Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
The full story of Mary’s marriage, pregnancy, and birth of her son can be found in two books of the Bible: the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. For those who want to read (or reread) the story, the accounts are in Matthew 1:18–2:23 and Luke 2:1–40. This scripture is the wonderful Christmas story, concerning Mary’s …
This article is on the bizarre side, but I ask for your patience and to please give it some serious thought. What I present is in your Bible and there is supporting evidence in other religious and academic texts that are all referenced. All I ask is that you keep an open mind, think outside …
The question of Enoch’s and Elijah’s demise is still argued by scholars and lay people after all these thousands of years, since their biblically recorded disappearance. Enoch was the father of Methuselah and ancestor of Noah, and the author of the apocalyptic Book of Enoch. He vanished, literally, after only 365 years of life. Besides …
Part of the Apostles’ Creed of the Roman Catholic Church, in its latest translation of texts, states that Jesus “ . . . was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead. . . .” For about fifteen hundred years the Apostles’ Creed stated …
The Christian Bible is divided into two testaments containing many books: the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) and the New Testament (Greek Scriptures concerning Jesus Christ). But not all Christian Bibles are the same. Of course, there are various versions and translations, but I’m talking about the books within the Bibles. In some denominations or sects, …
As I get older and my knees hurt more, I use a walking cane to help me get around. I thought that a really nice one would be fun to have when leaving the house and going someplace special. In my grandfather’s day, he would have called it his “Sunday-go-to-meeting cane.” Since on our wedding …
Ritual circumcision was already practiced by some heathen people before the time of Abraham. Even though the original significance is no longer remembered, the rite was known to be used by some cultures as a sanitary operation, a tribal mark, or a sacrificial portion of flesh to gods after human sacrifices began to decline. Another …
I have written about Satan, his fallen angels, and have even mentioned the nephilim in past articles, now we will study the basics concerning demons and their creation. There is a lot of confusion about demonic creatures, which I believe is caused by the misuse of terms identifying these creatures in Christian churches, as well …
The most famous murder in the Bible is the first one, when Cain killed his brother, Abel. Facts of the physical homicide are plainly stated, so this murder mystery is not an investigation to figure out who was the perpetrator, but what was his motive for committing the crime, and why God handled it the …
To most people, an “angel” is a catchall word for all spirit beings living in God’s heavenly realm. In reality, there are several different kinds of beings besides angels, but since this article is basically an introduction to the subject of Judeo-Christian angelology, angels are what we will focus upon. What are angels, anyway—spirits of …