Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
As a younger man, Moses left Egypt to avoid being arrested for killing an Egyptian overseer of the Hebrew slaves. Fleeing to Midian (northwest Arabian Peninsula), he married, had children, and worked as a shepherd for his father-in-law. After a new Pharaoh comes to power back in Egypt, God commands Moses to return to lead …
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 …
Not long ago, I received an email letter from a visitor to The Outlaw Bible Student website; it was from a lifelong research scientist, university professor, and author. This letter wasn’t positive or negative directly toward me, but from the tone of it, I knew it was unquestionably from an atheist.1 I have found that …
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 …
We have all been profoundly affected by the current coronavirus pandemic. Psychological surveys indicate one result of this global crisis is a growing mental health emergency, the consequences of which may be felt for years to come.1 And new medical problems, resulting from the untested, experimental, and sometimes forced mass vaccination of the population, compound …
While most Christians believe that the Ten Commandments are essential to their faith, some believe the other laws given in the Old Testament are irrelevant. They say that Christians are not bound by the Law of Moses. One person with this attitude raised the question, “What was the purpose of the law, if we no …
I received an email from one of my daughters the other day. She wrote, “Since riding a donkey when pregnant would have been so hard for Mary, do you think Jesus was born in the other Bethlehem, which is closer to Nazareth?” She was, of course, inquiring about the journey Joseph and Mary made just …
Over the years, I’ve studied, and attended lectures, about Jacob and the ‘Twelve Tribes of Israel’ living a good life in Egypt during the early days of their exile. This also includes studying about Moses and his rescue of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt hundreds of years later. The problem is that not much …
The Holy Bible is a book about God, and about the history of humankind and their redemption from sin. Within that context, there is much within the biblical record about the subject of marriage. Sexually, marriage was created and emphasized as a monogamous arrangement between male and female (Genesis 2:21-24), both physically and mentally (Matthew …