Latest articles byDr. Zachary Porcu
How long is a generation in the Bible?
The word “generation” is used in a variety of ways in the Bible. It is not a precise technical term or a standardized unit of measure. Sometimes the Biblical authors use the word to mean everyone who was alive at a certain time...
Is Sachiel a real angel?
During the Medieval period there was a minority interest in producing grimoires, which were magical texts with instructions on how to do things like interact with various spiritual beings, performs spells, and create magical ob...
Was Luluwa the wife of Cain?
The Bible does not identify Cain’s wife, and while some traditional, extra-Biblical sources attempt to explain where Cain and Abel acquired wives, most of these sources are of dubious authority. Many ancient sources indicate th...
Bestiality and other deviant sexual practices in the Bible
The Bible lists many prohibitions on various kinds of sexual behavior. Leviticus puts the main ones in a short list together, and includes adultery and homosexuality along with bestiality: “...you shall not lie carnally with yo...
Are soul ties a Christian idea? A scholar responds
What does God say about breaking soul ties? Nothing. Because soul ties—as a specific concept and not a general sense that physical things have spiritual content—are a modern idea, there is nothing in the Bible, the writings of ...
Athaliah, ancient queen regnant of Israel
It’s important to get definitions right when trying to answer this question. Athaliah was the daughter of the king of Judah, king Ahab, and his wife, queen Jezebel. Through a series of political maneuvers, she became the first ...
Who was St. Gemma Galgani, patron of students?
St. Gemma seems to have had a variety of health problems throughout her life. As a child, she was generally of ill health. At age 16, she developed spinal meningitis. She prayed to the sacred heart of Jesus for recovery from he...
A PhD explains the phrase "What the devil meant for evil"
There isn’t a single, specific Bible verse about what “the enemy meant for evil,” but the closest is Genesis 50:20: “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this...