Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast

This verse shows why the Popes in the time of the Renaissance practically hid part of the Word of God from the common people. The result of them finding out the truth about salvation through faith ( and other doctrine) would hinder the power of the Popes, among other problems. Martin Luther (above) is admired by many of his bravery of standing up to these powerful Popes by confidently posting his "95 Theses" that contained major problems with the Catholic religion to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church in Germany. He started one the most important times in history that is well remembered. Even though Luther may not have had everything correct in his doctrinal beliefs, we can certainly follow his example of his courage and determination to do what's right. Of course, there is much more to his story, but I think his Thesis is something everyone should know about. 

-picture from google images-

Hello everyone :)
So, I was reading in my "Philosophy, 100 Essential Thinkers" book about Thallus of Miletus, who was the first known philosopher. It was talking about how he viewed the world and he claimed that the earth floats on water. When there is an earthquake, it is due to the waves when they are rough. I don't know why that was so fascinating and humorous to me. But, if you did not know how things worked in the world at all, that would be a logical conclusion. It just goes to show how far we have come with bright philosophers, and (thankfully) Christian philosophers. I have been really into philosophy lately, it interests me to see how minds back then and now work. Genius conclusions have been made, but not all are correct. But we do have the most true and reliable source, of course, the Bible. But not everyone believes in the Bible. This is particularly difficult when trying to explain Creation vs. Evolution to someone who completed denies the Word of God. That is why, I think, it is important to be able to defend Creation without using verses. Learn the science side of it, that is what they want to hear. Tell them it is impossible for something to come out of nothing, it has never been done and never will be done. Ask them why there are no fossils that have shown the process of Evolution at all. People have gone to desperate measures trying to prove Evolution, including making a fossil out of various bones that add up with Evolution. So this probably has nothing to do with Thallus, but hey, had to get it out lol :) So anyways, thoughts? Questions? I would love to hear your take on Evolution vs. Creation....or philosophy. Thanks for reading my rambling post! -Shandi

creds to "Philosophy, 100 Essential Thinkers"  by Philip Stokes for the Thallus of Miletus info.)