Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
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 …
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 …
We hear a lot about Hell, but there is still much confusion about what it is and where it is located. In some religions it is the location of the afterlife, where the souls of evil people are subjected to suffering through torture and eternal punishment, usually for sins committed sometime in their lives. But …
Crucifixion became an important method of capital punishment in the Roman Republic from the 6th century BC and continuing for several hundred years after Christ’s death. This execution style was finally abolished in the Roman Empire, during the 4th century AD, by Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor of Rome.1 When first originated by …
This article is about me, but don’t worry, for there is a Bible study here too. It is just that the idea for its subject matter came about because of thoughts concerning my current place in this world and my future. I will add that I dedicate this article to my wife Mary, who has …
“Are zombies mentioned in the Bible?” That is a question I once received from a new Christian. It is a serious inquiry for some people today; after all, zombies are a popular topic of conversation all year round, not just during Halloween. According to the Oxford English Dictionary,1 the word ‘zombie’ is a combination of …
There are coming days of judgements mentioned in most religions, but this being a Christian website, that is where we will put our focus. But even within the followers of Jesus Christ, beliefs about the last days can get rather confusing with an abundance of ideas, theories, and doctrine within the dozens of Christian denominations. …
We hear Christian preachers talk about the Last Days a lot. Generally, many modern Christian denominations teach that the ‘last days’ are a short period of time prior to the end of the world. At that time, Jesus makes his promised return to rapture the righteous into heaven as angels where they join previous believers …
In ancient cultures, most practitioners of supernatural skills were men. They were the religious officials of various pagan cults, who were considered ritual specialists in the magical arts. It wasn’t until later, during medieval times, that a witch was considered a person who performed harmful supernatural acts against others. And, the introduction of demonic forces …
I’ve been around a while on this planet; I was born in the early 1940s and I’ve seen a lot of changes since then. In childhood, I remember phones that had no dial and we told the operator what number we wanted to call. We had no refrigerator, but only an ‘icebox’ for which we …