Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
Many churches speak of the bride of Christ. For new Christians, this is a bit unsettling because, despite what some novels and motion pictures depict, they are also taught that Jesus never married. So what does ‘bride of Christ’ actually mean? Evangelical denominations — those that believe the New Testament teaches the doctrine of salvation …
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 …
I had an interesting journey, recently. Because of an illness, I had EMTs1 visit my home three times, had three total visits to the emergency rooms of two different hospitals, and was finally admitted for a hospital stay in another city. Now, a couple of weeks later, I’m on the mend, but still have a …
The phrase, “something wicked this way comes,” is from Shakespeare’s play Macbeth.1 It is spoken by one of the three witches in Act 4, Scene 1, when she speaks of the war hero, Macbeth. By enticement and his own doing, he has become a monster of a man, because of his political ambition. These witches …
Lately, research shows that drawing a line between where being human ends and being a machine begins is becoming harder to establish. It seems that fictional characters like ‘Data’ (Day-ta) or the ‘Borg’, of Star Trek, may not be fictional in the future. A couple of years ago, I wrote an article about Artificial Intelligence …
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 …
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 …
This article is on the bizarre side, but I ask for your patience and to please give it some serious thought. What I present is in your Bible and there is supporting evidence in other religious and academic texts that are all referenced. All I ask is that you keep an open mind, think outside …
A lot of bad things have been happening in the world recently and each day seems to be worse than the previous one. Where is this world headed? The quarantine and social distancing, brought on by the viral pandemic, have become not a protection, but a punishment of solitary confinement and fear. Governments have used …
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 …