Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
Someone recently told me that they were having trouble forgiving a family member who said some hurtful things. She felt guilty because she just couldn’t forgive them, but others were pressuring her to forgive and forget. I asked her if the offender had apologized or repented for their actions. She said, “No! I wouldn’t feel …
All major cities in Jesus’ day had large walls surrounding them, the purpose being for privacy, defense, and protection from outsiders. Many had watchtowers or walkways on top to scout for problems, and maybe a surrounding ditch or moat at ground level, but all utilized gates to filter who passed through the walls — basically …
The story about Jezebel is recorded in 1 Kings and 2 Kings of the Old Testament, but for those who do not know much about this character, here is an overview. According to Hebrew scripture, Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Tyre in Phoenicia during the 9th-century BC. Phoenicia was a coastal …
I wrote about gay and transgender issues about five years ago, but continue to get questions concerning those groups and what is God’s point-of-view on the LGBT lifestyle. Those descriptive alphabet characters change over time, but currently the official identification is LGBTQIA+ and they stand for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transvestite, questionable/queer, intersex, asexual, and ‘plus …
Our thoughts contribute to how our body handles disease. “Depression, anxiety, stress, anger, and fear all have widespread and well-documented physiological effects which can affect essential aspects of our biochemistry, from hormone production, to our perception of pain.”1 Negative attitudes may actually determine if we are to become infected in an epidemic or if some …
Evil is very evident in everyday life, and even more so to the Christian, because God explains it in Holy Scripture. He tells us how it came about, what it does to society, the steps needed to help eliminate it from our lives, and how it will, one day, be forcibly eradicated from the entire …
Nearly a year and a half ago, I wrote about how fast things in the world are changing and that each day seems to be worse than the previous one. “Where is this world headed?” I rhetorically asked. The quarantine and social distancing, brought about by the current viral pandemic, had become not a protection, …
I had an interesting journey, recently. Because of an illness, I had EMTs1 visit my home three times, had three total visits to the emergency rooms of two different hospitals, and was finally admitted for a hospital stay in another city. Now, a couple of weeks later, I’m on the mend, but still have a …
Not long ago, I received an email letter from a visitor to The Outlaw Bible Student website; it was from a lifelong research scientist, university professor, and author. This letter wasn’t positive or negative directly toward me, but from the tone of it, I knew it was unquestionably from an atheist.1 I have found that …
We have all been profoundly affected by the current coronavirus pandemic. Psychological surveys indicate one result of this global crisis is a growing mental health emergency, the consequences of which may be felt for years to come.1 And new medical problems, resulting from the untested, experimental, and sometimes forced mass vaccination of the population, compound …