Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
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 …
We hear Christian preachers talk about the Last Days a lot. Generally, many modern Christian denominations teach that the ‘last days’ are a short period of time prior to the end of the world. At that time, Jesus makes his promised return to rapture the righteous into heaven as angels where they join previous believers …
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 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 …
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 …
Soon after our first human couple were created in the Garden of Eden, they violated God’s only rule. They sinned by doing something that God told them not to do. So, which one was at fault — upon whom should we place the blame? One of them must have been responsible for this first transgression, …
In a prior article, I wrote about a time when someone asked me, “Do you believe in aliens?” I answered, “Yes, I believe that.” Then he asked another question, “Do you think they are here now?” Once again, I answered, “Yes.” He was, of course, not talking about legal or illegal migrants from other countries …
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 …