Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
The story about Jezebel is recorded in 1 Kings and 2 Kings of the Old Testament, but for those who do not know much about this character, here is an overview. According to Hebrew scripture, Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Tyre in Phoenicia during the 9th-century BC. Phoenicia was a coastal …
I recently read a very good article about the LGBTQ rainbow flag, in Wisconsin Christian News. The author was Rob Pue, an ordained minister and the founder of the newspaper. He was writing about a recent community bike ride in his city called the Annual Naked Bike Ride. This social crusade, which began in Spain …
I wrote about gay and transgender issues about five years ago, but continue to get questions concerning those groups and what is God’s point-of-view on the LGBT lifestyle. Those descriptive alphabet characters change over time, but currently the official identification is LGBTQIA+ and they stand for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transvestite, questionable/queer, intersex, asexual, and ‘plus …
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 …