Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
This may seem like a silly question, but does it really matter how we pray? Think about it, most people pray because they want something; they send up a prayer and ask God for a favor or item and hope for the best. With this attitude, they should call it ‘ask and hope’ instead of …
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 …
Crucifixion was a regular mode of capital punishment among early pagan nations, and most likely originated with the Persians and then spread to the Assyrians, Germans, Celts, Britons and others. This punishment was “primarily reserved for traitors, captive armies, slaves and the worst of criminals” and was common under the rule of Alexander the Great …
Most Christians believe that these three names are interchangeable for identifying the biggest and most powerful ‘bad guy’ of the Bible. Just what are the dictionary definitions for these words: Satan, Devil, Lucifer? According to Merriam-Webster, Satan is Greek and the Hebrew is śā[t]ān, which means adversary. It is the angel in Jewish belief that …
Most Christian pastors, teachers, and parents believe that masturbation is a sin, because it gratifies the desires of the flesh, which means we are not walking in the spirit and living by faith. This study will involve ideas and language that many people find offensive, so if that is the case with you, please read …
Although there are several minor Christian sects that do not celebrate birthdays, the only major denomination that does not is Jehovah’s Witnesses. Of the organizations that do not, often cited as a reason, is that only two instances of birthdays are mentioned in the Bible and both represented rather gruesome situations that were related to …
I have a couple of full-sized medieval battle swords hanging on my living room wall. I’m told that they are museum replicas and both have a religious connection. Normally I would have put them in my office, but they are rather large (long) and there was not enough room to hang them there. I have …
Many debates have been started over two verses of scripture in the Holy Bible which describes, what seems to be, a pretty straight-forward command. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority …
There is a new feature listed in the main menu bar at the top of all pages. This feature is the ‘Bible Versions Chart’ which lists the translations used in our articles and posts. It is not complete by any means, but is a list of most of the English language Bibles used on The …
Our country, like many others, is divided over the issue of abortion. You may be pregnant and thinking of getting one, or you may know someone who is, and you want to know what God thinks about this avenue to problem solving. Many people will try to decide this problem for you, but they all …