By Mark W. Christy, PhD Conservative biblical scholars use the genealogical records found in Genesis 11 to determine the timing of the Noahic Flood. Since the Masoretic Text (MT) and the Septuagint (LXX) have slight differences, the resulting date, arrived at by adding the years of patriarchal maturity, falls into either the third or fourth millennium B.C., respectively. These computations, however, do not align well with the pervasive archaeological evidence from the Near East, which provid...

By Mark W. Christy Throughout history, humanity has struggled to explain the world. In ancient times, these explanations were overtly religious in nature. In more modern times, many are attempting to develop a worldview model that appears to be devoid of religion (e.g., atheism, scientific materialism, naturalism) or at least religious commitment (e.g., agnosticism). Like their predecessors and even their contemporaries (e.g., any of the world religions), the ultimate goal is to derive an ac...

By Mark W. Christy Across the world, most people regard Hitler as synonymous with evil. Not only is this true for Westerners, it also seems to be the prevailing view among those in the East, though I cannot confirm this. Nevertheless, I can attest it is true for many Chinese people after having many conversations on this topic while serving in China. During these conversations, I found it strange that many Chinese felt comfortable labelling Hitler as evil since most of them maintain an athei...

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In China, many people can be seen wearing amulets or displaying them in their cars and homes. During their wedding ceremonies (at least in Shanxi province), the color red could be seen everywhere with red carpet covering the walking area and red pieces of paper covering any observable man-holes. When asked about these things, the Chinese would begin to discuss the various procedures being undertaken in regard to how their activities produced good luck and warded off b...