A Knight's Blog

The story of Judah Ben Hur is one of betrayal, revenge, and redemption. The first remake, starring Charlton Heston in 1959 has become a classic. The question asked is how does this remake stand against the original or in this case how does the remake stand against the remake? The review I am about to pen will not focus on comparsions, for this Ben Hur is an entirely different retelling of Lew Wallace's novel. While the Ben Hur of 1959 may be called an epic (in every sense of the world, including Heston's epic voice), this Ben Hur of 2016 is more of evangelistic epic that really could claim the substitle of Wallace's book, " The Tale of Christ ." Ben Hur is about a wealthy Jew named Judah Ben Hur in the time of 33 A.D. Hur's best friend, and in this version, step brother, is a Roman na med Massala . The two despite their different beliefs and grooming are brothers, and the axis for the story really shapes when the verse, " brother will turn against ...

Abuse is like seeds, it grows in the abuser when they heap abuse on another and in the abused if they receive it and choose to recompense it with retribution. There are only abuser and abused. The abuser inflicts abuse (pain, harm, emotional, physical, and spiritual) upon the abusee or abused. This vicious cycle continues from generation to generation, as abused become abusers; for the grievances and harsh treatment builds up within to create a new abuser to pass on this disease and sin. The Bible has much to say about abuse, and wither we should participate or pacify it. The most famous rebuke towards abuser is found in Alpha and Omega's own words, " But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time, and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards, The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign ...

Star Wars is a saga that has captivated audiances for past two decades. The story of Nazi Empire in space versus a Allied Forces Rebellion combined with the mystical Force and path of Jedi monks made this saga a smashing hit. While many books have endeavored to explore the spirituality of this saga, I shall give an abridged walkthrough the mysteries of the Force. The Force was invented by Joseph Campbell, a prominate philsopher who wrote on The Hero Cycle . The Hero Cycle  follows a hero's evolution: first he is discovered by a mentor to teach him (Merlin), then the mentor perishes or leaves, the hero fights a evil that is physical like Grendal the monster, then the hero faces a spiritual evil that requires more than brute strength, then he must face the evil in himself, and then he becomes the mentor to another hero continuing the cycle. When Joseph was approached by George Lucas to create the Force, the goal was to make a supernatural-cosmic-spirituality that anyperson i...

Vows and oaths in the time of Jesus were both legally binding and a sign of character. Swearing an oath or making a vow was a verbal contract that you would do something, provide money, or whatever exchange was taking place. There were vows and oaths people made to God, often dedications like baptism, covenant making via a sacrifice or circumcision. Often these vows to the Lord contained a promise a worahipper would tithe more to the Temple if they were healed of an illness or in some cases like the prophet Samuel, a child wasnoffered to be a priest and prophet if anwoman who was barren could give birth. Oaths were binding and contained heavy spiritual, social, and even physical demands. An oath breaker or vow breaker was considered untrustworthy and failing to keep a promise could result in alientation, shunning, and even one's business to be boycotted. Your reputation, revenue, and religious life wsd on the line when you made a vow, oath, or promise.  Beyond vows between...

During studies I came across a  man named Jean Gerson, a reformed thinker of 15-16th centuries. Whilst reading his ideals I came to a conclusion worthy of note. I am convinced the Rome Empire which had persecuted the Church from 33-333 A.D. under emperors like Nero, Caligula, and Diocletian continued to persecute the Church through Emperor Constantine adopting Christianity and imperializing it; and then through the Popes. Rome resumed persecuting Christ's disciples and true church under a new name Roman Catholicism thus persecution shifted from outside the church (empire, caesars, crucifixions) to inside the church (papacy, popes, and burning stakes); ergo Rome has never stopped persecuting authentic Christianity, it merely evolved from being a secular-civil government of pagans to presuming to be a ecclesiastical-theological government of Christians; more simply put, the caesars who killed Christians became popes, The Roman Empire became The Roman Catholic Church, and thus Ro...

The 2016 Olympics have begun. The whole world has gathered to compete for gold, and to prove they are best athletes in the globe. The Olympics has Biblical importance because during the Early Church, these games were being conducted in Greece and Rome, even in the time of St. Paul. In fact, when Paul says, “ I have fought the good fight, run the good race, and kept the faith ,” (2 Timothy 4:7), he is making a spiritual connection to the Olympic athlete, that we as Christians must fight the devil (1 Peter 4:8-9), run the race well and share gospel at the same time (Mark 16:15), and finish the race and keep the faith (Matthew 24:13). What is quite fascinating about these Olympic Games is that they take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil is devoutly Christian, and in fact, there is a giant statute of Jesus Redeemer (see pic) standing as gigantic as the Statue of Liberty at Ellis island, New York City. The fact all nations have come to Olympics to compet...