This article will address the issue of Abram's so called "tithe" to Melchizedek, a story which is used by Christianity to bolster the modern practice of tithing to the church. This is not an anti-tithing article, so I won't go into the details of how tithing was not a practice of early Christianity until at least the sixth century C.E. The purpose of this article is simply to question the traditional view that Abram gave a tenth or tithe to Melchizedek. That this story has been...

The idea of a “Messiah” is found outside of the Torah. The Torah does not promise a “Messiah”. Aryans do need a "Messiah". However, if non-Aryans do accept the Judean writings (i.e. the rest of the Tanakh/Old Testament after the five books of Moses) to be inspired and/or authoritative, did Jesus fulfill the requirements necessary to be the promised “Messiah”?   What and who is Messiah according to the Judean writings? First, let’s talk...

A foundational principle of Christianity is the claim that a new covenant was instituted by Jesus’ death and resurrection, replacing the covenant made between the jewish god and Israel at Mount Sinai. No longer are adherents required to observe the jewish god’s instructions, for we are saved by simple faith in Jesus and nothing else. What if it could be easily shown from the New Testament that the new covenant is still in the future? What would that mean for Christianity? Could it...

25 years before my deeper study of the scriptures prompted me to leave the church, I had already developed strong convictions against Christian holidays. There is virtually no-one, not even among conservative Christian scholars and apologists, who denies the pagan origins of Christian holidays. The question is: what, if anything, is wrong with co-opting pagan practices? Christianity sees this practice as demonstrating its victory over paganism. We won’t go into detail about how foreign...

In the New Testament book of Hebrews, we find this well known Christian assertion: Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Heb 9:22 NET) Is this actually true? This idea is often cross referenced to the following “prooftext” from the Hebrew Scriptures: for the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your...

It is a Christian concept that Jesus freed his followers from the law. By law we mean the law of Moses, called the Torah. When you see the word law in english translations of the Hebrew scriptures, the Hebrew word that has been translated such is the word Torah, which literally means instruction. Etymologically it comes from an archery term meaning “to hit the mark”. The Torah, as a body of instructions, was given by the jewish god (supposedly) to the nation of Israel through...

It seems that many adherents of the New Testament fail to notice that it contains competing, incompatible ideologies that have been woven together into a confusing patchwork quilt. This is perhaps best illustrated by comparing Paul’s view of righteousness with that of James: For we consider that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law. (Romans 3:28 NET) You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:24 NET) Reading the...

In this post I’ll examine whether it’s possible in the text of the Hebrew scriptures to confirm whether or not Jesus’ virgin birth is tenable. First we have to understand that the disciples of Jesus were the first believers in him. They weren’t even called Christians until later. They were a Jewish sect until the Jewish synagogues banned them. The followed Jewish law, worshipped in the synagogues on Saturday, didn’t consume pork, etc. Why do Christians believe...