Latest articles byDr. Zachary Porcu
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 ...
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...
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...
Two biblical figures: Belteshazzar or Belshazzar
There was no king “Belteshazzar” in the Bible, though you may be misled by the similarity of this name to “Belshazzar.” The latter was a king, the last king of the Neo-Babylonian empire, and some scholars believe that he was th...
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...
Benaiah, soldier of David and Solomon: What did he do?
Benaiah, son of Jehoiada was one of King David’s “mighty men” in the Old Testament. He was one of the supporting characters in the life of King David, especially in the complicated struggle for the throne among David’s sons. W...
The story of Epaphroditus, missionary of St. Paul
Epaphroditus is mentioned in Philippians 2:25 and 4:18 as one of St. Paul’s fellow missionaries. Paul was on a missionary journey around the Mediterranean, and he had several fellow missionaries under his direction. He also had...