The Ghost at Epworth

A ghost story involving the Wesley family, as reported by Samuel Wesley (John's father). See Wordpress post here.

What's wrong with this picture?

This place is near where I live. Can you find the problem? Hint: Proverbs 22:22

The Meaning of the Christian Fish - ΙΧΘΥΣ

One of the first symbols of early Christianity was the fish. The Greek word for fish is "ichthus" (ΙΧΘΥΣ). It is pronounced "ik thoos". ΙΧΘΥΣ spells an acronym in Greek. It was an early statement of faith.

The acronym means "Jesus, Christ, Son of God, Savior". The Greek letters break down as follows:

I - Iota is the first letter of Iesous (Jesus)
X - Chi is the first letter of Christos (Christ)
Θ - Theta is the first letter of Theos (God)
Y - Upsilon is the first letter of Yios (Son)
Σ - Sigma is the fist letter of Soter (Savior)

The Greek letters Alpha and Omega also both look like fish. The little alpha looks like a fish swimming right to left, and the Omega looks like a fish swimming up. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega (Rev 1:8).
The fish has Biblical significance. Jonah was swallowed by a fish (Jonah 1:17). Several of the disciples were fishermen (Peter, Andrew, James, John). Jesus told his disciples to be be "fishers of men" (Mark 1:17). Jesus did miracles involving fish - feeding the 5000 (Matt 14:18-21), and helping the disciples to catch fish (John 21:6). Jesus also proved he was physically risen by eating a fish (Luke 24:40-43).

Tradition has it that that early Christians used the fish symbol to identify each other during times of persecution. If a believer met a stranger and thought the stranger might also be a believer, he would draw the top half of the fish in the dirt.

If the stranger was a believer he would know to complete the other half of the symbol, and the two believers would be safe to acknowledge each other. If not, the non-believer would just think the other person was a little loopy for drawing in the dirt. Hopefully the early Christians were better at drawing than I am.


In early Christianity the fish and dove were common Christian symbols, more so than the cross. Clement of Alexandria was the first Christian to mention the fish in writing. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that:

the earliest literary reference to the symbolic fish is made by Clement of Alexandria, born about 150, who recommends his readers (The Pedagogue III.11) to have their seals engraved with a dove or a fish. Clement did not consider it necessary to give any reason for this recommendation, from which it may be safely be inferred that the meaning of both symbols was unnecessary.

(Early Coptic Art)

Today the fish is quickly recognizable as part of the Christian subculture. According to Wikipedia, the modern fish movement was started by some Australian university students. Over the last forty years the symbol has become common again. Today it is cliche. You can get your fish auto emblem, fish T-shirt, or fish jewelry.

Darwinians have their fish too. Perhaps you have seen it on a car or two. The Darwinian fish swims from left to right, whereas the Christian fish always swims from right to left. The Darwinian fish has feet, emphasizing their belief that humans evolved from sea creatures.


And of course the Christian subculture never misses a beat. Not to be outdone, you can buy a Christian fish eating a Darwin fish.


The fish has evolved a long way over the years, and that is no fish story. :)

Servetus the Evangelical out of the Closet?

Hat tip to Steve Noel.

According to Steve, "Apparently Servetus the Evangelical is a golfer named Kermit Zarley. Never heard of him before but his clues match up with this fellow."

If you don't know who Servetus the Evangelical is, his website is here. Mr Zarley's website is here.

The Roy Houser Gospel Band

Growing up my family always went to church on Sunday nights. Sunday nights were less formal than Sunday mornings. Choruses would be sung, there would be a time for testimonies, the message would be shorter. I liked Sunday nights. I was allowed to wear shorts on Sunday nights.

Occasionally we would be treated to a performance by the Roy Houser Gospel band. More about the band in a moment, but first a little about Roy. He was a saint in his early seventies. He was married and had children and grandchildren who attended our church. Roy was a great guy, his love for the Lord was obvious. He was a person who reached out to others, and declared the love of Jesus.

Roy had his own gospel band. He was the leader, and played the bass guitar. Another lady played the accordion, someone else would play the piano. They had a somewhat folksy style. The band was not terribly talented, probably the reason they always performed on Sunday nights.

The band irritated my mom a little bit. When she heard that they were going to play she would say "oh brother!". I liked the band, but not so much for the quality of music. It was nice to see a group of people playing who obviously loved the Lord.

I first realized that electric guitars weren't evil because Roy had one. He had a bass guitar. It looked like something a rock band might use. My keen young mind realized that if Roy had an electric guitar and brought it to church, electric guitars must not be so bad.

Over the years it seemed like Roy's band might die out. Some of the other performers aged and were unable to play. The band played less often. It made me sad.

But the band was going to live on.

One day Roy came up to me and said "Hey boy! How would you like to play in my band?" Roy never called me by my name. He always said "Hey boy!". I don't think he knew my name. Nonetheless I was honored to play in the band (I played the trumpet). I wasn't the only new person to join. Roy was busy recruiting. The band would survive. A younger group now, with Roy still at bass. We still weren't terribly talented.

One day I realized that fine music wasn't the point of the band. It never had been. For Roy it was about praising the Lord and reaching out to others. He found people, like me, who enjoyed playing music, and who he could minister to. He brought us together. He told us how Jesus had worked in his life, and how Jesus could work in our lives too.

I played in the band until I went to college. After I left, Roy was still busy recruiting other band members.

Roy died about 10 years ago. Today he is no doubt playing his bass guitar for the Lord. I look forward to the day too when I go to heaven. I will see Roy there. I know what he will say too. "Hey boy! How would you like to play in my band?". Then we will play music for the Lord.