One of the most puzzling things about the Bible, at least to the modern mind, is animal sacrifice. Why kill an animal because you have done something wrong? I used to wonder why God couldn’t …
Christian Origins #82 - Hebrews
One of the strangest revelations in the Book of Hebrews is that the Tabernacle that Israel carried around the wilderness was a model of something that existed in Heaven. And not only that, but that …
Christian Origins #81 - Hebrews
It is tempting to think of religious ritual and ceremony as so much mumbo-jumbo that means next to nothing. Especially if it was done in a language you didn’t even understand. As a stranger who …
Understanding Deception
Consider a strange irony: Almost every religious deception known to man has been introduced by warning its audience against deception. I have seen many strange religious ideas; and most of them cite, somewhere in the …
Christian Origins #80 - Hebrews
I know this is going to sound crazy. And it is going to be hard to explain why it should be so. But the entire structure of the worship of God in the Old Testament …
Christian Origins #79 - Hebrews
Is it possible that sometime in your life you have encountered God and didn’t even know it? The writer of Hebrews tells us to [b]e not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained …
Christian Origins #78 - Hebrews
Of all the things we know about God, one of the most disconcerting is that there is no place to hide from him. But let me put your mind at rest on something. God is …
Christian Origins #77 - Hebrews
One of the greatest pieces of symbolism in all the Bible is the Jordan River. It has captured the imagination of hymn-writers and theologians, generation after generation. When I was growing up, my father sang …
Christian Holidays #9
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 …