Canon and traditional sources tell us that St. Paul wrote four letters to the new church in Corinth, an important crossroads city in Greece. These two survive. Where differences in observance of dietary rules, Paul urged everyone to follow their own consciences, with the condition that each person should have respect for the conscience of the person who does not agree with him and refrain from needlessly offending another. The Early Christian churches marked the events of Jesus' death and resurrection by sharing a common meal together. Some Corinthians failed to see the significance of this...

"Thessalonians to Hebrews" is a companion to the Cherokee syllabary-only New Testament digitized and released in 2013. Translated into Cherokee in the nineteenth century under the direction of Revs. Samuel Worcester and Elias Boudinot, the Cherokee New Testament is the largest complex text composed in Cherokee by fluent speakers with command of a high level of the language. For generations, the New Testament has been used by Cherokees of all persuasions to learn to speak and write as their ancestors did. The Epistles were written to instruct fledgling churches around the Mediterranean, and...

This group of shorter letters, attributed to the Apostle Paul, reveals early questions and conflicts that confused the early Christian community. Galatians asks, what is the relationship between the new church and Jewish Law? What was the relationship between faith and works, and which was essential for salvation? Ephesians presents accounts of how Paul was selected and qualified to be an apostle to the Gentiles. Philippians asks how one can live boldly as a citizens of Heaven while also living humbly as a servant of Christ. And in Colossians, where members of the congregation had...

Seven-headed monsters Dragons Plagues of locusts Heavily-armed horsemen Angels with swords And a Lamb. The Revelation to John so strikingly different from the rest of the New Testament, that it almost didn't make it into the canon. Many denominations recommend against studying this book without the guidance of clergy, since its images lend itself to wild and varied interpretation. Rather than a sermon, history, narrative, or instructional guide, Revelation is a long mystical vision... something very familiar to indigenous peoples worldwide. As one of the Keetoowah Elders said years ago,...