Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28, KJV).1 Over the years, I’ve been asked …
People had only one name, during Biblical times. To distinguish between people of the same name, a description was often used. Jesus was a common Jewish name in Judea, so our Savior was called ‘The Nazarene’, after the city in which he lived.1 Likewise, the Mary of this study was from the town of Magdala2 …
The New Testament book of Ephesians was written to the Christians in Ephesus and explains what the Christian Church is and how its members should behave. Most commentators credit the apostle Paul with authorship, but there is some debate about that. And although many dates have been given, it was probably written between 60–63 A.D. …
In a restaurant a few days ago, I overheard a small group of people discussing the account in the Gospels, when Jesus confronted a Canaanite woman. What really caught my attention though, was when one person said, “I don’t think Jesus should have made such a mean racist comment to someone asking him for help.” …
Do you believe in ghosts? According to the Huffington Post, nearly half of Americans do. A HuffPost poll “shows that 45 percent of Americans believe in ghosts, or that the spirits of dead people can come back in certain places and situations.”1 In the U.K., 52 percent of respondents indicated that they believed in ghosts, …
Recently, someone asked me to explain why God cursed women with a monthly period. She was referring to women’s menstruation, including a possible combination of symptoms about a week or so before the actual flow of blood. This premenstrual assortment of problems, called premenstrual syndrome (PMS), can include such effects as bloating, headaches, and moodiness, …
All of the pastors that I’ve ever heard giving a sermon on Genesis chapter 6, started with Genesis 6:5. When I asked why they skipped the first four verses, I usually got one of three answers: (1) “they aren’t important to the story,” (2) “they are too complicated for the congregation to understand,” or (3) …
Fall has arrived, as I write this, and the once-bright green leaves on trees are beginning to change into a variety of brilliant colors. Before long, the city streets and rural highways will be lined with many shades of splendid yellows, oranges, reds, and browns. For me, Fall always seems to come and go at …
Speaking in an unknown language, as many do in today’s Pentecostal, Charismatic, Catholic, and a few other Christian religions, is generally considered a New Testament phenomenon. This ability was received as one of the miraculous spiritual gifts given to the apostles after the death of Christ and is known as “speaking in tongues.” Although it …
One of my precious wife’s little dogs escaped from its backyard pen the other day and began to snoop around our small urban vegetable garden. The garden is located way out back of the property and near an area of dense weeds and thickets. I realize it is not good to have our garden near …