It is a verse that all of us who are involved in apologetics have grown to love and cherish. 1 Peter 3:15 is the New Testament's mandate for being always ready to offer a rational defense for the Christian worldview. It is unfortunate, however, that we have come to be so familiar with this verse that we miss its full significance, for the text teaches far more than the need to … [Read more...]
Christmas notes, part 2: Did Messianic prophecy inspire the Christmas story?
One of the favorite targets of destructive biblical criticism is the narrative of Jesus' birth in the first two chapters of Matthew. One distinctive feature of Matthew’s account makes it a particularly tempting target. Matthew’s theological agenda is absolutely overt: over and over in the first few chapters of his Gospel, we get some variation on the phrase, “... all this took … [Read more...]
Christmas Notes, Part 1: Was Jesus Born in Bethlehem?
There is perhaps no story so well beloved as the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. But every year we are told on television or in news magazines that we cannot believe the nativity story, that Matthew and Luke contradict each other, and that “scientific” criticism has dissolved the story of the virgin birth into a pious myth. Why do they say this? Could a story of a virgin birth … [Read more...]
Does the Old Testament Teach Two Comings of the Messiah?
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...]
Jesus’ Divine Incarnation
[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: Jesus’ often references his divinity throughout the gospels. One of the clearest examples of this is when he healed a man on the Sabbath in John 5. When the Pharisees accosted him for this, he claimed that unlike … [Read more...]
Ask the Alliance: Does the virgin’s conception suggest divinity?
:::Ask the Alliance Question #4::: In September, Peter submitted questions concerning the nature of the conception of Christ in the broader context of the true nature of Christ. The Alliance has tried to avoid the major pitfalls associated with this topic. Why the Complicated Virgin Birth Process? In the case of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, and Elizabeth, God intervened on the … [Read more...]
Is the Incarnation Incoherent?
Recently I wrote about the Trinity. What about Jesus himself? At first glance divinity and humanity are patently incompatible. Yet Christians affirm that Jesus is both God and human as God incarnate. Indeed, “if anything appears to be a contradiction, surely this is it! How can Jesus be both God and man, infinite and finite, Creator and creature?”[1] Once again, the … [Read more...]
The Resurrection of Jesus and the Cognitive Dissonance Hypothesis
Introduction Cognitive Dissonance is all the rage these days. In other words, more and more skeptics are trying to postulate that the birth of the Jesus movement is the result of cognitive dissonance. As N.T Wright says: “One theory which would go against this conclusion [that the rise of Christianity is best explained by Jesus' bodily resurrection] was very popular a few … [Read more...]
Reza Aslan, a Joyous Media, and the Denial of the Biblical Jesus
The mainstream media’s hatred of Christianity has become more blatantly obvious. Pastor John Dickerson writes: Reza Aslan, author of the new book, “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth” has been interviewed on a host of media outlets in the last week. Riding a publicity wave, the book has surged to #2 on Amazon's list. Media reports have introduced Aslan as a … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Word of God and the Mind of Man
The Word of God and the Mind of Man by Ronald Nash is a book about Christian epistemology (how we know what we know). I was enjoying a philosophy lecture series by Dr. Nash, and while discussing epistemology, he mentioned this book. The book is divided into two parts consisting of a total of twelve chapters. In the first part, Nash provides a case against different religious … [Read more...]