Over the years, I have had my share of discussions about what we can know about Jesus. I think a good starting place about historical discussions about Jesus is seen in the book The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach by New Testament historian Mike Licona.[1] In the book Licona discusses what is called “The Historical Bedrock.” These three facts about the … [Read more...]
The Appearance to Paul
In his first letter to the Corinthians the apostle Paul testified that Christ appeared to him after being raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:8). This experience transformed him from a leading opponent and persecutor of the church to its most famous missionary. The record indicates that Paul spent the last three decades or so of his life after this experience traveling around the … [Read more...]
A Look at Bart Ehrman’s Objection: The Earliest Christians Did Not Think Jesus Was God
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...]
Who Wrote the Gospels?
One often hears the claim, made frequently by skeptical scholars and laypeople alike, that we have no grounds on which to think the four canonical gospels were actually written by the people to whom they are ascribed. The original documents, we are told, were written in anonymity, the attributions being added by scribes at a later date. This claim is made frequently by the … [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...]
A Defense of the Historicity of Jesus' Divine Self-Understanding
A key part of the investigation into the reliability of the New Testament (and the transformative message which it conveys) lies in establishing what Jesus considered Himself to be, and the mission that he thought it was his role to fulfil. While a discernment of Jesus’ self-understanding is only a necessary (but non-sufficient) condition in establishing the truth of the … [Read more...]
You Need The Box Top To Make Sense Of The Jigsaw Of The Old Testament: The Abraham Affair
When asked for what I consider to be the most compelling argument for the truth of Christianity, I often offer the cumulative force of the argument from prototypic foreshadowings of Christ and the new covenant which are so delicately interwoven into the Old Testament fabric. Just as one needs the Box Top to make sense of a jigsaw puzzle, so one needs Christ in order to properly … [Read more...]
A Response To The Resurrection Hoax
Does Kareem have a case? On a Facebook thread I'm in, someone presented the thesis that the resurrection is a hoax with a link by an Abdullah Kareen of Answering Christianity. I will include a link at the bottom of this post for all interested in reading. For now, just how strong is the case? Well, not too strong. … [Read more...]
Eyewitness News: The Book of Acts
The Apostle Peter said that, “we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16 NIV) Unlike the other religions of the world, Christianity is a religion that is based on eyewitness testimony. The Apostles were all eyewitnesses to Jesus’ resurrection, the very … [Read more...]
The Resurrection of Jesus: My Unlikely Easter Conversation
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally One Easter, a relative cornered me at a family reunion and wanted to talk about the resurrection of Jesus. Let's just call her my dear Aunt Sally. Some people try to stay away from politics and religion a parties. Not Aunt Sally. :-) Aunt Sally was Religious Studies major and she started off by telling me that Jesus didn’t come back from the … [Read more...]