By Eric Chabot, Director, Ratio Christi, The Ohio State University I have been reading through Bart Ehrman’s “Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth. I could not agree with Ehrman more on several points he makes in the book on the problem with the Jesus Mythers. However, there are still some areas of disagreement. I will address one of them in this … [Read more...]
External Evidence for Pauline Authorship of Ephesians
I was recently visiting a church on a beautiful Sunday morning when the pastor made an assertion in her sermon to which I felt I should respond. She stated that Paul did not write the book of Ephesians. In fact it allegedly was not written for 100 years or more after Jesus' death, at which time an unknown author attached Paul's name to the letter in a practice that this … [Read more...]
The Psalmist's Lamentation And The Demise of Babylon
(King James Version) Psalms 137:8-9 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. The above verse is one that was brought to my attention recently by a skeptic on Twitter. Though I have read this passage before, I hadn’t spend much time … [Read more...]
Book Review: From God to Us by Norman Geisler & William Nix
Every religion has a “sacred text” that is the basis of its authority. Islam has the Qur’an, Hinduism has the Vedas, and Mormons have The Book of Mormon. Christianity is no exception, having the Bible. It is the book Christians believe to be the “Word of God,” communicating who God is, humanity’s separation from Him, and God’s salvation plan through His Son Jesus Christ. There … [Read more...]
Has The New Testament Been Substantially Edited Since It Was First Penned?
This is one of the most frequently-asked questions I encounter when attempting to explain to people the massive evidence which stands in support and corroboration of the Christian worldview. I probably actually get this question more frequently from the Muslim/Islamic community than I do from atheists, agnostics and other non-believers. The reason for this is not hard to see. … [Read more...]
What Really Happened at Nicea?
For many years, the council of Nicea has been the subject of much confusion among laypeople. The misapprehensions which have come to be associated with the council of Nicea have, in part, been fuelled by popular fictional novels such as Dan Brown's notorious The Da Vinci Code. No matter what group you are dealing with in your apologetic exploits (including atheists, Muslims, … [Read more...]
Are the Gospels Based on Eyewitness Testimony? The Test of Personal Names
Are the gospels based on credible eyewitness testimony? This is a question on which modern scholars line up on both sides of the divide. From my point of view, the cumulative case for the gospels being based on the testimony of eyewitnesses is clear and convincing. In his groundbreaking work, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, Richard Bauckham (professor of New Testament studies at … [Read more...]
Undesigned Scriptural Coincidences: The Ring of Truth
What is an undesigned coincidence? An undesigned coincidence (so-named by J.J. Blunt and first discovered by William Paley) occurs when one account of an event leaves out a bit of information which is filled in, often quite incidentally, by a different account, which helps to answer some natural questions raised by the first. As an argument for the historical veracity of the … [Read more...]
I, Not the Lord…
Brian, When I was reading in 1 Corinthians 7, I noticed that Paul said a rather peculiar thing. He said “To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord)…” (verse 12). What does this mean? If the words that followed this were “not [from] the Lord” then wouldn’t that mean that it was not inspired? Nicole … [Read more...]
Fundies On The Left and The Right: Atheists and King James Onlyists
Christian apologists have often pointed out that atheists have a lot in common with the wackiest of religious believers. For example, many atheists maintain that the Bible teaches a literal six-day creation, or that Revelation is to be taken as a literal text. Whether believers or skeptics, the people who hold such views often understand the Bible in an absolutist sense, rarely … [Read more...]