Introduction Jewish people and even some skeptics like to assert that Christians are the ones who have come up with two act play about the coming of the Messiah. In other words, since Jesus failed at the messianic task, Christians then had no choice but to make up a second coming of Jesus. I already have a post called “Was Jesus a Failed Prophet?” here. While there is much … [Read more...]
The Case for the Reliability of the Old Testament (Bible Insert)
We’ve been investigating the case for the reliability of the Old Testament by examining the process of transmission, the verification of archaeology and the appearance of fulfilled prophecy in the text. The ancient scribes employed a trustworthy system of checks and balances as they copied the original texts, and the accuracy of transmission process was successfully tested with … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 6
Many atheists have asked me why I converted from strong atheism to Christianity rather than to some other belief system. The simple answer is that Christians had the answers to my questions. I had studied various Eastern religions years earlier and didn’t find truth in any of them. Atheism was the only belief system that made sense, until I met Christians who were … [Read more...]
Reza Aslan's Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
Guest post by Dan Barkman. Reza Aslan's recent foray into the historical Jesus debate has certainly been provocative. Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth has become a New York Times best seller and has predictably engendered a good deal of controversy. Aslan attempts to revive the thesis of the eighteenth century scholar Herman Reimarus who argued that Jesus is … [Read more...]
Paul – Apostle or Fraud (Part 3)
This is the third part in a special series looking at the question of whether Paul was a true apostle of Jesus Christ or a fraud. We're investigating Paul because many people believe that Paul was a false teacher and opposed to Christ and His teachings. That has led those people to deny almost one half of the New Testament (Paul's letters). They say that what Paul wrote does … [Read more...]
Taking the Bible Literally (On Genre)
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: The Bible is written by many human authors confluently with the Holy Spirit, across over 1500 years and three languages, using various literary genres. Some of these genres include selective biographies of Jesus’ … [Read more...]
The Reliability of the Bible
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: Scripture for YouVersion: Short audio/video: Three questions (1 fill-in-the-blank, 1 multiple choice, and one discussion question): References for further reading: Collaboration notes: Collaborators: [Add your name … [Read more...]
Undesigned Coincidences in Scripture
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: The argument from undesigned coincidences (UC) counters the skeptic’s notion that “the Bible is only the claim” and offers no evidence within Itself for Its own truthfulness. Far from the fallacious argument of ad … [Read more...]
Undesigned Coincidences: Part 6
Because Paul’s travels brought him into contact with many people, and some of them repeatedly, it is particularly instructive to compare the notices of some of those people in the book of Acts with the references and allusions to them in Paul’s own letters. Of those people, few are more interesting than Timothy. In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul explains that he has sent Timothy, … [Read more...]
Resurrection Apologetics: Starting with Paul’s Letters
Introduction In discussions about the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, it is common to start with the Gospels. But in my opinion, I think it is best to back up and start with Paul. After all, Paul’s writings are the earliest records we have for the resurrection of Jesus. Paul, who was a very competent rabbi who was trained at the rabbinic academy called the House of … [Read more...]