Studies on the Fringe of Christianity
There have been more than just a handful of times when I received questions from women about that “monthly curse” of menstruation. Most questions revolved around the issues of being unclean or ‘dirty’, as pointed out in the Bible. For example, someone would ask, “How can I feel good about myself, if God tells me …
Throughout two thousand years of Christian history, and several hundred years longer in Jewish history, the idea of an apocalypse has been studied. This predicted cataclysm is a series of earth-wide events, preceding God’s destruction of the evil ruling powers impacting humanity. Although previously implied and even promised, these events are symbolically described in detail …
Much debate is heard within discussion groups and friendly conversations over coffee about the idea that if you are “once saved, you are always saved.” In other words, if someone becomes a Christian, you receive forgiveness of sins (saved/salvation), which is a free gift that restores your relationship with God, and you can never lose …
This article is going to be a little weird — like me, I guess. We will cover a bit of background concerning the Roman government during New Testament times, but the last half of this discourse, although related, is a personal reflection from early in my adult life. So, let’s get started. Jesus’ life story …
Someone would be hard-pressed to imagine something more troubling or macabre than the taboo of eating human flesh. Now, in the animal kingdom, cannibalism is fairly common and found in more than fifteen hundred species, but this activity is rare in humans, just maybe not as rare as you might expect. Once, during a study …
Unless you know what to look for, medicinal and recreational drug use in the Bible isn’t always evident, because they didn’t speak about drugs as we do today. They used plants and minerals for treatment and healing of ailments and pain, or to produce certain mental effects such as mood relaxers and hallucinogens. Since many …
Chances are that most people have not read or heard about the story in Ezekiel, chapter 23. This is one of those “X-rated” chapters of the Bible, which may be occasionally referred to, but never read in church. It is a dire but foretelling story showing that God has a great deal of patience and …
Have you ever heard a Pastor tell his congregation that it is not necessary to tithe? Well, although I may get a lot of criticism for writing this article, let me state right here and now that there is no New Testament authority for mandatory giving of money to the Church. Tithing was part of …
I’ve always believed that God created this universe with specific physical laws that are being revealed to us over time. Because of this, a miracle is only a term we use to explain an event or result that cannot be understood with the human knowledge presently available. As an example, flashlights or torches (British) are …
Recently, someone asked me to explain why God cursed women with a monthly period. She was referring to women’s menstruation, including a possible combination of symptoms about a week or so before the actual flow of blood. This premenstrual assortment of problems, called premenstrual syndrome (PMS), can include such effects as bloating, headaches, and moodiness, …