Marianne Widmalm, at The Blogs

Feb 12, 2024, 4:05 PM

It is common for people, of a left persuasion, to say that Jesus was a socialist before the word even existed. The reason is primarily for his defense of the poor, sick and downtrodden and his warnings of the...

Mar 16, 2023, 8:07 AM

The Devil, GMOs, the Tower of Babel and Worldly Power

First, I am happy to contribute again at the Times of Israel Blog, as I have had to pause my writing for over a year to care for my elderly parents. They continue to need my daily help, but...

May 3, 2021, 6:20 PM

When I saw God in a dream

This blog article is different from all my previous ones. I am going to be personal and share one of my spiritual experiences. Sharing this is risky because I am giving you a chance to scorn something that, for...

Apr 10, 2021, 11:15 PM

The latest US “Bachelor,” Cancel Culture and Christianity

Mar 29, 2021, 12:09 AM

Why is the Gospel of the Hebrews ignored by scholars?

When I went to graduate school, we were taught that Mark is the oldest Gospel while Matthew and Luke copied Mark, and that Mark came from a theoretical source named Q (after German word “quelle” meaning “source”). This text...

Nov 23, 2020, 10:48 AM

Did Jacob wrestle God, an angel of God, Satan, or one of his angels?

A pivotal moment in history is when Jacob wrestled with a “man” and was afterwards given the new name “Israel.” We read in Genesis 32:28-30, “Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I...

Sep 9, 2020, 7:54 AM

At the Boundary Between Light and Darkness

For millennia readers of the Bible have questioned the meaning of Genesis chapter 1, verse 3, where God, on the first day of creation addresses the light. The first five verses read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and...

May 15, 2020, 10:20 AM

The Existence of Evil and the Garden of Eden

The prime reason why people become atheists may be the existence of evil. Many cannot believe that a good God would allow it, especially once they are personally affected. Another reason is the desire to not have to follow...

Mar 25, 2020, 3:51 PM

Do Animals Have Souls? What the Bible Says

The soul is a concept used primarily by people of faith. It is the part of us that continues to live eternally after death. It animates the body and is the seat of consciousness and willpower. A body cannot...

Feb 14, 2020, 9:59 AM

Mary Magdalene

This week, we celebrate Valentine’s Day. In the third century when Claudius II was the Roman Emperor, Saint Valentine helped persecuted Christians and secretly married Christian couples. For this he was captured, beaten by clubs and beheaded by Rome...

About Me

I am a native of Sweden who lives in Ann Arbor, MI where I received my B.A. in Religion & International Politics and M.A. in Near Eastern Studies with a concentration in the Hebrew Bible, from the University of Michigan. My two books: “Our Mother – the Holy Spirit” (Relevant Publishers LLC. US, 2019) and “God is not Alone: Our Mother – the Holy Spirit” (Avalon publishing, UK, 2015) developed out of a thesis that was published 2005 in the late Professor Noel Freedman’s journal “the Biblical Historian” and called “God’s Wife.” On a personal note I love animals and work on a private horse-farm, and have many other interests such as dancing, judo, ping-pong, running, swimming and skiing. I also have two grown children.

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