approves of us as His children by grace through faith, ‘and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God.’ God approves of our ministry (service) for Him through our diligence as workers who do not need to be ashamed.

The word ‘worker’ is ergatés and means ‘laborer, workman.’ The words ‘does not need to be ashamed’ are a translation of the Greek word anepaischuntos. It basically means ‘unashamed, not ashamed.’ I would think that every Christian and every church leader would like to God to view them in a positive light – being ‘unashamed.’ However, that is far from reality. Many Christians and their leaders are ‘not approved’ by God and should be ‘ashamed’ of themselves. Why? Because they do not ‘rightly divide the word of truth.’ What does that mean?

Rule #14

Rightly divide the word of Truth

The Greek is ὀρθοτομοῦντα τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας. The word ὀρθοτομοῦντα (orthotomounta) means ‘to make a straight cut, to dissect correctly, to handle correctly, rightly divide.’ λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας (logon tēs alētheias) means ‘the word, the doctrine, the teaching, the communication, the word, of truth, of fact, of reality). It is up to every Christian to ‘rightly divide the word of truth’ – which basically means making the correct interpretation based on understanding the Word of God correctly. The fact that Christians have come up with hundreds (even thousands) of different interpretations for the same portions of Scripture is evidence that a lot of people have not ‘rightly divided’ the Word of Truth. There is ‘one truth,’ not hundreds.

Christians should be ashamed of themselves. Hundreds of millions of Christians living now and those living in the past have made serious errors in their studying and teaching of God’s Word. Don’t be one of them.

Rule #15

Shun profane and idle babblings

Paul also told Timothy to emphasize to Christians that they should ‘shun profane and idle babblings.’ The Greek is βεβήλους κενοφωνίας περιΐστασο and means to ‘avoid empty worldly babblings.’ The word ‘wordly” (bebélos) means ‘profane, wicked, godless.’ The word for ‘idle babblings’ is kenophónia and means ’empty chatter, vain and fruitless discussion.’ The word ‘shun’ is periistémi and means ‘avoid, keep away from, block out, avoid all contact.’ Whoa! That sounds serious. Did Paul really mean that Christians should avoid Christians and their leaders whose conversations are vain, empty, and fruitless? Yes, that’s exactly what Paul told Timothy. If more Christians and church leaders followed Paul’s apostolic command, the ‘church’ would be in less of a mess than what it is now and has been for thousands of years.

Why is this important? Let’s finish Paul’s command: “But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.” The Greek is γὰρ προκόψουσιν ἀσεβείας and means that allowing Christians to keep talking wicked, profane, fruitless chatter will ‘lead’ (prokoptó – increase, drive forward, advance) ‘ungodliness’ (asebeia – irreverence, wickedness, lack of respect).

Paul’s words to Timothy were not hypothetical. He had seen it with his own eyes. In fact, he gave Timothy a real-life example:

“And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:17-19

My guess is that you have seen many examples of this kind of behavior. I know I have. What did you do about it? Did you ‘avoid’ the ‘idle babbler’ or did you listen to what they said? If you gave ear to what they said, you were part of leading others to disrespect God’s Word and ‘overthrow the faith of some.’ If you avoided the ‘idle babblers,’ good for you. However, I’ll bet you paid a price for doing that. I know I did. It cost me and my family a lot to stand against the wickedness and ungodliness in churches, but I still believe it was the right thing to do. I hope you do as well.

I’ll share five more rules for Christian ministry in the next podcast.

In Christ’s Love and Grace,

Mark McGee

GraceLife / Faith and Self Defense / Grace Martial Arts / Substack

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© 1971-2026

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What is the best method of self defense for the elderly? My simple answer is “the one that works.” A more complex answer might be - “the one you can learn to use.”

As for who I mean when I use the term “elderly,” please refer back to the first part of our series.

Learning Self Defense

Self defense begins with physical and emotional assessment, then moves to awareness, and a person’s fitness for defense. The next step is to find a teacher.

Finding a teacher is more than just selecting a particular self-defense system to study. It also includes the teacher’s aptitude to teach the elderly and a sensitivity to their special needs. I’ve been teaching self defense for more than 60 years, but readily admit it took awhile before I understood how to teach older people. Becoming an older person myself certainly helped, but a good teacher will study the needs of all the people who attend their classes.

As more and more older people attend a class, the teacher should look for ways to help them with their special needs. The instructor may find that scheduling a specific class for people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, might be helpful. An older person can continue to train with younger classmates if they like, but some might want to train with people their own age. It’s an individual thing, so having options is a good idea.

Special Note for Seniors

Older people are usually gentle people, so some of the self-defense target areas I’m going to mention may sound like “dirty” fighting. Let me be clear as someone who has been a senior citizen for many years .. there is no such thing as “dirty” self defense when an elderly person is attacked. Most attacks on older people are by younger people. That’s what I call “dirty.” Many attacks on older people are vicious and violent. That’s what I call “dirty.” So, anything that an older person can use to defend themselves should not be considered “dirty.”

However, if an older person were to get the upper hand on an attacker and attempt to take revenge on them for the attack, that’s where the “dirty” line is crossed. Once an older person is free to escape an attack, they should escape .. not try to take revenge.

Now, let’s look at some effective martial arts an older person could study to learn how to defend themselves.

T’ai Chi Ch’uan

T’ai Chi Ch’uan is an excellent self-defense system for older people. Grand Master John Chung Li used to say that Hwa Yu T’ai Chi Ch’uan was “good for health and self defense.” I agree. T’ai Chi is excellent for improving people’s health – people of all ages. It is also good for self defense. T’ai Chi Ch’uan can be extremely effective at defending against attack and defeating an opponent. Hwa Yu, like some other system of T’ai Chi Ch’uan, include short Animal forms that are easy to learn and use in real-life situations.

T’ai Chi can help older people build strength and balance, which are important to health and self defense. T’ai Chi Ch’uan uses basic martial arts principles like evasion, quartering, and countering. All of those are important to an older person’s success in defending themselves against attack. We use the following terms in Hwa Yu T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Yon Ch’uan Martial Arts:

• Yield

• Clear

• Contact

• Control

• Counter

Though T’ai Chi Ch’uan has the appearance of a slow-moving and gentle exercise, it can also be used quickly to defend against an attacker. GM Li used to say, “slow makes fast.” Moving slowly at first helps build a person’s ability to move quickly and effectively when necessary. T’ai Chi instructors who understand the self-defense aspects of the art will guide students to understand how to use the movements if attacked.

One of the best self-defense techniques in T’ai Chi Ch’uan is “coiling and uncoiling.” It’s a way of moving your wrist and forearm in a way that facilitates a quick escape from someone who grabs you. We teach it to everyone from young children to older adults. The technique is part of the “Contact/Control” feature of T’ai Chi, which can also be used for pulling someone into a throw or pushing someone away from you. Contact is usually made with the “coiling” technique. Control is usually made with the “uncoiling” technique. It’s a way of escaping from an attacker without doing them much harm.

There are times when a person needs to cause harm to an attacker (see Special Note for Seniors above). That means striking a target area that brings the attack to a quick and effective end. Targets in T’ai Chi Ch’uan include an attacker’s eyes, nose, temples, throat, solar plexus, groin, knees, shins, and top of feet. If your teacher knows Chin Na, you can also learn joint locking to set up an attacker for a quick throw. I don’t recommend that older people attempt to place attackers in holds.

Having something in your pocket or purse that you can throw toward the eyes of an attacker can give you an advantage as well. In the brief moment that they blink their eyes because of something coming at them, you can evade and escape, or counter attack.

If an older person happens to use a cane for walking or balance, the cane can be an excellent self-defense weapon. Some T’ai Chi instructors will know how to help you learn to use your cane for that purpose. Other options are to learn how to use near-by objects that you can grab and use to defend yourself. I call that “environmental” defense weapons because they are available in any given environment in which you find yourself. Learning how to wield environmental weapons so that an attacker cannot easily block or evade the weapon is an important part of the lessons. A quick cane handle strike to an attacker’s throat or solar plexus, or a powerful lifting cane strike to an attacker’s groin can give you the time you need to escape to safety.

If you use a walker or rollator (also known as a wheeled walker) to get around, try to keep it between you and the attacker making it more difficult for him to reach you. Yell or scream for help while you do that. The attacker may give up trying to reach you if he fears someone coming to your defense. I recommend that elderly people not walk outside at night if possible. If you must do that, ask other people to walk with you. Attackers usually won’t try attacking a group of people, especially if they see younger people in the group.

Karate

Karate is another excellent system of self defense for older people. I include Kempo, Tang Soo Do, Taekwondo, and Krav Maga in this category. Even if an older person was not a Karate student when they were younger, they can still learn defensive techniques that are effective against an attack. Yon Ch’uan Martial Arts is an excellent example of how to use blocks, kicks, strikes, traps, and throws in defending against an attack. The principles of evasion, quartering, and countering are also applicable in Karate.

Targets in Karate include an attacker’s eyes, nose, temples, throat, solar plexus, groin, knees, shins, and top of feet. If your teacher knows Chin Na or Jujutsu, you can also learn joint locking to set up an attacker for a quick throw.

Having something in your pocket or purse that you can throw toward the eyes of an attacker can give you an advantage as well. In the brief moment that they blink their eyes because of something coming at them, you can evade and escape, or counter attack.

Karate also has many weapons that you can learn to use, but it’s important to remember that an attacker may be able to take the weapon away and use it on you. Learning how to use a short stick (e.g. Yawara, Escrima) in class is also a good way of understanding how to grab something near you (e.g. environmental) and use it as a defensive and/or offensive weapon.

I also want to make mention of yelling or shouting for self defense. Karate teaches students to yell or shout loudly as they strike .. sometimes when they block. Martial artists use the yell to help focus their power into the strike. A side benefit is that students learn how to yell loudly. If an attacker pulls you close to their head, yell loudly into their ear. The sound will disable their thinking for just a moment. If you kick them in their groin with your knee immediately following your shout, that could be enough to escape.

Kung Fu

Kung Fu has many similarities to Karate. That’s because some older Karate styles came from Kung Fu. Many of the things written above also apply to Kung Fu. Some styles of Kung Fu are more external in the way power is generated for martial techniques. Some styles of Kung Fu are more internal and in the way power is generated for martial techniques. I’ve studied both and both are effective. However, older people may find internal Kung Fu will work better for them.

Hwa Yu T’ai Chi Ch’uan, 15 Animal Kung Fu, and Yon Ch’uan Martial Arts are examples of internal Kung Fu. Wing Chun is another Kung Fu that some elderly people say they like for self defense.

Judo and Aikido

I don’t usually recommend that older people study Judo and Aikido unless they have previous experience with it because of the dangers related to falling. Older people can learn how to off-balance and throw someone, but the rigors of falling and being thrown in class could lead to serious injury. If you have previous experience with Judo or Aikido you will probably do fine as long as the teacher understands how aging affects martial artists.

Experienced Judo and Aikido instructors will be careful in training older people without previous experience in the arts. I have taught older people how to fall for the purpose of not hurting themselves if they slip on ice, trip over their dog, etc. However, the training needs to be done slowly and carefully. Most elderly people I’ve trained were thankful to see how safe falling works, but didn’t want to practice it. That’s okay. The choice needs to be theirs.

Judo and Aikido are both effective in self defense because they use an attacker’s strength and force against them. We teach both in Yon Ch’uan Martial Arts as alternatives to harsher defenses (e.g. kicks, strikes, etc). However, I will say that yielding, clearing, and blending with an attacker so that he is thrown into a wall or other hard object will definitely leave a mark (on them).

Jujutsu

Many attacks on people, including the elderly, go to the ground. Learning some basics of how to survive a ground attack can be beneficial, even life-saving. An important key, as with Judo, is to train with a teacher who has experience working with elderly students. That’s based on any previous experience with Jujutsu, strength, fitness, and flexibility. The last thing an older person wants to do is injure themselves learning how not to be injured. Older people do not heal as quickly as younger people, so keep that in mind as you select a self-defense method.

Boxing

Boxing can be a good fitness exercise for older people, but finding a teacher who understands the physical needs of seniors is important. Previous experience with boxing is also helpful. I saw a convenience store video of an older man (in his 70s) knock out three young men who were trying to rob him as he was leaving the store. The man had been a champion boxer when he was younger, so he knew how to take a strong stance and deliver the knockout blows. However, an older person with no previous boxing experience would need to learn from a good teacher who would honestly evaluate whether boxing was a good fit for them.

Boxing is fighting and fighting is not usually the best option for an older person. However, if your only way out of an attack is to take a strong stance and hit people, hard boxing can be an option.

My Personal Recommendation

After more than 60 years training people in martial arts and self defense, my personal recommendation to older people is to begin with T’ai Chi Ch’uan – especially those older than 70, and people with medical conditions or physical limitations. T’ai Chi is good for health and self defense, so it can help you in both areas. Plus, T’ai Chi classes are usually a lot of fun!

Here are a couple of photos from 2001 and 2002 of members of my T’ai Chi class in Columbus, Georgia. We did many demonstrations of the art to introduce the benefits of the exercise to the community. You can see that people of all ages and physical conditions can enjoy T’ai Chi.

Find a teacher who has many years of experience in both the health and self defense sides of T’ai Chi. Once you have some solid training in T’ai Chi Ch’uan, you may find that you’d like to also learn something else. That other martial art may be taught in the same location as your T’ai Chi class, or your teacher or fellow students may have some good suggestions for you.

Next Time

I’ll share some special advice for seniors in the next part of our special series, Protecting The Vulnerable.

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How Do I Subscribe To A ‘Section’ On Substack?

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I am here to help you, so please share your comments, concerns, and questions about self defense. Even though I’m emphasizing “Women’s” self defense, the principles and techniques I’ll share are just as applicable for boys and men.

Coverage for the 2026 elections is well underway. Some cities and counties are still counting mail-in ballots, and many state primaries will continue through the Summer and into the Fall. Whether your city, county, and state have finished primary season or there’s more to come, it’s time to seriously consider how well you’re covering candidates and the issues important to your audience.

The United States is technically a ‘federal constitutional republic.’ It functions as a representative democracy. The same is true for most cities, counties, and states. The ‘people’ elect other people to ‘represent’ them on school boards, city councils, county commissions, state and federal legislatures (e.g. state house and senate, federal house and senate). Voters also elect individuals to serve as executive leaders (e.g. mayors, governors, president, etc.). Some communities and states also elect judges, while other communities and states have judges who are appointed. The Supreme Court of the United States has Justices who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate (currently one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.)

I’ve covered local, state, and federal elections since 1968. That means I’ve interviewed hundreds of candidates and thousands of voters during that time. I tried to learn how I was doing by examining my personal coverage during and after every campaign and election season. My purpose was simple — I wanted to do a better job the next election cycle.

After I became a news manager, I examined how members of my news team were doing by asking some basic questions. I hope these questions might help you as you cover the 2026 local, state, and federal campaigns.

Questions

1. How well do I understand the responsibilities of every elected office I’m covering? Am I interested in learning more about how government works?

2. Did I do a thorough job of researching the duties of each office and each candidate? How could I improve my research skills?

3. Did I ask good questions when I interviewed candidates? That includes insightful and sometimes tough follow-up questions. Am I interested enough to improve?

4. How well do the candidates understand the responsibilities of the office for which they are campaigning? If they don’t understand, am I willing to ask them why not? If they won’t answer, am I prepared to report that fact to my audience?

5. If a candidate has held an elected office previously, how well did they do in meeting the duties of that office? If they did not do well, did I point that out and ask for reasons why they underserved their constituents? If they wouldn’t answer my tough questions, did I report that fact to my audience?

6. If a candidate has never held public office, what did they do before they announced their candidacy? Were they successful in their previous employment? Is there anything about their life that might cause voters concern about their fitness to serve as their representative?

7. Did I ask first-time candidates why they were running for a particular office and what they wanted to accomplish? Did their answers show that they understand the duties of the office? Did I ask insightful, tough questions that would show the audience what kind of representative the candidate might be for voters?

8. Have I been fair and accurate in my coverage of every candidate? If not, why not? Am I willing to do better at being fair and accurate?

9. Am I biased toward one candidate over others? If so, why? Am I willing to put my personal biases aside and do the job of ‘real journalism?’

10. Am I willing to improve at doing my job as a journalist covering political campaigns? If not, why not? Should I consider another line of employment if I don’t want to improve?

Next Time

How would you ‘grade’ current news coverage of local and national campaigns? I’ll share my grade in the next part of this new series, Covering the 2026 Campaigns.

Comments and Questions Welcome

I hope these thoughts are helpful to you. Please share your comments and questions and I will respond as quickly as I can. If you like what we’re doing in this newsletter, please let your friends know about it so they can subscribe.

Newsletter Purpose

The purpose of this newsletter is to help people who work in the fields of journalism, media, and communications find ways to do their jobs that are personally fulfilling and helpful to others. I also want to help news consumers know how to find news sources they can trust.

We are currently looking at evidence for the credibility of the New Testament. This evidence is based on what was available in the early months of 1971 when I was investigating truth claims for the existence of God. I believed it would be simple to disprove God and Christianity, but I ran into some problems during the investigation. The problems were the evidence I found.

I started sharing the evidence that can lead an atheist to theism and Christianity several years ago (click here to read the first article in this series). We’ve most recently been looking at evidence for the reliability of the New Testament writings.

So far we’ve looked at –

• The Gospel Accounts

• Paul’s Writings

• James’ Writing

• Peter’s Writings

• John’s Writings (1 John)

• John’s Writings (2 and 3 John)

• John’s Authorship of Revelation (Internal Evidence)

• John’s Authorship of Revelation (External Evidence)

• Jude

• Luke’s Authorship of Acts (Internal Evidence)

• Luke’s Authorship of Acts (External Evidence)

• Archaeological Evidence for Acts (Part 1)

In the last part of our series, we looked at some examples of names, places and environments mentioned in the first five chapters of Acts to see what we could learn about them from archaeology. The process demonstrated will work for the remaining chapters in Acts as well.

In this second part of that study, we will look at several of the most important archaeological finds pertaining to the Book of Acts.

Archaeological Findings for Acts (Available in 1971)

The Pilate Stone — Archaeologists found a damaged block of carved limestone in Caesarea Maritime in 1961, just ten years before I began my investigation. The stone dates to the 1st century AD and includes the Roman inscription “[Pont]ius Pilatus.” The stone confirmed that Pontius Pilate was “prefect of Judea” from 26 – 37 AD. Caesarea Maritmia was most likely Pilate’s headquarters. The Pilate Stone is located at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Jewish Ruler Coins — Archaeologists found many coins in Israel that date to the 1st century AD and support information in Acts about rulers of that era. They include the following names:

• Philip, son of Herod the Great

• Herod I

• King Herod the Great

• Agrippa I

• Antonius Felix

Synagogue of the Freedman Inscription — Excavation in Jerusalem in 1913 discovered inscription about a man named “Theodotus” .. “Theodotus constructed the synagogue.” Theodotus’ father had a Latin name, “which probably means that the father was one of the Jews captured by Pompey … taken to Rome, and later liberated, becoming a ‘libertine’ or freedman. Thus, it seems likely that this inscription, bearing the name appropriate for a freedman or libertine may come from this very synagogue of the libertines which initiated the persecution against Stephen … This name Vettenos is the type of name which would be given by a man named Vettius to his slave.” (Archareology and Bible History, Joseph P. Free, Scripture Press, 1969, p310) .. Acts 6:9.

Queen Candace of the Ethiopians — Archaeological excavations in Nubia from 1908-09 discovered a group of queens called Candace during the 1st century AD. Acts 8:27.

Sergius Paulus Inscription — A Greek inscription for Sergius Paulus was found on the northern coast of Cyprus in 1877. The Apostle Paul and Barnabas met Sergius Paulus and preached Christ to him (Acts 13:4-12). The inscription is currently housed in the Yalvac Museum in Cyprus. Other 1st century inscriptions for Sergius Paulus include a boundary stone and an inscription stone discovered near Pisidian Antioch.

Erastus Inscription — Erastus is mentioned in Acts 19, Romans 16, and 2 Timothy 4. Paul calls him “the treasurer of the city” in Romans and mentions in 2 Timothy that Erastus “stayed in Corinth.” Slabs with an inscription with his name were discovered in Corinth between 1929 and 1947. The Latin inscription translates as – “Erastus laid this pavement at his own expense, in appreciation of his appointment as aedile.” An aedile was a Roman magistrate responsible for public buildings and festivals. The inscription is located in a grassy area east of the city theatre.

Gallio Inscription — Luke mentioned Gallio in Acts 18:12 as being “proconsul of Achaia.” Jews brought Paul before Gallio because of his preaching. The Gallio Inscription, also known as the Delphi Inscription (a group of nine fragments), was discovered in Delphis, Greece, in 1908. It confirms that Junius Annaeus Gallio was proconsul of Achaia during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD). The Gallio Inscription is believed to date to about 52 AD. The events of Acts 18 are believed to support Paul’s being in Corinth between 51-53 AD.

Tyrannus Inscription — Luke mentioned Tyrannus in Acts 19:9 as having a school in Ephesus. The “school” was more of a lecture hall. Though it hasn’t been discovered yet, several inscriptions dating to the 1st century AD with the name Tyrannus have been found in Ephesus, including one on a stone pillar.

Ephesian Magic Books — Luke wrote in Acts 19:19 about many Ephesians who responded to Paul’s preaching and burned their books about magic. Excavations in that part of the world since the 19th century have found ancient scrolls dated to the 1st century with the wording of magical spells.

Temple of Artemis (Diana) — Luke wrote in Acts 19 that Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of the goddess Artemis, gathered many men who worked in similar trades. Demetrius was concerned that the impact of Paul’s preaching in Ephesus could end their trade and dethrone the goddess. They caused quite a riot until a city leader calmed and dismissed the crowd. The Ephesian temple of Artemis (known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world) was discovered in 1863. Excavations in the 20th century discovered the theatre where the silversmiths dragged Paul’s traveling companions.

Zeus and Hermes — Luke recorded in Acts 14 that Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra when Paul healed a cripple who had been lame from birth. The people raised their voices in the Lycaonia language saying “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” They called Barnabas, Zeus and called Paul, Hermes. Paul and Barnabas denied their claim and Paul was stoned and left for dead, though he rose up and went into the city. Archaeologists unearthed a temple and several inscriptions in the ancient of Lystra in 1909 that showed the importance of Zeus and Hermes to the people. The inscriptions showed that the people of Lystra believed the gods would return in the future, which might explain why they were so quick to believe Paul and Barnabas were those gods.

Asiarch — Luke used the term Asiarchés in Acts 19:31. The ESV and NASB use the Greek name — “Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater.” The NJKV translates the word as “officials,” but includes this note — “Asiarchs, rulers of Asia, the province.” Asiarchs was a term used for public patrons and leaders named by cities in the Roman province of Asia (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Holman Reference, 2003, p 131). Some of these rulers were friends of the Apostle Paul. Archaeological discoveries of inscriptions in Ephesus and other parts of the region have shown that the term asiarchs was used for community leaders during the 1st century AD.

Politarch — Luke used the term politarchas (city rulers, city leaders) in Acts 17:6 — “But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, ‘These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.’” Archaeology has confirmed from inscriptions that the name politarch was used during the 1st century AD in many cities of the Roman Empire (e.g. inscription discovered in 1895 on an arch in Thessalonica). Politarchs served as city leaders and magistrates.

Paul’s Roman Citizenship — Luke mentioned Paul’s Roman citizenship in Acts 22:28. Paul told a Roman commander that he had been “born a citizen.” Luke recorded Paul as saying he was born in Tarsus (Acts 21:39). The Hatay Archaeology Museum (Antakya, Turkey) contains four letters of Octavian granting citizenship to Seleucus of Rhosus who had helped Octavian during his naval struggles with Marc Antony of Egypt. Octavian mentioned Le Munatia et Aemilia as a legal basis for his grant to Seleucus. The citizenship grant included Seleucus’ wife, children, and parents. It is a demonstration of how Paul’s family may have also received Roman citizenship through some special service rendered to Rome.

Claudius’ Command To Jews to Leave Rome — Jews lived in Rome in the 1st century AD and were expelled twice from the city, only to be allowed to return. The first occurred in the reign of Tiberius (19 AD). The second occurred in the reign of Claudius (approx. 49 AD) because of problems between Jews and followers of “Chrestus” (Christ?). Luke mentioned that event in Acts 18:2 when Paul met Aquila and Priscilla who had come to Corinth from Italy “because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome.” The 1st century Roman historian Suetonius wrote about the event as did the 2nd century Roman historian Lucius Cassius Dio.

Caesarea Marítima — Archaeological excavations have confirmed the 1st century existence of the city mentioned in Acts. Caesarea became the capital of Judea in 6 AD. Luke mentioned the city more than a dozen times in Acts. Herod had a palace in Caesarea and died in the city (Acts 12 and Josephus). The Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea for more than two years. Paul made an appeal to King Agrippa and Felix (the governor) in Caesarea. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote about Felix in Tacitus History 5:9. Porcius Festus succeeded Felix as governor of Judea and Felix left Paul in prison. Josephus mentioned Festus in Antiquities 20:8-9.

Iconium — Luke wrote that Iconium was located in Phyrigia. Cicero and others wrote that Iconium was located in Lycaonia. However, a monument discovered in 1910 confirmed Luke’s information that Iconium was a city in Phyrigia.

Azotus — Luke wrote in Acts 8:40 that Philip “was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.” Excavations north of Gaza show that Azotus was both a coastal city and inland city that was built on the ancient Philistine location of the city of Ashdod. The city was later destroyed and restored. Herod the Great seized the town and made coastal Azotus a Jewish city. It eventually became an imperial estate.

Tarsus — The Apostle Paul was born in Tarsus. Excavations have confirmed that Tarsus was a flourishing city in western Cilicia that had a Jewish community.

Lydda — Luke wrote about the city of Lydda in Acts 9 where the Apostle Peter healed people and preached Christ. Lydda was known previously as Lod in the Old Testament. It was an important city located on the eastern edge of Sharon (a plain). Excavations have discovered a Jewish tomb and Greco-Samaritan inscription.

Joppa — Luke also mentioned Joppa in Acts 9. That’s where Peter raised a woman (Dorcas) from the dead. Joppa is about 11 miles northwest of Lydda. Excavations have confirmed the town’s existence prior to and during the 1st century AD.

Phoenicia — Luke mentioned Phoenicia in Acts 11:19. Archaeological excavations have confirmed that it was well-known prior to and during the 1st century AD.

Cyrene — Luke mentioned Cyrene in Acts 11:20. It was the name of a city and Roman province in the 1st century AD. Cyrene had a large Jewish community during that time. Excavations have confirmed its existence and prominence during the time Luke wrote Acts.

Antioch (Syria) — Luke mentioned Antioch of Syria in Acts 11 and other parts of his letter. Antioch became Paul’s primary church and headquarters for his missionary journeys. Antioch was a large and important city in the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Archaeological excavation has been difficult because the modern Turkish city of Antakya was built over the ancient site.

Ancient Tiberius — Excavations by Bezalel Rabani of the ancient city (1945-1956). Findings include street, bathhouse, marketplace, possible basilica, fortified gateway with towers, pottery, metal, glass, jewelry, and coins. A. Druks uncovered a large urban villa complex in 1964. M. Dothan uncovered two synagogues between 1961-1963.

Forum of Appius — Luke mentioned this forum in Acts 28:15. It was located about 40 miles from Rome. A milestone for 43 miles from Rome was discovered in the area. Archaeological excavations found pottery and other materials from before the 1st century AD. It served as a post station for travelers.

Three Taverns — Luke mentioned this in Acts 28:15. It was located about 30 miles from Rome and the first or last stop for travelers (depending on leaving from or headed to Rome).

The locations of many other regions and cities Luke mentioned in Acts are confirmed as accurate by archaeological excavations and historical documents, including:

• Seleucia

• Salamis

• Paphos

• Perga

• Lystra

• Lycaonia

• Galatia

• Phrygia

• Derbe

• Pamphylia

• Attalia

• Troas

• Samothrace

• Philippi

• Neapolis

• Thyatira

• Amphipolis

• Apollonia

• Thessalonica

• Macedonia

• Berea

• Athens

• Corinth

• Pisidian Antioch

• Rome

• Ephesus

• Cenchrae

• Alexandria

• Assos

• Miletus

• Mitylene

• Chios

• Samos

• Cos

• Rhodes

• Patara

• Ptolemais

• Jerusalem

• Antipatris

• Adramyttium

• Sidon

• Lycia

• Myra

• Cnidus

• Salmone

• Fair Havens

• Lasea

• Phoenix

• Cauda

• Syrtis

• Adriatic Sea

• Malta

• Syracuse

• Rhegium

• Puteoli

You may find Sir Walter Ramsay’s book The Cities of St. Paul (Baker Book House, 1949) helpful in your study of the archaeology of many of these ancient areas. The book is based on lectures Ramsay gave at Mansfield College, Oxford, in 1907.

Archaeology and Bible History by Joseph P. Free (Scripture Press, 1969) is also helpful.

The Popular Handbook of Archaeology and the Bible by Joseph Holden and Norman Geisler is a more recent book with updated archaeological findings (Harvest House Publishers, 2013).

The Archaeology Study Bible (ESV) is a wonderful reference with updated information across the entire spectrum of Scripture in addition to the Book of Acts (Crossway, 2017).

Luke’s Accuracy

Many scholars acknowledge that Luke was a master historian because of his knowledge of the travels of Paul and others and the accuracy of his accounts. In addition to the people, cities, and regions mentioned above, Luke accurately described ships, crew members, harbors, wind systems, and other historical data and aspects of ancient travel. The discoveries of nautical archaeology support many of these findings, including shipwrecks similar to what happened to Paul in Acts 27.

Archaeology has also shown that Luke was accurate in his use of terms. Some of them include:

• Athenian word for Paul as spermologos (“babbler” “seed picker” Acts 17:18)

• Greek word for member of Athenian court as Areopagitēs (“judge of the court of Areopagus” Acts 17:34)

• Greek word for “city clerk” as grammateus (“writer” “scribe” “clerk” Acts 19:35)

• Greek word for “temple guardian” as neōkoron (“temple keeper” “temple warden” honorary title Acts 19:35)

• Greek plural for two or more proconsuls as anthupatoi (plural “male proconsuls” Acts 19:38)

• Greek words for “first man of the Island” as prōtō tēs nēsou (“chief, first” “principal” “most important” Acts 28:7) .. NKJV translates “leading citizen of the island”

• Greek word for taking soundings as bolisantes and knowledge of water depth near Malta (“to heave the lead” “cast the line for sounding” Acts 27:28)

Next Time

In the next part of this report we will look at the single most powerful evidence for Christianity that led me from atheism to theism to become a Christian.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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The Apostle Paul wrote many letters to churches and individuals during his earthly ministry. Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was a fierce enemy of Jesus Christ and His followers, but the resurrected and ascended Jesus met Paul on the road to Damascus and called him to become a powerful preacher of the Gospel to Gentiles, kings, and Jews – but especially Gentiles (Acts 9).

Paul wrote almost half of the New Testament. A man who ministered closely with Paul for many years, Luke, wrote two of the longest Books in the New Testament – the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. The tremendous influence that Paul had on Christianity was not a mistake or a fluke. It was by design – God’s design.

When Paul knew that his days on earth were numbered and he would not get out of prison to start any more churches, he wrote one final letter. We know it as 2 Timothy. When a man knows his life is coming to an end and he has important things to share, we often find those things in his final words. That’s why I chose 2 Timothy for this series.

You can find the first five ‘rules’ for Christian ministry here. Let’s move now to the second ‘five rules.’ They begin in 2 Timothy chapter two.

Rule #6

Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus

Paul told Timothy to ‘be strong’ (endunamoó) in the ‘grace’ (charis) that is in Christ Jesus. Paul was about to leave the earth for Heaven. He had spent decades preaching the Gospel, seeing people reconciled to God, starting churches, selecting elders, and training them for ministry. Here in his final letter Paul told one of the men who had ministered with him longest (Acts 16) the ‘rules for ministry.’ Timothy had traveled to many cities with Paul and seen how he had faced opposition and persecution. Paul addressed that a little later in this same letter:

“But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:10-12

Paul knew Timothy would suffer greatly when he and others (e.g. Titus) took on Paul’s mantle to continue taking the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles. Paul knew it would take to keep going and not giving up. Timothy would have to ‘be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.’ Trying to do something as difficult as ministering to a world filled with people who hate you would take far more than your natural courage. It would take a ‘supernatural’ ability that would come directly from the grace of Christ. That’s true for all of us.

Rule #7

Commit Paul’s words to faithful men who will be able to teach others also

Paul told Timothy to ‘commit’ (paratithémi – entrust, commend, place alongside) Paul’s words (which the Holy Spirit inspired) to ‘faithful men’ (pistos anthrópos – faithful, trustworthy, loyal to faith, people, humans) who will be able to ‘teach others also’ (kai heteros didaskó – cause to learn, instruct, impart knowledge). This is important to God’s plan for how His Word would continue to be heard and understand after the death of the apostles. Many people call this the ‘Timothy Principle.’

We know very little about Timothy’s ministry after Paul’s death (no known letters have been attributed to Timothy). Various church traditions have Timothy continuing to serving as an apostolic representative to the early Church even as he had done for years with the Apostle Paul. Other tradition has him serving as the bishop the church in Ephesus until he was murdered for his stand for Christ and against paganism. Whichever is true, I believe we can be assured that Timothy did what Paul told him to do. Timothy would have committed Paul’s word to faithful men who would be able to teach others also. That chain of people ‘committing Paul’s words to faithful men’ continues to this day. It is one of God’s ‘rules for ministry.’

Rule #8

Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ

The Greek words Paul used at the beginning of 2 Timothy 2:3 were sugkakopatheó hós kalos stratiótés. The idea of what Paul was telling Timothy is that he should ‘suffer in hardship with’ others who were also suffering. sugkakopatheó can also be translated as ‘partaking in affliction with others.’ Paul used the example of that ‘shared suffering’ ‘as a good soldier’ of Jesus Christ. Soldiers are often wounded or even killed in wars. That’s one of the ‘shared sufferings’ of being a soldier. Even if you are not the one who is wounded or killed, you share in the sufferings and pains that go with being a soldier. Soldiers often march for days with limited amounts of food and drink, only to arrive at their destination to spend hours in fighting against an enemy. Timothy had traveled with Paul for years in ministering and knew the many types of suffering involved in ‘fighting’ battles for the Gospel of Christ. Paul knew that would not change after his death and wanted to remind Timothy of that fact.

Notice also that Paul used the words ‘good soldier’ (kalos stratiótés – good warrior) of Jesus Christ. The Greek word for ‘good’ that Paul used means ‘good that inspires (motivates) others to embrace what is lovely (beautiful, praiseworthy)’ (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance). Ancient as well as modern armies were and are divided into small groups led by lower ranking officers. Those officers are responsible to higher ranking officers who are responsible to even higher ranking officers. Each officer at every level of a military unit has the opportunity to ‘inspire’ their soldiers to do their jobs well and be the best they can be. The same is true as a Christian who understands what Paul was telling Timothy. Paul believed that a big part of his ministry was to inspire and motivate other Christian leaders to embrace what was beautiful and praiseworthy about the positions God had given them. Whether you are a foot soldier or an officer in the Army of the Lord, remember Paul’s words to Timothy – ‘endure hardship as a good solider of Jesus Christ.’

Rule #9

Do not entangle yourself with the affairs of this life

Paul continued with the ‘soldier’ example by writing – “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” The idea of being ‘engaged in warfare’ comes from the Greek word ‘strateuó.‘ It means ‘contending as a soldier, fighting like a soldier, serving in a military campaign.’ No one involved as an active duty member of the military who is involved in fighting in a war should ‘entangle’ themselves with the affairs of this life. What does that mean? The word ‘entangle’ (emplekó) means being ‘entwined’ or ‘involved’ with something in a way that would keep them from performing their work. What was it that Paul didn’t want Timothy or other Christians to entangle themselves? The ‘affairs of this life.’ The Greek word for ‘affairs’ (pragmateia) means ‘transactions, negotiations.’ The word for ‘life’ (bios) simply means ‘everyday life.’ Why would Paul write that a soldier of Jesus Christ should not become entangled in transactions of everyday life? Because doing that takes a soldier’s eyes, ears, and thinking off fighting and on to the transactions of everyday living. That’s not what God called His people to do. Read the verse again: “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” Who enlisted Paul as a soldier of Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ! Who enlisted Timothy as a soldier of Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ! Who enlisted you as a soldier of Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ! We cannot serve two masters. We must focus on what God has called us to do as ‘good soldiers of Jesus Christ.’

Rule #10

Compete according to the rules

Paul moved from ‘soldiering’ to ‘competing’ in his ministry examples for Timothy:

“And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” 2 Timothy 2:5

The Greek word for ‘competes’ is athleó. It means to ‘compete as an athlete, to contend or strive in competitive games.’ Some translators chose the word ‘wrestle’ because wrestling was a major part of Greek and Roman ‘games’ in the 1st century AD. It’s interesting that Paul chose the word palé in Ephesians 6:12 when he wrote: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Though the words are different (athleó and palé), they carry a similar idea of struggle against an opponent.

Even as Christian Ministry is similar to the conflict that soldiers endure in battle, so the competitive athlete endures conflict in competition. Paul’s point with the athlete is that ”he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. Let’s focus on three ideas:

• crowned (stephanoó)

• competes (athleó)

• according to the rules (ean mé nomimós)

Winning a crown in Ancient Greek athletic competitions brought the winner special status in religious, economic, and political arenas. Only one person was crowned in ancient games, unlike the Olympic Games of today (e.g. gold, silver, bronze). The winner was believed to have won because of the decision of the god Zeus. Many people viewed the winner becoming a demigod and standing above the ‘ordinary’ people in social status. Winners would wear an honorary wreath, receive free meals for life, have statutes built to memorialize their victory, and possibly receive special political positions.

However, athletes had to compete ‘lawfully’ (nomimós) which meant competing according to the ‘rules’ of the games. Cheating meant severe financial penalties and personal beatings as well as public humiliation. That humiliation could impact the cheater’s family and even his entire town. They were often banned from competing in future athletic competitions.

Timothy would have immediately understood what Paul was saying about the importance of a Christian ministering according to the ‘rules’ that God had established for His children. No cheating allowed. No self-glory allowed.

This particular verse is what started the idea for this series. We Christians must compete ‘according to the rules.’

I’ll share five more rules for Christian ministry in the next podcast.

In Christ’s Love and Grace,

Mark McGee

GraceLife / Faith and Self Defense / Grace Martial Arts / Substack

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© 1971-2026

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What Now?

You’ve been diagnosed with Ménière’s Disease. Doctors tell you the disease is progressive and incurable. Not exactly what you were hoping to hear. So, is that it? Is there no help? No hope?

One of the first articles I wrote in this series a few years ago was titled, ‘Laboratory of One: Understanding How Ménière’s Disease Affects ‘You’.’ If you have been diagnosed recently, I recommend you read the article for some helpful information.

What I plan to share with you during the next several ‘Ménière’s Years’ articles may come as a surprise to some people who are new to Ménière’s Disease, but my purpose is to ‘educate’ rather than ‘frighten.’ Yes, Ménière’s is a tough disease to handle. I’m in my 20th year with Ménière’s, plus I helped my mother who had it until she passed away. She died in the ‘Final Stage’ of Ménière’s at the age of 91, so that should tell you something about how we can learn to endure the hardships this disease will bring into our lives.

It is difficult to have hope as you face years of Ménière’s attacks and travel through the various stages of the disease, but it is not impossible. Here’s the first thing I’d like you to know if you are new to the disease:

You Are Not Alone!

You may or may not find this of any comfort right now, but you are not alone. Thousands of people are diagnosed with Ménière’s Disease every year in the United States.

“Ménière’s affects roughly 615,000 people in the United States, making it a relatively rare disorder, according to current statistics. About 0.2 percent of the U.S. population has it. And each year about 45,500 new cases are diagnosed. But despite these statistics, there continues to be debate over how common Meniere’s actually is.

Although it can come on at any age, most people with Ménière’s are 40 or older. Onset most often occurs between 40 and 60. And the probability of developing the disorder is fairly equal between both women and men, although some studies do show that women may be more likely to be diagnosed with it.

Ménière’s is called a disease, but it really is a cluster of symptoms for which the underlying cause is unknown and for which there currently is no cure.” American Hearing Research Foundation

I also want to quote one of the doctors I know who has both an impressive education in Neurotology and decades of experience in working with Ménière’s patients. Here’s what he said to me during my initial testing with him:

“The one thing we know about Ménière’s Disease is that we don’t know anything about Ménière’s Disease.”

I found his honesty refreshing. You can learn something from every doctor you’ll meet during your ‘Ménière’s Journey.’ I might add that he did the necessary testing to confirm I had Familial Bi-Lateral Ménière’s Disease. That has been helpful in determining how to navigate the ‘challenging waters’ of this illness.

What happens after the diagnosis?

The answer to that question is somewhat up to you. Your doctors, depending on their specialities and how much they know about Ménière’s, will probably explain the disease and some of what’s ahead for you. They may tell you what may ‘trigger’ your vertigo attacks, the various ‘stages’ of the disease, the ‘Ménière’s ladder,’ neuroplasticity, and the many ‘tools’ they have available to them to help you through the various stages of Ménière’s. However, it’s up to you how you follow their advice. It’s your brain and body. Doctors are there to give you their professional observations and opinions based on the evidence they find. What you do with that information is for you to decide.

Making ‘lifestyle changes’ is a fairly common recommendation to Ménière’s patients. It’s generally non-invasive and you determine what ‘changes’ you make to your life. Your doctors may also recommend ‘rescue’ medications that will help you with the violent vertigo attacks that can accompany Ménière’s. Though I have personally tried to limit the number of medications I use, I have found a couple helpful to me when I feel an attack coming. That’s something for you to consider.

I found the early and middle (intermediate) stages to be particularly difficult at times. I’ve experienced all of the symptoms listed below, as have many other Ménière’s patients I know, so I trust the list:

I believe honesty is the best medicine. I won’t try to mislead you into believing something that isn’t true. I’m an investigative journalist by trade, so I’m not trying to sell you anything. My goal is to discover the truth and help all of us find ways to improve the quality of our lives. I have and will continue to share with you the best research available about Ménière’s — and I will be honest with you about what you may face in the months and years to come.

Next Time

I’ll share about the importance of ‘Community Support’ for Ménière’s Disease in the next Ménière’s Years newsletter.

“… rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” Romans 12:12

Here’s to hope!

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These are real comments from editors —

1. ‘Not enough self-editing.’ Reporters have a vested interest in the words they put on paper and are often reluctant to change them.

2. ‘Wrong lead.’ The writer used a secondary theme for the main point of the story.

3. ‘Poor organization.’ This is often the result of not locating the main theme and getting it high in the story.

4. ‘Misuse of the delayed lead.’ Too many hard news stories are given a soft news approach.

5. ‘Overwriting.’ It is not necessary to use every quote, every soundbite, every observation. In journalism quantity does not count — the quality of the quote, soundbite, and observation do.

6. ‘Dullness.’ This can be the result of overwriting. It also stems from poorly selected verbs, long sentences, lack of interesting soundbites and quotes, and uninteresting video technique.

7. ‘Holes in the story.’ Unanswered questions.

In Conclusion

Great writing is a process. I’d like to end this series about great writing with some quick thoughts about that process —

A. The Lead — It introduces the theme of the story. Ask yourself three questions before you write the lead:

1. What do I want to say? What is the theme of the story?

2. Will this be a straight news story or a feature story?

3. What facts should I put into the lead?

Next, write the lead —

1. Make the lead short (usually less than 20-30 words).

2. Make statements in the lead. As a general rule stay away from ‘question’ leads, ‘quote’ leads, and ‘you’ leads.

3. Use concrete nouns and action verbs.

B. The Body — It supports the theme of the story.

1. Stay with the major theme of the story. Do not allow yourself to get caught up into secondary themes to the story.

2. Use everyday language; the words the majority of your audience knows and uses.

3. Use short sentences. Most sentences with more than 25 words should be broken into two sentences. Eliminate unnecessary words. If one word says well what three of your words say, use the one word. If it is possible to cut out a word, cut it out!

4. Write in a conversational rhythm — short, long, short, long, etc.

5. Match words with visuals. This increases clarity and memory.

6. Favor the present tense. Give the viewer the sense of immediacy — what’s happening now.

7. Keep items brief. Find the major theme and stay with it. If you can’t tell the story in the allotted time, go back to the beginning and cut, or do the story in two parts.

C. The End. It summarizes the theme of the story.

Bring the story to a natural conclusion. Tell the viewers where they’ve been and what it means to them. Look for surprise endings!

Here’s a short way of remembering the writing process:

‘Tell them what you’re going to tell them (lead), tell them (body), tell them what you told them (end).”

Next Time

I’ll start a new series in the next newsletter about how to be effective in covering the 2026 political campaigns in your city and state.

Comments and Questions Welcome

I hope these thoughts are helpful to you. Please share your comments and questions and I will respond as quickly as I can. If you like what we’re doing in this newsletter, please let your friends know about it so they can subscribe.

Newsletter Purpose

The purpose of this newsletter is to help people who work in the fields of journalism, media, and communications find ways to do their jobs that are personally fulfilling and helpful to others. I also want to help news consumers know how to find news sources they can trust.

I’m answering a question often asked of me by atheists – What would move a strong atheist to become a strong theist? In my case the answer was evidence for theism, specifically for Christian theism.

I started sharing the evidence that can lead an atheist to theism and Christianity several years ago (click here to read the first article in this series). We’ve recently been looking at evidence for the reliability of the New Testament writings.

So far we’ve looked at –

• The Gospel Accounts

• Paul’s Writings

• James’ Writing

• Peter’s Writings

• John’s Writings (1 John)

• John’s Writings (2 and 3 John)

• John’s Authorship of Revelation (Internal Evidence)

• John’s Authorship of Revelation (External Evidence)

• Jude

• Luke’s Authorship of Acts (Internal Evidence)

• Luke’s Authorship of Acts (External Evidence)

We move now to the archaeological evidence concerning Luke’s authorship of the Book of Acts.

I found researching archaeology fascinating in 1971. It was a way of looking at the past through what people had done during their lives: making pottery, tools, jewelry, clothing, coins, monuments, weapons, drawings, carvings, writings, building structures, etc. It was also interesting to compare ecofacts with artifacts to see what was going on with the environment surrounding human life in ancient times.

Dr. Edward Hindson introduced me to the study of archaeology during my investigation into the existence of God. He wrote a book that was part of the Baker Studies In Biblical Archaeology series. The title is The Philistines and the Old Testament (Baker Book House, 1971). It was the first book I read about archaeology and the Bible and is still available for sale online.

I also read An Introduction to Bible Archaeology by Dr. Howard Vos (Moody Press, 1956), Archaeology and Bible History by Dr. Joseph Free (Scripture Press, 1969), and was introduced to the writings of Sir William Ramsay. It was in Ramsay’s writings that I learned about the rich archaeological support for the Book of Acts.

Ramsay, as it turns out, did something similar to what I was doing. He set out to demonstrate that Acts was filled with historical, geographical and archeological errors. Ramsay, who was a professor of Humanities at the University of Aberdeen, spent about 25 years retracing the apostles travels and declared that Acts was an accurate description of the 1st century world. Ramsay converted to Christianity and stated that Luke was one of the greatest historians of the ancient world. Ramsay wrote many books about Acts and the Apostle Paul in the years following. The Cities of St. Paul (Baker Book House, 1949) is one of Ramsay’s writings I’ve used in my research about cities in the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Another good book of his to read is The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament (Hodder and Stoughton, 1915).

Acts and Archaeology

It’s important to remember that the claim of the New Testament is that Luke wrote a lengthy document to someone named Theophilus.

Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

LUKE 1:1-4

Luke’s writing to Theophilus ended up being two scrolls, though the second was a continuation of the first:

The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

ACTS 1:1-3

Luke was apparently an educated man and physician by vocation (Colossians 4:14). Many scholars believe he was also an excellent researcher and historian. As I read through Luke’s writings (Gospel of Luke and Book of Acts), I was impressed with Luke’s meticulous detailing of people, events and environment (locations). The question before me was whether what Luke wrote was accurate.

I was a journalist at the time of my investigation and could see Luke’s process of interviewing people about what they knew, then writing it in a way that would be understood by someone who was not involved in the research process. Journalists and historians do that every day. That’s what Luke was apparently doing. Though Luke did travel with the Apostle Paul and wrote about what he saw from his own experience, he was not a personal witness of what we read in the first part of his writing to Theophilus (eg. life and ministry of Christ, early days of the Church in Jerusalem, Paul’s conversion and early ministry). Luke the researcher/historian interviewed people who were eyewitnesses of the days when Jesus walked and taught in Israel and the Apostles preached the good news of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem.

One of the benefits of archaeology is that it can confirm or deny information written about people, events and places centuries earlier. I had already done something similar in the Old Testament:

• Old Testament Archaeology 1

• Old Testament Archaeology 2

• Old Testament Archaeology 3

• Old Testament Archaeology 4

• Old Testament Archaeology 5

I proceeded to do the same thing for the New Testament, and specifically for Acts, since it contained so many truth claims that could be confirmed or denied through archaeology. Not finding something in archeology to support a truth claim doesn’t mean a truth claim is not true. It just means nothing has been found to confirm or deny the claim. What I was looking for were archaeological findings that would support or reject the accuracy of Acts.

The sheer volume of facts in Acts that archaeology addresses is massive, and so I will share several examples of the process of confirming information through archaeology. First, we will look at the names, places and environments mentioned in the first five chapters of Acts to see what we can learn about them from archaeology. You can do the same thing and research every name, place, artifact and ecofact mentioned in Acts. It takes time, but is well worth the effort. In the second part of this study, we will look at several of the most important archaeological finds pertaining to the Book of Acts.

Names

• Theophilus .. common name in the 1st century for non-Jews .. It meant “friend of god” or “lover of god” .. The name has been found on inscriptions throughout the area of the old Roman Empire .. a 1st century high priest was named Theophilus according to an ossuary inscription and the writings of Josephus (Antiquities – Theophilus ben Ananus)

• Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus .. Joseph was a common Jewish name .. Barsabas was an Aramaic nickname (son of the Sabbath) .. Justus was a Latin name (may have been from Galilee because name is confirmed from Tiberias) ..

• Matthais .. common Jewish name of 1st century ..

• Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven .. Jews from the Diaspora traveled to Jerusalem for feast days .. that included Jews from throughout the world .. the nations mentioned in Acts 2 existed in the 1st century AD and archaeological findings support there being Jews living in those countries during the 1st century AD .. many Jewish groups in various nations date to the 3rd century BC .. many of the Jews of the Diaspora changed to speaking the language of their new land over time, which is why they were surprised to hear the message of the disciples of Christ at Pentecost in their “own language,” the language “in which we were born” (Acts 2:5-12) ..

• Pontius Pilate .. mentioned in Luke’s Gospel and in Acts chapters 3, 4 and 13 .. archaeologists found the “Pilate Stone” at Caesarea Maritima ten years before my investigation .. the stone confirmed that Pontius Pilate was “prefect of Judea” from 26 – 37 AD ..

• Herod .. the Herodians descended from Esau rather than Jacob .. Herod the Great descended from Antipas who had been appointed governor of Idumaea by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus .. Antipas’ son Antipater became governor after his father .. Antipater received the procuratorship of Judea from Julius Caesar .. Antipater appointed his son Herod to be governor over Galilee as a teenager .. Herod became tetrarch of Judea in 41 BC and following fierce fighting in 37 BC, Herod became King of Judea under Caesar Augustus .. Herod ruled Judea from 37-4 BC and was known for committing many atrocities against family and enemies .. Herod the Great (as he was known) rebuilt the city of Samaria and rebuilt and expanded the Temple in Jerusalem .. Herod the Great is the Herod we find in Matthew 2 and Luke 1 .. Herod the Great died in 4 BC and his son, Herod Antipas, became ruler over the northern province of Galilee and Perea .. Herod Antipas ruled from 4 BC to 39 AD and is the same Herod we read about in most of the Gospels (he had John the Baptist beheaded) and early parts of Acts .. another son of Herod the Great was Herod Archelaus .. he ruled over Judea and Samaria until the Roman government removed him from office .. Herod Agrippa I was the grandson of Herod the Great and became ruler of Galilee and Pera after his uncle, Herod Antipas, was banished .. Herod Agrippa I killed James the Apostle in Acts 12 .. Herod Agrippa I died and his son, Herod Agrippa II, and was given rule over some territories when he became of age .. Herod Agrippa II eventually became the king who Paul addressed in Acts 25 .. some of what is known about the Herodians from archaeology includes building projects, coins, inscriptions, pottery, the writings of the 1st century historian Josephus and, of course, the writings of the New Testament ..

• Captain of the Temple .. mentioned in Acts 4 .. we learn something about this position in the Talmud (Kodashim, Middot) .. the Captain of the temple was in charge of policing the Temple area ..

• Sadducees .. mentioned in Acts 4 .. the Sadducees was the Jewish party of the high priest’s family and other wealthy families .. they rose to power during the Intertestamental Period and became politically powerful .. they claimed to be descendants of Solomon’s high priest, Zadok .. even though they were in charge of the Temple and its services, the Sadducees were materialistic and didn’t believe in angels, demons, or the resurrection ..

• Annas and Caiaphas .. mentioned in Acts 4 .. the 1st century historian Josephus wrote that Annas was high priest in the early part of the 1st century and that Joseph Caiaphas became high priest in 18 AD and served until 36 AD .. Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas .. Annas and Caiaphas were involved in questioning Jesus after His arrest (Matthew 26; John 18) .. though only one person could serve as high priest at a time, former high priests were often referred to by the title, similar to how former presidents are still called by that title and former prime ministers are still called by that title .. [in 1990, almost 20 years after I became a Christian, 12 ossuaries were found in a tomb archaeologists believed belonged to the Caiaphas family .. one of the ossuaries contained an inscription that read Joseph, son of Caiaphas]

• John and Alexander .. mentioned in Acts 4 .. little is known about their identity .. they may have been members of the high priest’s family (“John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest”) or leading members of the Sanhedrin ..

• Sanhedrin .. mentioned in Acts chapters 4 and 22, in addition to Matthew, Mark and Luke .. the Sanhedrin was the ruling council in Israel, started during the Intertestamental Period .. we might think of it as a Supreme Court that met daily, sometimes as a Great Sanhedrin with all 71 members present or a Lesser Sanhedrin with 23 members present .. the Sanhedrin included members of the Sadducees and Pharisees .. the Apostle Peter addressed the Sanhedrin as “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel” ..

• Multitude who believed .. thousands of Jews were responding to the apostles’ powerful preaching about the resurrection of Jesus .. none of the new disciples lacked anything because people who had land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds to the apostles .. the apostles distributed to each as anyone had need (Acts 4)

• Barnabas .. Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated ‘Son of Encouragement’), a Levite of the country of Cyprus” .. Joses was a common Jewish name that was a form of the name Joseph .. Barnabas was the Greek form for an Aramaic name .. it meant “son of consolation, encouragement” .. he was a Levite (Hebrew tribe of Levi) who came from Cyprus, a large island in the Mediterranean Sea .. a community of Jews on Cyprus was known from at least the 2nd century BC .. the primary archaeological information about this Barnabas comes from the Book of Acts .. Barnabas owned land and sold it and brought the money to the apostles so they could distribute to people in need ..

• Ananias .. common Jewish name in the 1st century .. three different Jews with the name Ananias mentioned in Acts ..

• Sapphira .. common Jewish name in the 1st century .. archaeological find of several ossuaries with inscriptions of the name Sapphira ..

• Gamaliel .. Acts 5:34 describes Gamaliel as a member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee and teacher of the law held in respect by all the people .. we learn in Acts 22 that the Apostle Paul had been a student of Gamaliel many years earlier .. Josephus mentions Gamaliel as do the Talmud and Mishnah .. Gamaliel was the son of Simeon ben Hillel and grandson of Hillel the Elder ..

• Theudas .. Josephus mentioned a man named Theudas who was a Messianic pretender about 40-44 AD, which would have been after the Sanhedrin council .. the Theudas mentioned by Gamaliel led a revolt with 400 men and was killed .. this may have been a different Theudas than the messianic pretender Josephus described in Antiquities ..

• Judas of Galilee .. common Jewish name in the 1st century .. Judas of Galilee mentioned by Josephus in Antiquities as a man from Gamala (Gamla) who led a rebellion during the time of the census of Cyrenius ..

Places

• Jerusalem .. confirmed 1st century city name ..

• Judea .. confirmed 1st century regional name ..

• Samaria .. confirmed 1st century regional name ..

• Galilee .. confirmed 1st century city name ..

• Mount Olivet .. confirmed 1st century mountain name (near Jerusalem) ..

• Akel Dama .. confirmed 1st century location (traditionally located on southern side of Hinnom Valley where it meets Kidron Valley) ..

• King David’s tomb .. Josephus, historian living during 1st century AD, wrote about David’s tomb and how John Hyrcanus and Herod the Great plundered the tomb for money and other valuables .. the tomb may have been destroyed by the Roman army during the Bar Kokhba revolt in the early 2nd century .. exact location not known, but some archaeologists think it to be on Jerusalem’s southeastern hill, some near the southern end of Hezekiah’s Tunnel ..

• The Temple .. the Temple that existed during the 1st century was known as the Second Temple (Solomon’s being the first) .. the Second Temple (built by Zerubbabel and expanded by Herod) was destroyed by the Roman army in 70 AD (Josephus was present at the destruction and wrote about it in The Jewish War and Jewish Antiquities) .. the early Jewish followers of Christ would have had access to the Temple complex

• Gate of the temple which is called Beautiful .. some archaeologists and scholars believe the gate called ‘Beautiful’ was the same as Josephus’ Nicanor Gate (also called Corinthians Gate) .. others think it was more likely a different gate, possibly the Shushan Gate in the Eastern Wall of the Temple Mount or the Double Gate on the Southern Wall ..

• Solomon’s Porch .. the healing of the lame man in Acts 3 at the Beautiful Gate was apparently close to Solomon’s Porch from Luke’s description of the healing event .. Josephus wrote about Solomon’s Porch being on the east side of the Temple complex ..

Environment

• Sabbath’s Day Journey .. rabbis interpreted Mosaic Law to mean travel on foot not to exceed two-thousand cubits (about 3,000 feet) .. distance disciples traveled from Mount Olivet to Jerusalem was at the maximum of the Sabbath’s Day journey ..

• Cast lots .. one of three ways Jews used to discern God’s will during and prior to 1st century ..

Next Time

In the next part of this report we will look at several of the most important archaeological finds pertaining to the Book of Acts.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Now that we know how to be saved, how to study the Bible, and the importance of serving God – let’s look at the process of doing just that – serving God. I’m going to share with you 40 Rules for Christian Ministry. I did not make up these rules. They come directly from the Apostle Paul, which means they come directly from God.

I chose these particular rules because they are in Paul’s final letter. He was in a Roman prison – just days or weeks from dying for preaching the Gospel. I believe Paul wanted to share the most important things that Timothy would need to know to continue the ministry they had shared for many years.

Keep in mind that these are ‘rules’ – not suggestions. Christianity is not a ‘cafeteria service’ where you can pick and choose how you serve God. God is not in the ‘cafeteria’ business. He wants His people to obey Him, bring glory to His Name, and finish the work He gave them to do. The sooner Christians understand and do that the better.

Because there are 40 ‘ministry rules’ in 2 Timothy and I want to keep these podcasts brief, I’ll spread the rules over eight episodes.

[The first five rules are from chapter 1.]

Rule #1

Have genuine faith

Paul noted that Timothy’s faith in Christ was genuine. The Greek word is anupokritos and means ‘without hypocrisy, sincere, unfeigned.’ Christians cannot have a genuine ministry unless they have a genuine faith in Jesus Christ. One of the reasons I eventually became an atheist as a teenager was because of the hypocrisy I saw in church leaders. Their ‘faith’ did not appear to be genuine. I don’t remember any of them ever sharing the Gospel with me. The way they talked and lived outside the church building was so often opposite of what I heard the pastor preach from the pulpit. If your desire is to serve God and reach people for Christ, you must have ‘genuine faith’ in Christ.

Rule #2

Stir up the gift of God which is in you

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians and Romans that every Christian has ‘spiritual gifts.’ Paul told Timothy to ‘stir up the gift’ of God that was in him. The Greek words anazópureó to charisma mean ‘kindle afresh the grace-gift’ that God gives freely to His children. The purpose? So they can serve God and share God’s love and grace with other people. All Christians have spiritual gifts, but they often need to be ‘stirred up, kindled afresh.’ Our spiritual lives and ministry can sometimes become stagnant. We get distracted or lose interest in serving God and helping others. That’s when we need a ‘stirring, a rekindling’ of love for God and others (Mark 12:29-31).

Rule #3

Don’t fear, but have a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind

Christians are human beings. That means we have many ‘fears.’ One of those fears may be ‘ministry.’ If it was easy to tell people about Jesus, more Christians would do it. The sad fact is that less than 30% of Christians talk with unbelievers about Christ (Barna Research, Lifeway Research). Why so low? Some Christians fear rejection. Some think sharing the Gospel is culturally inappropriate. They fear offending people. Others believe it’s wrong to try to change someone else’s religious beliefs. Most Christians have never had any training in how to share the Gospel with someone. Whatever the reason – ask God to give you ‘a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.’ God has given each of us a responsibility to share the TRUTH about Jesus Christ. He is the ‘only way to the Father’ (John 14:6), so why would Christians not want to let unbelievers know that?

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:14-15

Rule #4

Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, but share in suffering for the Gospel according to the power of God

The ‘testimony’ of the Lord speaks to being a ‘witness.’ The Greek word is marturion and means ‘evidence given.’ It carries the idea of ‘suffering’ for giving that evidence. The word ‘martyr’ is a transliteration of marturion. The context also points to the real possibility of ‘suffering’ for Christ. Paul invited Timothy to share with him in the sufferings ‘for the gospel according to the power of God.’ The Greek word translated ‘share in suffering’ is sugkakopatheó and means ‘suffer together, be a partaker in afflictions, suffer hardship in company with, share another’s ill treatment and the pains that go with it).

Keep in mind that Paul wrote 2 Timothy from a Roman prison. He suffered there, but had also suffered in many other prisons during his years in ministry. He suffered when people would stone him and scream at him to leave their city. The idea of really suffering for sharing the Gospel with people scares a lot of Christians into not talking about Christ with unbelievers. They don’t want to suffer. Timothy had seen how much Paul had suffered for telling people about Jesus, so Paul reminded him not to be ‘ashamed’ (epaischunomai) of the testimony of the Lord. The Greek word means ‘to feel shame, be disgraced, be humiliated, be singled out.’ It’s easier to just blend in with the world and not be singled out as ‘different’ than everyone else, so many Christians don’t speak openly about their faith in Christ. Remember that Jesus ‘humbled’ Himself for us when He left the comfort of Heaven and came to earth to die for our sins. He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8)

He was ‘singled out’ for suffering FOR US. The least we can do in return is to tell unbelievers about what Jesus did for them by dying on the cross and rising from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-8).

Rule #5

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you learned from Paul

The idea of ‘holding fast the pattern of sound words’ (hupotupósis echó hugiainó logos) is to ‘retain the example of healthy words’ that Timothy had heard from Paul. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul’s words, so that means he was speaking and writing those things that God had shown and told him. ‘Holding fast’ to anything God says is a smart thing to do. Timothy needed to hear that. So do we.

I’ll share five more rules for Christian ministry in the next podcast.

In Christ’s Love and Grace,

Mark McGee

GraceLife / Faith and Self Defense / Grace Martial Arts / Substack

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© 1971-2026

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Whether you are training one elderly person or a group of elderly people, help them feel loved and safe. The Bible clearly shows that God cares for elderly people and expects younger people to show a similar care for them. Elderly people should be respected and protected.

Physical Training

Once you’ve helped an elderly person understand the emotional aspects of self defense, you can move forward to physical training. Most older people I’ve trained have some ability to move away from danger, but speed, agility, strength, and endurance may be a challenge. That’s something you can determine as you get to know your older student(s). Some older people don’t mind admitting their limitations, but some may. Be sensitive and gentle in how you approach the subject of physical response to attacks.

I teach children, teens, and younger adults to do one of five things when they sense danger:

1. Run

2. Escape and run

3. Stun and run

4. Throw and run

5. Fight and run

Notice that ‘running’ is part of all five responses. While that works for the majority of people you may train, vulnerable populations may not be able to run from danger. That makes ‘awareness’ and ‘physical response’ even more important.

Learning to Escape Danger

Personal fitness is a key to any person’s ability to respond positively to physical attack and escape danger. Exercise and diet are primary aspects of achieving that goal.

Walking may be one of the best exercises for elderly people. Some of the benefits of walking include:

• strengthen muscles

• help prevent weight gain

• lower risks of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and osteoporosis

• improve balance

• lower the likelihood of falling

Even if an older person is not able to ‘run’ from danger, they can ‘walk quickly’ to a safe place. Learning awareness often puts elderly people in a good position for safety because they won’t leave a building or car if they see something nearby that could be dangerous (e.g. someone hanging around their house, car, or store). Your students should know that it’s a good thing to ask someone for help in getting to and from a building to a car. Attackers usually look for older people who are alone. If they see an older person with someone else, they will often keep their distance.

The ‘Buddy System’

The Buddy System is a good thing to teach older people. It’s better to go places with a friend or family member, or they can ask someone who works at a store to walk them out to their car.

If an older person does happen to be outside alone, they can also call for help and fight back if necessary. We’ll be sharing some of the physical skills they can learn as our series continues. However, the better their physical fitness, the better they’ll be able to resist a physical attack.

Rebuilding Strength and Balance

Older people often lose some of their physical strength as they age, but that doesn’t mean they can’t rebuild some of what they’ve lost or hold on to what they have. Progressive weight training, eating a healthy diet, and being involved in a good exercise program (e.g. walking, biking, swimming, hiking, T’ai Chi, martial arts) are keys to building fitness and strength as we age.

Many gyms and fitness centers offer free programs for senior citizens. You can determine whether to train elderly people for free or charge a small amount based on what it costs you to train (e.g. renting a building, buying equipment, etc). T’ai Chi is one of the least expensive programs because no special equipment is needed, plus it can be practiced anywhere. Whether you’re a certified T’ai Chi instructor or a Master Trainer, consider teaching older people for free or a small fee to cover your costs.

Martial arts is one of the best fitness programs available. You can tailor the exercises to the age and physical abilities of each person and group you train. I’ve taught classes where some of the older people could stand and move for 30 minutes or longer, while others could not. I taught those people how to hold on to the back of a chair or to sit in the chair to practice with the class. Always let them know that whatever they choose to do is fine with you. That’s part of demonstrating love and respect for every person you teach. The idea is for them to move and have fun while learning how to move fluidly and safely.

Training Safely

Every class you teach should emphasize safety. That’s true for people of all ages, but especially for older people. Let your students know that safety is your number one concern and that you are always open to them expressing their concerns about anything the class is doing.

You may find it helpful to require students to get a doctor’s approval before starting classes with you. That can be good for them and for you. If their doctor has any concerns, they can include that information in the approval note your student gives you. Being aware of a vulnerable population’s ‘vulnerability’ is important for making your class a safe place for everyone.

One concern older people have is falling and injuring themselves. Keep your eyes out for anything in your training area that might cause someone to fall. That can include fluid spills on the floor, loose rugs, obstacles in the room, children running into people, etc. Elderly people are also more prone to stress fractures, so limiting the training time may also be helpful for them.

Next Time

Which system of self defense is best for elderly people? We’ll look at several options in the next part of our special series, Protecting The Vulnerable.

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I am here to help you, so please share your comments, concerns, and questions about self defense. Even though I’m emphasizing “Women’s” self defense, the principles and techniques I’ll share are just as applicable for boys and men.

Good writing is rewriting. Write, rewrite, and edit. Before you turn in your story to an editor ask yourself these questions —

1. Is the lead on target or buried? If most of the body of the story is not about the theme you selected as the lead, the lead is wrong and you should rewrite it. If the main theme is buried in the body or ending of your story, rewrite the lead to make your point higher.

2. Is the story organized properly or does it jump from one topic to another and back? Did you place secondary information above the primary information in the body of your story? If it is, rewrite your lead or make two stories out of the one.

3. Does the story MOVE? Do the nouns and verbs carry the story forward with an internal momentum? Do the facts that you chose give movement to the story? If not, go back through the fundamentals of good writing to see what rules you may be breaking.

4. Are your facts correct? Is there anything in the story that makes you uncomfortable? Anything that could cause you problems later? If so, rewrite.

5. Are there any ‘unanswered’ questions in your story? Is your story complete? Will the viewers come away from your story wondering why you didn’t look into some areas or ask someone a question? If so, you may have to rewrite or even go back into the field to complete a story you thought was finished.

6. Have you told all sides of the story? Is there anyone else you should talk with to be sure the story is fair? If so, either rewrite or go back into the field and get the rest of the story.

7. Have you told the story in an interesting manner? Have you mixed well-written sentences with natural sound breaks, punchy soundbites, and dynamic standups? Is this a story that would hold your attention if you saw it on another station for the first time? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘no,’ you need to rewrite.

Next Time

Part ten of “Writing for Mass Communications” — Seven Problems Editors Have With Reporter Copy

Comments and Questions Welcome

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Newsletter Purpose

The purpose of this newsletter is to help people who work in the fields of journalism, media, and communications find ways to do their jobs that are personally fulfilling and helpful to others. I also want to help news consumers know how to find news sources they can trust.

I’m answering a question often asked of me by atheists – What would move a strong atheist to become a strong theist? In my case the answer was evidence for theism, specifically for Christian theism.

I started sharing the evidence that can lead an atheist to theism and Christianity several years ago (click here to read the first article in this series). We’ve most recently been looking at evidence for the reliability of the New Testament writings.

So far we’ve looked at –

• The Gospel Accounts

• Paul’s Writings

• James’ Writing

• Peter’s Writings

• John’s Writings (1 John)

• John’s Writings (2 and 3 John)

• John’s Authorship of Revelation (Internal Evidence)

• John’s Authorship of Revelation (External Evidence)

• Jude

• Luke’s Authorship of Acts (Internal Evidence)

We move now to external evidence for Luke’s authorship of the Book of Acts.

Here is a basic investigative process for determining ancient authorship:

• Internal evidence – what we find in the letter itself .. claim of authorship, historical information, geographical information, biographical information.

• Language and style – comparing writing style of other letters believed to have been written by same author (e.g. vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar, idioms).

• Content – comparing the content with other letters believed to have been written by same author (e.g. theology, historical data).

• External evidence – ancient writers supporting claim of authorship, ancient writers quoting from writings in question, archaeological evidence supporting authorship and/or accuracy of information contained in original writing.

External Evidence

As we have seen in this series and others published in Faith and Self Defense, some of the earliest external evidence comes from the Apostolic Fathers. Those were men who knew some of the apostles of Christ personally and were early leaders in the Church. Those include Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna, and Papias of Hierapolis. Their writings spanned the latter part of the 1st century AD into the early part of the 2nd century AD. We learn much about the beliefs and practices of early Christians during those early years.

First Clement

Clement was a first century bishop of Rome who knew the Apostle Paul personally and may have also known the Apostle Peter and other apostles as well. He wrote a letter to the church in Corinth toward the end of the first century to address some concerns. Clement quoted from almost half of the writings in the New Testament in that letter, which demonstrates that those writings were both available to the early Church and carried Apostolic authority when quoted.

Clement quoted from portions of Luke’s Gospel (in chapters 6, 8 and 17) and may have also quoted from Acts –

I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

ACTS 20:35

And ye were all lowly in mind and free from arrogance, yielding rather than claiming submission, more glad to give than to receive, and content with the provisions which God supplieth. And giving heed unto His words, ye laid them up diligently in your hearts, and His sufferings were before your eyes.

1 CLEMENT 2:1, TRANSLATED BY J.B. LIGHTFOOT

Ignatius to the Magnesians

Ignatius was a first century and early second century bishop of Antioch, Syria, who knew the Apostle John. Ignatius lived a long life and wrote several famous letters on his way to martyrdom in Rome.

• To Polycarp

• To the Smyrnaeans

• To the Philadelphians

• To the Romans

• To the Trallians

• To the Magnesians

• To the Ephesians

Ignatius quoted from several writings in the New Testament including Acts –

… to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

ACTS 1:25

Seeing them that all things have an end, and these two — life and death — are set before us together, and each man shall go _to his own place.

MAGNESIANS 5:1, TRANSLATED BY J.B. LIGHTFOOT

Polycarp To the Philippians

Polycarp was born about 69 AD and served as bishop of Smyrna until his death in 155 AD. Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John, who may have ordained him to be the bishop. We are left with only one letter from Polycarp, his Letter to the Philippians. He quoted from about 17 of the apostles’ writings in the letter, including from Acts.

… whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

ACTS 2:24

… and that the steadfast root of your faith which was famed from primitive times abideth until now and beareth fruit unto our Lord Jesus Christ, who endured to face even death for our sins, whom God raised, having loosed the pangs of Hades.

POLYCARP 1:2, TRANSLATED BY J.B. LIGHTFOOT

And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.

ACTS 10:42

Wherefore gird up your loins and serve God in fear and truth, forsaking the vain and empty talking and the error of the many, for that ye have believed on Him that raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and gave unto him glory and a throne on His right hand; unto whom all things were made subject that are in heaven and that are on the earth; to whom every creature that hath breath doeth service; who cometh as judge of quick and dead; whose blood God will require of them that are disobedient unto Him.

POLYCARP 2:1, TRANSLATED BY J.B. LIGHTFOOT

Papias Fragments

Papias was born about 60 AD and died about 130 AD. He was a bishop of Hierapolis and may have been a disciple of the Apostle John and a friend of Polycarp. Papias wrote The Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord in five books, but only fragments of what he wrote in those books are available for us to study. Those fragments come to us from the writings of Irenaeus (a second century bishop of Smyrna who served with Polycarp) and Church historian Eusebius (early 4th century bishop of Caesarea Maritima).

The fragments we have show that Papias was familiar with several Apostolic writings (e.g. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, 1st John) and had also spoken with people who had learned from the apostles (e.g. Peter, Andrew). It’s also possible he was a personal student of John.

As for the Book of Acts, one fragment mentions Justus Barsabas (mentioned in Acts 1:23 and 15:22). Another gives an account of the death of Judas Iscariot which may have been for the purpose of reconciling the story in Matthew’s Gospel with the account in the Book of Acts.

Other Early Church Fathers

We can also look to other early Church Fathers to see what New Testament writings they used as authoritative. Here are some examples.

Irenaeus

Irenaeus was a second century bishop of Lyons (city in ancient Gaul) who had sat under the teaching ministry of Polycarp of Smyrna. Irenaeus grew up in or near Smyrna and later traveled to Lyons when Polycarp sent Pothinus to evangelize the area and establish local churches. Irenaeus became bishop of Lyons upon the martyrdom of Pothinus.

We have some of the writings of Irenaeus to read today. They are known as Against Heresies (On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis) and are available in five books. We also have an Armenian translation of The Demonstration of the Apostolic Teaching. Irenaeus quoted from most of the Apostolic writings, including the Book of Acts. Here are two examples.

But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, ‘This man is the great power of God.’ And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done … And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.’ Then Simon answered and said, ‘Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.

ACTS 8:9-13, 18-24

Simon the Samaritan was that magician of whom Luke, the disciple and follower of the apostles, says, ‘But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who beforetime used magical arts in that city, and led astray the people of Samaria, declaring that he himself was some great one, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This is the power of God, which is called great. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had driven them mad by his sorceries.’ This Simon, then-who feigned faith, supposing that the apostles themselves performed their cures by the art of magic, and not by the power of God; and with respect to their filling with the Holy Ghost, through the imposition of hands, those that believed in God through Him who was preached by them, namely, Christ Jesus-suspecting that even this was done through a kind of greater knowledge of magic, and offering money to the apostles, thought he, too, might receive this power of bestowing the Holy Spirit on whomsoever he would,-was addressed in these words by Peter: ‘Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God can be purchased with money: thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not fight in the sight of God; for I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.’ He, then, not putting faith in God a whit the more, set himself eagerly to contend against the apostles, in order that he himself might seem to be a wonderful being, and applied himself with still greater zeal to the study of the whole magic art, that he might the better bewilder and overpower multitudes of men. Such was his procedure in the reign of Claudius Caesar, by whom also he is said to have been honoured with a statue, on account of his magical power. This man, then, was glorified by many as if he were a god; and he taught that it was himself who appeared among the Jews as the Son, but descended in Samaria as the Father while he came to other nations in the character of the Holy Spirit. He represented himself, in a word, as being the loftiest of all powers, that is, the Being who is the Father over all, and he allowed himself to be called by whatsoever title men were pleased to address him.

AGAINST HERESIES, BOOK I, CHAPTER 23.1

Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, ‘Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ This is desert. So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go near and overtake this chariot.’ So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this: ‘He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.’ So the eunuch answered Philip and said, ‘I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?’ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?’ Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.

ACTS 8:26-39

But again: Whom did Philip preach to the eunuch of the queen of the Ethiopians, returning from Jerusalem, and reading Esaias the prophet, when he and this man were alone together? Was it not He of whom the prophet spoke: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb dumb before the shearer, so He opened not the month? “”But who shall declare His nativity? for His life shall be taken away from the earth.” [Philip declared] that this was Jesus, and that the Scripture was fulfilled in Him; as did also the believing eunuch himself: and, immediately requesting to be baptized, he said, “I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God.” This man was also sent into the regions of Ethiopia, to preach what he had himself believed, that there was one God preached by the prophets, but that the Son of this [God] had already made [His] appearance in human nature (secundum hominem), and had been led as a sheep to the slaughter; and all the other statements which the prophets made regarding Him.

AGAINST HERESIES, BOOK III, CHAPTER 12.8

Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria was a philosopher and Christian theologian in the latter part of the 2nd century AD and early part of the 3rd century AD. He wrote several books and quoted from most of the Apostolic writings, including Acts. Here are two examples.

The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.’ And a voice spoke to him again the second time, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

ACTS 10:9-16

Peter abstained from swine; ‘but a trance fell on him,’ as is written in the Acts of the Apostles, ‘and he saw heaven opened, and a vessel let down on the earth by the four corners, and all the four-looted beasts and creeping things of the earth and the fowls of heaven in it; and there came a voice to him, Rise, and slay, and eat. And Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten what is common or unclean. And the voice came again to him the second time, What God hath cleansed, call not thou common.

THE INSTRUCTOR, BOOK II, CHAPTER 1

Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.

ACTS 17:22-31

Paul, in the Acts of the Apostles, is recorded to have said to the Areopagites, ‘I perceive that ye are more than ordinarily religious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with the inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you. God, that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him; though He be not far from every one of us: for in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we also are His offspring.

THE STROMATA, BOOK I, CHAPTER 19

Tertullian of Carthage

Tertullian was a Christian author and church leader in the latter part of the 2nd century AD and first part of the 3rd century AD. He quoted from most of the Apostolic writings, including Acts. Here are two examples.

He then cursorily touches on his own conversion from a persecutor to an apostle–confirming thereby the Acts of the Apostles, in which book may be found the very subject of this epistle, how that certain persons interposed, and said that men ought to be circumcised, and that the law of Moses was to be observed; and how the apostles, when consulted, determined, by the authority of the Holy Ghost, that “a yoke should not be put upon men’s necks which their fathers even had not been able to bear.” Now, since the Acts of the Apostles thus agree with Paul, it becomes apparent why you reject them. It is because they declare no other God than the Creator, and prove Christ to belong to no other God than the Creator; whilst the promise of the Holy Ghost is shown to have been fulfilled in no other document than the Acts of the Apostles. Now, it is not very likely that these should be found in agreement with the apostle, on the one hand, when they described his career in accordance with his own statement; but should, on the other hand, be at variance with him when they announce the (attribute of) divinity in the Creator’s Christ–as if Paul did not follow the preaching of the apostles when he received from them the prescription of not teaching the Law.

THE FIVE BOOKS AGAINST MARCION, BOOK V, CHAPTER 2

Read Acts 15; 21 and Galatians 2 for comparison to the next Acts quote from Tertullian.

But with regard to the countenance of Peter and the rest of the apostles, he tells us s that ‘fourteen years after he went up to Jerusalem,’ in order to confer with them about the rule which he followed in his gospel, lest perchance he should all those years have been running, and be running still, in vain, (which would be the case,) of course, if his preaching of the gospel fell short of their method. So great had been his desire to be approved and supported by those whom you wish on all occasions to be understood as in alliance with Judaism! When indeed he says, that ‘neither was Titus circumcised,’ he for the first time shows us that circumcision was the only question connected with the maintenance of the law, which had been as yet agitated by those whom he therefore calls ‘false brethren unawares brought in’ … Accordingly, the false brethren who were the spies of their Christian liberty must be thwarted in their efforts to bring it under the yoke of their own Judaism before that Paul discovered whether his labour had been in vain, before that those who preceded him in the apostolate gave him their right hands of fellowship, before that he entered on the office of preaching to the Gentiles, according to their arrangement with him. He therefore made some concession, as was necessary, for a time; and this was the reason why he had Timothy circumcised, and the Nazarites introduced into the temple, which incidents are described in the Acts.

THE FIVE BOOKS AGAINST MARCION, BOOK V, CHAPTER 3

We could cite more quotes from early Church leaders, but this should be enough to demonstrate that Christians in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd centuries AD recognized the Book of Acts as a genuine Apostolic writing. I took note of that during my investigation as an atheist.

Next Time

In the next part of this report we will look at archaeological external evidence for the Book of Acts as we continue the series, Convince Me There’s A God.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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The Second Four Rules

1. Text

2. Within Context

3. From the Original Language

4. To the Original Readers

Text

Text can mean one word or several words. It can be one sentence or several. Here’s an example of a ‘text’ in Scripture:

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

Each word in the ‘text’ and how it connects to other words in the ‘text’ are important to eventually interpreting the ‘text.’

Within Context

‘Context’ is what surrounds the ‘text.’ Using 2 Timothy 2:15 as our example we notice a few important things:

1. Our text is part of the Apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy.

2. Our text is in the second chapter of 2 Timothy, which has four chapters.

3. Our text is the 15th verse of the second chapter of 2 Timothy 2, which has 26 verses.

What that tells us is that our ‘text’ is surrounded by other text before and after the primary text. If you received a letter from a friend or family member, where would you begin reading? In the middle of the letter or at the beginning? At the beginning of course! What comes before gives us the ‘context’ to understand the ‘text’ we are studying.

The same is true with Scripture. If we pick a verse or verses to study without knowing what came before, we may miss some important context that would help us understand what we’re reading. Here’s a brief outline of the context in chapters one and two that leads to 2 Timothy 2:15 (courtesy New King James Version by Thomas Nelson):

• Greeting

• Timothy’s Faith and Heritage

• Not Ashamed of the Gospel

• Be Loyal to the Faith

• Be Strong in Grace

• Approved and Disapproved Workers

The verses and sections that ‘follow’ your text are also important to note. They often help you understand where the writer was heading and why he wrote what he wrote the way he wrote it. Continuing with our example from 2 Timothy beginning with chapter three:

• Perilous Times and Perilous Men

• The Man of God and the Word of God

• Preach the Word

• Paul’s Valedictory

• The Abandoned Apostle

• The Lord Is Faithful

• Come Before Winter

• Farewell

Knowing the primary structure of a Book that leads to verses you are studying will always help you better understand the context and should lead you to a correct interpretation. If you skip the context, you could make an incorrect interpretation. I see many pastors make that mistake regularly from their pulpit, which then can lead members of their church to misunderstand the true meaning of God’s Word.

From the Original Language

The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew. Several portions were written in Aramaic for reasons based on the person or persons being spoken or written to:

• Daniel 2:4b–7:28

• Ezra 4:8–6:18; 7:12–26

• Jeremiah 10:11

• Genesis 31:47

The New Testament was written primarily in Koine Greek (Common Greek). However, several verses contain Aramaic words. For example:

• Mark 5:41

• Matthew 27:46

• Acts 9:36

• Romans 8:15

• 1 Corinthians 16:22

I recommend that all Christians familiarize themselves with the basics of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. However, I know that learning those languages well enough to study them takes a lot of time. Hopefully, your pastor learned them in Bible college and seminary, but it’s still good for Christians to know enough to recognize whether their pastor knows how to use the original languages in his sermons. Two of my early pastors were also seminary professors who taught Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. If you are fortunate enough to have pastors who also teaching ancient languages in college or seminary, be sure to take advantage of every opportunity to learn from them.

I do encourage Christians to learn as much about Koine Greek as they can since that’s the language of the New Testament. I wrote a short eBook a few years ago to help Christians with the basics. Its title is – ‘It’s Greek to Me!’ I think you will find it helpful in your own study of the New Testament.

The reason I included ‘From the Original Language‘ as one of the 8 Rules for Bible Study is because translations can sometimes miss important aspects of how a word should be understood. Greek grammar, for example, has differences from English grammar, French grammar, Spanish grammar, Japanese grammar, or whatever language translation you’re using to study the New Testament. Being able to grasp the meaning of the original Greek words used by apostolic writers will enhance your understand and ability to ‘rightly divide the word of truth.’

To the Original Readers

If you receive a letter from a friend or family member and the letter is addressed to you, then you are the original reader. However, if you open mail addressed to someone else, you are not the ‘intended’ original reader. You are reading someone else’s mail. The writer of the first letter had you in mind when he or she wrote it. The writer of the second letter had someone else in mind when he or she wrote it. Even if the second letter (the one written to someone else) may have information you find interesting or helpful, that doesn’t mean you should do what the writer told someone else to do.

The same is true when studying Scripture. We know that – “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). All of God’s Word benefits us in many ways, so we should know it well. However, when it comes to specific commands and promises, we should be careful to note to whom the commands and promises were made. Were they written to Jews or Christians? Were they written to Israel or the Church? If you get that wrong, there’s a good chance you’ll make an incorrect interpretation at some point in your study. I give the same advice to pastors and other Bible teachers as well.

It’s also good to know how people living during ‘Bible times’ would understand various wording in the Scriptures. They lived thousands of years ago, which means the way they lived and how they viewed the use of words and phases may have been different than the way we would understand them now. I spent years studying the manners and customs of people living in the 1st century AD (for the New Testament) and the manners and customs of people living in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd millenniums (for the Old Testament). I found that information extremely helpful when I came across things in the Bible that didn’t fit with the way we lived in the 20th century AD or how we live now in the 21 century AD.

I was fortunate to have access to some great historical books in the 1970’s and 80’s that helped me understand manners and customs of ancient people. Internet searches today give Christians even more options to learn – though I would recommend caution in trusting some sources. Not everyone who writes a book or puts something up on the Internet should be trusted. Check them out carefully before relying on them for your own Bible study.

Summary

There we have it – my 8 Rules of Bible Study. Keep in mind that these are rules I developed during years of studying God’s Word. Putting them into two groups of four rules helps me remember how I should study the Bible every time I open God’s Word. Feel free to come up with your own rules, but make sure they comport to proper study and correct interpretation.

1. See Everything

2. Ask Everything

3. Answer Everything

4. Interpret Everything

5. Text

6. Within Context

7. From the Original Language

8. To the Original Reader

Bible Study Resources

How To Study God’s Word

Rightly Dividing The Word Of Truth

All Scripture Is Profitable

Teaching Notes On The Word Of God

What Is God’s Word? Why Study It?

Why Study God’s Word?

In Christ’s Love and Grace,

Mark McGee

GraceLife / Faith and Self Defense / Grace Martial Arts / Substack

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© 1971-2026

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The purpose of this particular news seminar was to get journalists to self-analyze. Too many reporters depend on managers to tell them what to do, then are surprised when their stories are not interesting. I believed strongly during my career in journalism (and still do) that it was my responsibility as a reporter to ask myself some tough questions about each story I covered. Here are several of those questions. I highly recommend today’s journalists do the same.

I also recommend that anyone working in various fields of ‘mass communications’ consider these points. I used them as a corporate communications director after retiring from television news, so I know you can use them too.

Relevance

• Does anybody care?

• Who does it affect?

• How does it affect them?

• How do I capture the experience, the most important facts, and the emotion?

• Will viewers remember my story?

Reporting

• Do I understand the assignment?

• Do I have adequate background?

• Am I prepared to ask intelligent questions that will evoke reactions?

• Have I developed a plan to focus the story on the people it affects, rather than on officials?

• Have I identified what is really new and am I keying on that?

• Am I accurate?

• Am I being fair?

• Does the story demand balancing comment or information?

• Have I thought about a libel risk?

• Will I use a standup?

• If I do, will it be involved and a natural part of the story?

Shooting

• Do I have a plan that will enable the camera to tell the story?

• Do I have a purpose for every shot?

• Am I going after the most compelling pictures rather than lazy shots?

• Have I thought of different angles?

• Have I shot sequences, cutaways, transitions, establishers, CLOSEUPS?

• Am I getting natural sound?

• Did I use a tripod whenever possible?

• Is my video color balanced, in focus, properly lit, properly exposed?

Writing

• Am I writing this as a VISUAL experience?

• Do the words match the pictures?

• Am I telling the story through the EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE?

• Am I using simple sentences and active voice?

• Am I writing like I talk?

• Am I using as few words as possible?

• Does this story have a beginning, middle, and an end?

• Is it understandable to someone who knows nothing about it?

• Will people remember my story?

Production

• Am I using VIDEO STORY-TELLING — Visual lead, sequences, matched action, short sound bites, natural sound, silence?

• Have I used the best shots and sound bites to make the piece compelling, understandable, people-oriented, MEMORABLE?

• Does it need pre-production?

• Are the narration-audio SOT’s and NAT-SOT’s properly balanced?

Communication

• Am I communicating clearly and actively with the assignment editor and producer about what the assignment is, how the story may have changed once I got into the field, and how I propose to produce the piece?

Follow-Up

• Have I thought of a follow-up, spinoff, or tie-in possibilities for this story and discussed them with the assignment desk?

• Have I left a copy of the script with a follow-up date marked for the assignment desk?

Next Time

Part nine of “Writing for Mass Communications” — Good Writing Is Rewriting.

Comments and Questions Welcome

I hope these thoughts are helpful to you. Please share your comments and questions and I will respond as quickly as I can. If you like what we’re doing in this newsletter, please let your friends know about it so they can subscribe.

Newsletter Purpose

The purpose of this newsletter is to help people who work in the fields of journalism, media, and communications find ways to do their jobs that are personally fulfilling and helpful to others. I also want to help news consumers know how to find news sources they can trust.

I’m answering a question often asked of me by atheists – What would move a strong atheist to become a strong theist? In my case the answer was evidence for theism, specifically for Christian theism.

I started sharing the evidence that can lead an atheist to theism and Christianity several years ago (click here to read the first article in this series). We’ve most recently been looking at evidence for the reliability of the New Testament writings.

So far we’ve looked at –

• The Gospel Accounts

• Paul’s Writings

• James’ Writing

• Peter’s Writings

• John’s Writings (1 John)

• John’s Writings (2 and 3 John)

• John’s Authorship of Revelation (Internal Evidence)

• John’s Authorship of Revelation (External Evidence)

• Jude

We move now to the evidence for Luke’s authorship of the Book of Acts.

Here is a basic investigative process for determining ancient authorship:

• Internal evidence – what we find in the letter itself .. claim of authorship, historical information, geographical information, biographical information.

• Language and style – comparing writing style of other letters believed to have been written by same author (e.g. vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar, idioms).

• Content – comparing the content with other letters believed to have been written by same author (e.g. theology, historical data).

• External evidence – ancient writers supporting claim of authorship, ancient writers quoting from writings in question.

Book of Acts

“The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

ACTS 1:1-3

Internal Evidence

The author of Acts wrote about a “former account” (πρῶτον λόγον – first message, discourse) that he made to a man named ‘Theophilus’ ((Θεόφιλος – friend of God). That connects internally to the Gospel of Luke –

“Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.”

LUKE 1:1-4

It appears that the person who authored the Gospel of Luke also authored the Book of Acts. Luke and Acts are both lengthy writings and may account for why the author wrote them as separate documents. The maximum length of an ancient Greek literary scroll was about 35 feet, so writers would often separate lengthy works into two or more scrolls – like volumes of the same work. That may be why the Gospel of Luke and Acts are presented as two volumes of writing to the same individual.

The author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts did not identify himself. However, the Apostle Paul mentioned a physician named Luke in his letter to the Colossians (4:14). Paul called Luke a ‘fellow laborer’ in his letter to Philemon (1:24). We know internally that Luke was connected to the apostle Paul, but is there any other internal evidence that Luke was the author of the Gospel of Luke and Acts?

The author of both letters stated the purpose was to present evidence about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ to a man named Theophilus. Both letters were written in refined Koine Greek. The author wrote in the Gospel of Luke that his purpose was to write a ‘narrative’ (διήγησιν – full account) of “those things which have been fulfilled among us.” He wrote that the Gospel narrative would be ‘orderly’ (καθεξῆς – orderly sequence, successfully). The author of Acts wrote that Jesus presented Himself alive after His suffering by ‘many infallible proofs’ (πολύς τεκμήριον – many certain signs, many irrefutable proofs).

From the brief introduction in both writings, we find that the author’s intention was the same – to present strong evidence for the truth claims concerning Jesus Christ’s life, ministry, death and resurrection. This presentation of evidence followed what the author described as an ‘orderly sequence’ of events. That may have demonstrated the way a physician, like Luke, would have considered information – presenting evidence in an orderly way.

The author described an investigative process of being certain about the evidence:

Gospel of Luke – “just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us.”

Acts – “after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

The author of Luke interviewed eyewitnesses to what happened in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The author of Acts also interviewed eyewitnesses to what happened in the early days, weeks, months and years of the Church that Jesus was building.

Comparing Acts to Apostolic Letters

Another internal evidence is comparing the events in Acts to those written by other writers in the apostolic letters. Acts is primarily chronological. It begins with the last words of Jesus to His apostles and His ascension to Heaven and ends with the Apostle Paul under house arrest in Rome. That covers a period of about 30 years (30 – 60AD).

The early chapters of Acts focus on the life and ministry of Peter, James, John and other apostles and those who heard their message and trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation – primarily in Jerusalem and Judea. Though the letters of Peter, John and James did not detail their ministry travels, they did share their teaching. It is that teaching that can be compared to what Acts details as the apostles’ teaching in the early years of the Church. That comparison finds Acts in line with the teaching of the apostles in their letters.

Here are some examples for the Apostle Peter –

Acts and 1 Peter

“And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:32

“To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.” 1 Peter 1:12

“Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.” Acts 10:34

“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your [a]stay here in fear.” 1 Peter 1:17

“This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.” Acts 4:11

“Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.” 1 Peter 2:7

The author of Acts spent the majority of his writing on the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul. Paul often mentioned details of his missionary travels in his letters, so we can compare what he wrote with what the author of Acts wrote about Paul’s missionary travels. That comparison finds Acts in line with the details in Paul’s letters.

Here are some examples for the Apostle Paul –

Acts and Paul’s Letters

• Acts 9, 22 and 26 claim that Paul was a Jew from Tarsus who persecuted the Church and was saved near Damascus through the personal intervention of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15 and Galatians 1 that he persecuted “the church of God.” He wrote in Philippians 3 that he persecuted “the church.”

• Acts 7 claims that Paul (Saul) was present at the stoning of Stephen, which led to Paul’s persecution of followers of Christ (Acts 8). Though Paul didn’t mention Stephen by name in his letters, he did write about persecuting followers of Christ (see above).

• Acts claims that disciples let Paul down a wall in Damascus to escape those who plotted his death. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11 that he was let down in a basket to escape arrest in Damascus.

• Acts referred to Paul as an apostle in Acts 14. Paul referred to himself as an apostle in most of his letters.

• Acts referred to Paul as being a pharisee in Acts 23. Paul referred to himself as a former pharisee in Philippians 3.

• Acts included information about Paul going first to Jews, then turning to Gentiles in cities he visited. Paul listed that order of Jew first, then Gentile, in Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 1 and 12, and Galatians 3.

• Acts mentions several people who partnered with Paul for his missionary journeys, including Barnabas, John Mark, Silas (Silvanus) and Timothy (Acts 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20). Paul mentioned Barnabas in 1 Corinthians 9, Galatians 2, and Colossians 4. He mentioned John Mark in Colossians 4, 2 Timothy 4 and Philemon 1. Paul mentioned Silas (Silvanus) in 2 Corinthians 1, 1 Thessalonians 1, and 2 Thessalonians 1. He mentioned Timothy in Romans 16, 1 Corinthians 4 and 16, 2 Corinthians 1, Philippians 1 and 2, Colossians 1, 1 Thessalonians 1 and 3, 2 Thessalonians 1, 1 Timothy 1 and 6, 2 Timothy 1, and Philemon 1. Timothy is also mentioned in Hebrews 13.

• Acts claims Paul journeyed to many countries, regions, cities, and towns to preach the Gospel including Antioch (Acts 11, 13, 14, 15, 18), Athens (Acts 17 and 18), Cilicia (Acts 15, 21, 22, 23, 27), Corinth (Acts 18, 19), Crete (Acts 27), Ephesus (Acts 18, 19, 20), Galatia (Acts 16, 18), Jerusalem (Acts 9, 12, 15, 21), Macedonia (Acts 16, 19, 20), Miletus (Acts 20), Philippi (Acts 16, 20), Rome(Acts 18, 19, 28), Syria (Acts 15, 18, 20, 21), Thessalonica (Acts 17), Troas (Acts 16, 20). Paul mentioned his trips to various cities and towns in his letters including Antioch (Galatians 2, 2 Timothy 3), Athens (1 Thessalonians 3), Cilicia(Galatians 1), Corinth (1 Corinthians 1, 2 Corinthians 1, 6, 7, 2 Timothy 4), Crete(Titus 1), Ephesus (1 Corinthians 15, 16, Ephesians 1, 1 Timothy 1, 2 Timothy 1, 4), Galatia (1 Corinthians 16, Galatians 1, 3, 2 Timothy 4), Jerusalem (Romans 15, 1 Corinthians 16, Galatians 1, 2, 4), Macedonia (Romans 15, 1 Corinthians 16, 2 Corinthians 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 11, Philippians 4, 1 Thessalonians 1, 4, 1 Timothy 1), Miletus (2 Timothy 4), Philippi (Philippians 1, 4, 1 Thessalonians 2), Rome (Romans 1, 2 Timothy 1), Syria (Galatians 1), Thessalonica (Philippians 4, 2 Timothy 4), and Troas (2 Corinthians 2, 2 Timothy 4).

The author of Acts began referring to ‘we’ and ‘us’ in Acts 16 –

“Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

ACTS 16:6-10

The author of Acts used the ‘we’ and ‘us’ references in several sections of Acts. It may be that he used them as a testimony to his personal relationship with Paul and being an eyewitness to what God did through Paul’s preaching.

Here are several examples:

• “Now it happened, as we went to prayer …” (Acts 16:16)

• “This girl followed Paul and us …” (Acts 16:17)

• “These men, going ahead, waited for us at Troas. But we sailed away from Philippi .. where we stayed seven days.” (Acts 20:5-6)

• “Now it came to pass, that when we had departed .. finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left .. finding disciples, we stayed there seven days .. when we had come to the end of those days, we departed .. we knelt down on the shore and prayed. When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship .. when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais .. we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea .. we stayed many days .. when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem .. we ceased, saying .. we packed and went up to Jerusalem. Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us .. And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly …” (Acts 21:1-19)

• “And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy .. we put to sea .. we landed at Sidon .. When we put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyrus .. And when we had sailed over the sea .. we came to Myra, a city of Lycia .. he put us on board .. When we had sailed slowly many days .. we sailed under the shelter of Crete .. we came to a place called Fair Havens .. when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive .. we secured the skiff with difficulty .. because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed .. we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands .. no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up .. fearing lest we should run aground .. (Acts 27:1-38)

• “And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome .. They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary .. After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship .. And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days. From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli, where we found brethren .. And so we went toward Rome. And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us .. when we came to Rome …” (Acts 28:1-16)

Next Time

We will examine external evidences for Luke being the author of Acts as our special series continues.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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