Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
The author of The Epistle of James began his letter by stating, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings” (James 1:1, NRSV).1 That is a very humble opening statement from someone who was not only a church leader, but was Jesus’ oldest2 brother …
The world knows that there are two continents of the Americas, North America with several countries (including the United States), and South America with several countries, also. Many people around the world sometimes get confused (or angry) when United States (U.S.) citizens refer to themselves as Americans, as it seems they are shutting out the …
Moses (circa 14th – 13th century BC)1 was not just the man who led the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery, he also authored the first five books of the Old Testament, also known as the Torah or Pentateuch. Furthermore, he was a great prophet and recognized as such in all Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam. …
The first miracle performed by Jesus was at a wedding in Cana, a village in Galilee, as opposed to another Cana in Coelo-Syria.1 Many academics believe this was a vibrant Jewish community in the lower Galilean region which included an extensive underground cave system. This was discovered by a recent archaeological dig just 8.5 miles …
Many of my articles address the fact that evil currently rules our world. Evil people with evil thoughts are using evil ways to convert God’s property into an evil planet for evil purposes. This injustice has been around since long before the event in the Garden of Eden that caused humankind’s path to drift away …
The title of this article is a ‘play on words’ because of its redundancy; it is my way of having a little fun. Let me explain. I recently read an article by a woman who reflected upon a story from her early years of marriage. She wrote, “When my husband and I were first married …
John the Evangelist (6 AD – 100 AD), one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, received a vision while exiled on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. That vision resulted in the only apocalyptic book in the New Testament canon — The Revelation to John (or Book of Revelation). This last book of …
I’ve heard many secular statements explaining ‘evil’, but I will use a biblical source for the Christian definition. A Bible dictionary states that evil is “the presence of corruption, malevolence and depravity in the world, opposed to God’s nature and will. Scripture stresses that evil is a force in its own right, rather than the …
It is impossible, in our world today, not to observe that evil is increasing. We see violence, resistance, and disagreement everywhere — on television, in newspapers, in towns and neighborhoods, and even within families. Evil is everywhere on planet earth; we see evil people and situations all around us and most have actually experienced it …
The Epistle of Jude is not a very popular subject in Bible studies. It is often neglected in biblical analysis for a few reasons. First, it is rather short in length having only twenty-five verses, and therefore it is easily overlooked. Second, many feel it is about intolerance, rather than being inclusive and so, not …