Of all the Christian holidays, the one that surprises me the most is Pentecost. It surprises me that every Christian does not observe it. After all, it is the birthday of the New Testament church. …
Christian Origins #76 - Hebrews
Who was Jesus, anyway? Was he really God? Or was he just an angel in the flesh? Or was he even flesh? We know he was the son of God, but is that literal, or …
Christian Origins #75 - Titus
No matter how you slice it, a church is, always has been, and always will be a political institution. And let me be sure you understand what I mean by political. The word has to …
Christian Origins #74 - 1 Timothy
What happened to old people in this country before Social Security? Did a lot of them starve to death? Did they get sick and die alone with no one to look after them? I ask …
Christian Origins #73 - 1 Timothy
Do you suppose it is possible that you could be deceived? Religiously, I mean. The answer ought to be evident, because every one of us has been snookered at one time or another. We have …
About the Jewish Sabbath #3
You know, it isn’t generally realized that even the non-Jews among the First Christians were already God-fearers and Sabbath keepers before their conversion to Christ. They had come to understand the God of the Bible, …
Christian Origins #72 - 1 Timothy
Do you think that ministers should be better than the ordinary Christian? Is there a set of higher requirements for ministers than for others? Like a lot of other questions arising from the Bible the …
Christian Origins #71 - 1 Timothy
There is a dirty little secret about religion that I want to air out with you. It has dogged the steps of every kind of organized religion for 2,000 years. It is especially relevant now …
Christian Origins #70 - Colossians
I realize that the Old Testament law poses some really sticky problems. There is a law back there that regulates the conditions under which a man can sell his daughter. What do you do about …
Christian Origins #69 - Colossians
How does a strange new religious idea get started? Does someone wake up in the morning and say to himself, I think I’ll start a heresy today? Do little boys say, When I grow up, …
About the Jewish Sabbath #2
What did the First Christians believe about the Sabbath day? Did the first Gentile Christians see this important issue differently from the Jewish Christians of that era? An unusual group of Christians developed quite early …
Christian Origins #68 - Philippians
I have given this a lot of thought, and I have finally figured out what’s wrong with Christianity. It’s people. There is not a thing wrong with the Christian faith. After all, what could be …
Christian Origins #67 - Philippians
All of us have special people in our lives. These are people who give us great happiness—people who we love to be with. People we can talk to anytime and into the small hours of …
Christian Origins #66 - Ephesians
What does it mean to follow God? Paul called on the Ephesian Christians to: Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children. This is a high calling. As a child will imitate the mother …
Christian Origins #65 - Ephesians
Funny things happen to us whenever we try to organize ourselves. I guess it is just in the way we are made. Even cows do it. When they start back from the field at milking …
A Mother to Remember
What would happen to you if you were down and out and there was no one to help? Where would you be if you were sick and broke in a strange city with no place …
Christian Origins #64 - Ephesians
There seems to be a difference between a secret and a mystery. At the very least, the Bible seems to use the word mystery in more than once sense. For example, there might be something …
Christian Origins #63 - Ephesians & Galatians
40 years ago, there were over 400 different Christian denominations and sects. They could actually be cataloged and described. By now there are probably over 4,000 and I am not sure anyone cares enough to …
Christian Origins #62 - Ephesians
Unity is an abnormal state in the world at large. In fact, the only time there has ever been even a semblance of unity has been under force of arms. It is odd in a …
Christian Origins #61 - Acts
Sometimes when you’re reading through the New Testament, you can forget that the characters you are reading about are real people. It’s easy to forget that Paul was a real man—flesh and blood. At the …