Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
“Do you believe aliens are among us?” For a Christian minister, that question arises more often than you might imagine. We are not considering foreign nationals illegally breaching our country’s borders; we are discussing intelligent beings other than human, originating outside of the earth’s boundaries. Or, maybe, they are coming from another dimension or realm …
Ever since the Israel-Hamas war recently broke out in the middle east, there have been inquiries about the situation and questions about what will God do to save Israel. I admit it is hard to wrap our minds around what is going on, but these questions are coming from Christians who are really concerned about …
As usual, around holiday events I get questions concerning its celebration. So, I was not surprised when a few inquiries arose around our last Thanksgiving Day. The first question asked was “Is Thanksgiving Day a religious holiday?” The second question was “Do other countries celebrate Thanksgiving Day?” The third was “What does Black Friday mean?” …
The story about Jezebel is recorded in 1 Kings and 2 Kings of the Old Testament, but for those who do not know much about this character, here is an overview. According to Hebrew scripture, Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Tyre in Phoenicia during the 9th-century BC. Phoenicia was a coastal …
While I write this, there are wars (Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas) and rumors of wars (Israel-Iran, NATO-Russia, U.S.-China, China-Taiwan, and more). Regional wars change fast, so who knows what will be happening in just a few weeks. Jesus said that this would happen before the end of this age, so these events are just the beginning …
When I was twenty years old, back in 1963, an American singer-songwriter named Bob Dylan1 wrote a song in an “attempt to create an anthem of change for the time.” The song is titled ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’.2 That happened sixty years ago and the times did change. But the point I’m making today …
“So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’” (Matthew 27:24-25, ESV).1 …
I recently read a very good article about the LGBTQ rainbow flag, in Wisconsin Christian News. The author was Rob Pue, an ordained minister and the founder of the newspaper. He was writing about a recent community bike ride in his city called the Annual Naked Bike Ride. This social crusade, which began in Spain …
There has been another death in my family, not my immediate family but close enough. If this kind of event has ever crept into your own family’s existence – and it most likely has – you know exactly what I mean. When death does visit our families occasionally, those deaths can arrive in a variety …
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. (Psalm 127:3, NLT).1 Yes, in the Bible, children are considered a great blessing from God, however according to Mosaic Law, although a blessing, they had no rights.2 It wasn’t until the last century that much thought was given to the concept of …