Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
There is probably little in Christianity as controversial as whether or not God knew all the future details of our world. Was our human history laid out even before it started? Are our past, present, and future following a precise path toward a preplanned destiny? If so, is it even possible for humans to exercise …
A recent message came into my office asking, “Define ‘Christian’ for me. That word gets thrown around, with no clear definition. If possible, use the Bible to define it.” I’ve gotten many similar questions over the years and the writer of that message makes a good underlying point. Authors and speakers keep using this word …
The Epistle to the Hebrews is a “battleground of discordant opinion and conjecture: its author is unknown, its occasion unstated, and its destination disputed”1 and chapter six, which tells about the perils of falling away from the Christian faith, is one of the most misunderstood parts of the book. Before we dig into chapter 6, …
I want to talk about God and Jesus and their relationship, but I don’t want to argue about it, for arguments have been going on for a couple thousand years. I do, however, wish to present some evidence to give you something different to think about, because while most large modern denominations claim God is …
In the city of Ufa, Russia, 22 Jehovah’s Witness members have recently been jailed for religious extremism and are at risk of up to 10 years in jail, according to Human Rights Watch.1 In 2017 the Russian Supreme Court targeted the JW religion and ordered their dissolution in Russia, because they seem as a threat, …
This may seem like a silly question, but does it really matter how we pray? Think about it, most people pray because they want something; they send up a prayer and ask God for a favor or item and hope for the best. With this attitude, they should call it ‘ask and hope’ instead of …
Speaking in an unknown language, as many do in today’s Pentecostal, Charismatic, Catholic, and a few other Christian religions, is generally considered a New Testament phenomenon. This ability was received as one of the miraculous spiritual gifts given to the apostles after the death of Christ and is known as “speaking in tongues.” Although it …
Crucifixion was a regular mode of capital punishment among early pagan nations, and most likely originated with the Persians and then spread to the Assyrians, Germans, Celts, Britons and others. This punishment was “primarily reserved for traitors, captive armies, slaves and the worst of criminals” and was common under the rule of Alexander the Great …
Most Christians believe that these three names are interchangeable for identifying the biggest and most powerful ‘bad guy’ of the Bible. Just what are the dictionary definitions for these words: Satan, Devil, Lucifer? According to Merriam-Webster, Satan is Greek and the Hebrew is śā[t]ān, which means adversary. It is the angel in Jewish belief that …
I’ve been thinking about an article I recently read of how Christian churches are bending over backward to make their services happy events. By “happy events” I mean making sure their service makes you comfortable, making sure they never offend you, making sure they give the appearance of projecting their love into the congregation. It …