Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
Genesis, chapter 10, begins the new human history following the Great Flood of Noah’s time. It describes the genealogy of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. These genealogical details are sometimes called the Table of Nations, as it describes the people who repopulate the earth and gives evidence concerning the dispersal of nations. For instance, …
What is baptism? Why, and how, is it done? A dictionary states that baptism is a “Christian sacrament marked by ritual use of water and admitting the recipient to the Christian community,”1 and an encyclopedia gives a bit more information. Baptism, it says, is a Christian rite of admission and adoption, almost invariably with the …
Anyone, who has done a deep and serious study into a subject within the Bible, knows that possible answers to questions sometimes only surface when you discern between what scripture doesn’t say, compared to what it does say. Also, they realize most of the stories contained in the Bible are written in a very condensed …
A friend in college once told me, “I’ll be really happy when I get a new car. As long as I’m driving around in this old clunker, I feel like a failure and people think of me as a failure. A new car will show them I’m not.” Well, I bet he did get that …
Soon after our first human couple were created in the Garden of Eden, they violated God’s only rule. They sinned by doing something that God told them not to do. So, which one was at fault — upon whom should we place the blame? One of them must have been responsible for this first transgression, …
When we come face-to-face with a moral decision, we sometimes make the wrong judgement call and compound a problem, rather than solve it. Many then just chalk it up to human nature and move on. Others, however, will feel some guilt, at least for a while. If you include yourself in this latter group (guilt), …
In a prior article, I wrote about a time when someone asked me, “Do you believe in aliens?” I answered, “Yes, I believe that.” Then he asked another question, “Do you think they are here now?” Once again, I answered, “Yes.” He was, of course, not talking about legal or illegal migrants from other countries …
Can a man have more than one wife? Most Christians today would answer “no,” but there are a few that say the Bible isn’t clear on this subject. And some bring up the historical fact that many of the Bible’s male characters had more than one wife. Abraham, Moses, and King Solomon are just a …
I was once asked by an atheist, “Why do Christians talk about blood so much?” I guess some people think we have a strange and unhealthy relationship or interest in blood. But to Christians, blood is more than just delivering nutrients and oxygen to the cells in our body and removing their waste products. Having …
The full story of Mary’s marriage, pregnancy, and birth of her son can be found in two books of the Bible: the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. For those who want to read (or reread) the story, the accounts are in Matthew 1:18–2:23 and Luke 2:1–40. This scripture is the wonderful Christmas story, concerning Mary’s …