Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
Most Christians believe in something called a human soul that survives death. The questions of when and how a person obtains that soul, whatever it is, have been discussed and debated throughout Christian history. It is no different today, especially for those who are trying to determine abortion law. Although atheists don’t believe in God, …
Nicodemus, a Pharisee and prominent member of the Sanhedrin, came one night to visit Jesus and discuss his new religious doctrine. Now, a Pharisee was a member of a Jewish sect noted for strict observance of the rites and ceremonies of the written law — that of the law of Moses as well as Jewish …
I have often said that my approach to God’s word has always been in trying to follow the logic behind his plan. That is the main reason I love the apostle Paul so much, because he presents the nature of God and Jesus in a logical and organized way. He focuses on salvation as a …
Samson was the 15th and most famous judge of Israel and reigned for two decades, some 3,000 years ago. Judges were people that served roles as military leaders in times of crisis, before an Israelite monarchy was established.1 He never did completely free his people from Philistine bondage, but did provide some relief. Samson gave …
The most famous murder in the Bible is the first one, when Cain killed his brother, Abel. Facts of the physical homicide are plainly stated, so this murder mystery is not an investigation to figure out who was the perpetrator, but what was his motive for committing the crime, and why God handled it the …
Chances are that most people have not read or heard about the story in Ezekiel, chapter 23. This is one of those “X-rated” chapters of the Bible, which may be occasionally referred to, but never read in church. It is a dire but foretelling story showing that God has a great deal of patience and …
The Church has changed a lot since the time Christ walked on earth, especially since the Bible came to be easily available to almost everyone. But there are a few things that haven’t changed much at all. Take the subject of sex, for example. We talk about sexual immorality as a problem and can look …
Someone asked me, the other day, if I believed that aliens were here. They weren’t talking about legal or illegal people from a foreign country living in the United States, but of intelligent beings, other than human, from outside the earth’s boundaries. This isn’t the first time I’ve been asked this question and it is …
I have covered some of this biblical information about people’s names in bits and pieces of other articles over the last few years, but never consolidated the data into a study of its own. We will look into how people’s names during bible times were chosen, and more importantly, why were they sometimes changed into …
The other day, someone I know was relating something that happened in a department store parking lot. He was waiting as an automobile backed out and left a parking space, but before he could drive his car into the space himself, another vehicle approaching from the other direction zipped into it. Sound familiar? When things …