Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
Crucifixion became an important method of capital punishment in the Roman Republic from the 6th century BC and continuing for several hundred years after Christ’s death. This execution style was finally abolished in the Roman Empire, during the 4th century AD, by Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor of Rome.1 When first originated by …
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 …
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 …
We talk about blood a lot. “We are related by blood.” “Blood is thicker than water.” “I gave you my blood, sweat, and tears.” “That makes my blood boil.” You can probably think of more such sayings. These statements are rather common and, as one author said, “It seems we humans are hard-wired to ‘know’ …
Lately, research shows that drawing a line between where being human ends and being a machine begins is becoming harder to establish. It seems that fictional characters like ‘Data’ (Day-ta) or the ‘Borg’, of Star Trek, may not be fictional in the future. A couple of years ago, I wrote an article about Artificial Intelligence …
I’ve been around a while on this planet; I was born in the early 1940s and I’ve seen a lot of changes since then. In childhood, I remember phones that had no dial and we told the operator what number we wanted to call. We had no refrigerator, but only an ‘icebox’ for which we …
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 …
Could Mary, mother of Jesus, really have been a pregnant virgin? Although a basic tenet of Christianity, many still find the virgin birth a stumbling block in their faith. We will take a scientific look at this extraordinary event. This is an article that has been in the making for twenty-five years. Well, not continually, …
Evidence of faithful people is infused within the Holy Bible — throughout both the Hebrew and the Christian scriptures. But how do we describe ‘faith’? What, exactly, is it? There are many definitions of what is ‘faith’. An online encyclopedia states it is simply a belief without evidence, such as a trust in a person, …