Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
Science Reveals God’s Majesty Series Some time ago, I tried to explain the concept of inherited sin to someone. I went through the whole spiel, you know, about Adam and Eve and the serpent in the Garden of Eden. I explained that it was at that point in history when sin (a rebellious nature or …
We hear some talk about how the current time may be the end of the age — that promised time when Jesus will return, as he prophesied. Through all the years, since Jesus’ walked on earth, each generation of Christians believed he would soon return, maybe even during their own lifetime. Obviously, they were all …
The question of Enoch’s and Elijah’s demise is still argued by scholars and lay people after all these thousands of years, since their biblically recorded disappearance. Enoch was the father of Methuselah and ancestor of Noah, and the author of the apocalyptic Book of Enoch. He vanished, literally, after only 365 years of life. Besides …
The other day my wife, Mary, told me she spoke with someone that was having a personal problem. I don’t know what that problem was, but the burden must have been heavy for Mary suggested that the lady ask God for help in solving it. The person replied, “I can’t pray for myself, because that …
There have been more than just a handful of times when I received questions from women about that “monthly curse” of menstruation. Most questions revolved around the issues of being unclean or ‘dirty’, as pointed out in the Bible. For example, someone would ask, “How can I feel good about myself, if God tells me …
Throughout two thousand years of Christian history, and several hundred years longer in Jewish history, the idea of an apocalypse has been studied. This predicted cataclysm is a series of earth-wide events, preceding God’s destruction of the evil ruling powers impacting humanity. Although previously implied and even promised, these events are symbolically described in detail …
Much debate is heard within discussion groups and friendly conversations over coffee about the idea that if you are “once saved, you are always saved.” In other words, if someone becomes a Christian, you receive forgiveness of sins (saved/salvation), which is a free gift that restores your relationship with God, and you can never lose …
This article is going to be a little weird — like me, I guess. We will cover a bit of background concerning the Roman government during New Testament times, but the last half of this discourse, although related, is a personal reflection from early in my adult life. So, let’s get started. Jesus’ life story …
Someone would be hard-pressed to imagine something more troubling or macabre than the taboo of eating human flesh. Now, in the animal kingdom, cannibalism is fairly common and found in more than fifteen hundred species, but this activity is rare in humans, just maybe not as rare as you might expect. Once, during a study …
Unless you know what to look for, medicinal and recreational drug use in the Bible isn’t always evident, because they didn’t speak about drugs as we do today. They used plants and minerals for treatment and healing of ailments and pain, or to produce certain mental effects such as mood relaxers and hallucinogens. Since many …