Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
The Bible foretells a great famine coming at the end of this age.1 Fortunately, so far not many of us have experienced such a disaster. But there were many famines in the ancient past which are described in some detail throughout God’s Holy Book. Our study portrays such an event that happened during one such …
“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 …
Paul’s Second Epistle to Timothy is believed by some scholars to be the last letter written before his death in Rome.1 Paul encouraged Timothy by saying “hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13, NRSV).2 Our study …
Everyone has a guardian angel, right? You know, an invisible heavenly spirit being from God that shadows us throughout this human existence and runs interference during the rough times in our lives. If true, I imagine some of them must have a boring existence, while others (like mine) have a very rough time, trying to …
If you have ever attended a church Sunday school (or synagogue Hebrew school) as a child, you probably already know the story of David and Goliath. This tale is the chronicle of a young Hebrew shepherd boy, who killed a Philistine giant on the battlefield, some three thousand years ago. This Bible story is told …
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 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 …
After the enslaved Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, ten major commands were given by God to Moses upon Mount Sinai. This was part of the contract or covenant between God and his people and it introduced fundamental rules for worship and social ethics. These rules were written upon two tablets of stone called the …
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 …