"Oh, I don't believe in all of this religious stuff," said a young woman, planning her wedding with a pastor. "I just want to be married!" How many brides are like that, we don't know. If the estimate is correct, that 90 percent of all weddings take place within churches with a clergyperson officiating, then there must be many such brides, because 90 percent is far greater than the percent of Americans who belong to churches, to say nothing of those who practice Christianity regularly. This bride is one of the people who receives some of the benefits of Christianity while being a nonbeliever. There are many others. Obed-edom is an example.

Obed-edom is part of the story of King David's rise to the position of political and religious leader of Israel. In order to bring together these two con…